Prince Erik - Civilian warriors : the inside story of Blackwater and the unsung heroes of the War on Terror

December 6, 2003

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That multilane stretch of asphalt connects Iraqs largest international airport with the coalition-occupied Green Zone. For years, from using it at all. And even before that, no one took that road without a plan.

But sometimes Paul Bremer wouldnt take no for an answer.

envoy and administrator in Iraq, had finished a meeting with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld outside the Green Zone. To the surprise of his Blackwater security detail, Bremer insisted he would see the secretary off at the airport.

Frank back to me expressed grave concern about doing the mission and questioned my sanity, Gallagher later remembered. But I could see the look in [Bremers] eyes that this was not open for debate.

The trip out was uneventful, but Gallagher sensed the worst was yet to come. The show of force had certainly tipped off the insurgents that something unusual was going on at the airport. And Bremers Blackwater motorcade would have to travel back to the Green Zone without the Pentagon detail that had accompanied Rumsfeld.

Once Bremer had said his good-byes to the secretary, in Valhalla later that evening.

Contractor humor.

Around eleven twenty p.m., Bremers pared-down convoy pulled away from the airport. The nimble Blackwater helicopters darted out front, providing top cover and scanning the roadway for threats. Gallagher, in the front passenger seat, wrapped his fingers around his matte black M4 carbine and stared out into the darkness that enveloped the roadway. Bremer and McCormack chatted about meeting schedules for the next day.

Suddenly, maneuvered to flank Bremer on the right.

There was a jarring crack against the bulletproof window on Gallaghers doorwhat the armored Humvee behind Bremers SUV, destroying the Humvees axle with a deafening blast.

Bremers driver swerved and battled to keep all four tires of the SUV on the ground. From the darkness, insurgents opened fire with AK-47s, rattling machine-gun fire off the right side of the car. There was nowhere to hide; flames and headlights provided just enough light to grasp what was unfolding. , a highly organized, skillfully executed assassination attempt, Bremer later wrote. I swung around and looked back. The Suburbans armored-glass rear window had been blown out by the IED. And now AK rounds were whipping through the open rectangle.

! shouted the voice from the radio in Bremers SUV. It was Blackwaters shift leader, limping along in the battered armored vehicle, calling out the code for the SUVs to drive through the ambush: Leave the Humvees, he was saying; get Bremer out of there now.

Contractors in the two helicopters above unloaded enough ammunition to repel the attack, while Blackwaters drivers ignored the burns on their feet from the heat of the blast and stomped on the gas through the fog of smoke on the roadway. and learned that two of our four vehicles were damaged, but limping along, Gallagher said.

they made it to the Green Zone. And soon, the Humvees and helicopters made it back as well.

Miraculously, no one was injured.

Since I first enrolled in the Naval Academy after high school, my lifes mission has been to serve God, serve my family, and serve the United States with honor and integrity. I did it first as a midshipman, then as a SEAL, thenwhen personal tragedy called me home from the serviceas a contractor providing solutions for some of the thorniest problems on earth. The business of war has never been pretty, but I did my job legally, and I did it completely. Too well, perhaps, growing Blackwater until it became something resembling its own branch of the military and other government agencies.

During my dozen years as company CEO, we filled contracts for the State Department, the Department of Defense, the CIA, elite law enforcement agencies around the world, and many others. We did everything from protecting heads of state to delivering the mail. Blackwater expanded from a simple training center in the North Carolina swampland to encompass dozens of business divisions ranging from surveillance blimp development and construction to intelligence services to K9 operations. in the war on terror, pushing a thousand contractors into Iraq and hundreds more into Afghanistan under the Republican Bush administration, then continuing a connection to Democratic president Barack Obama that was closer than he has ever wanted to admit. My companys history is a proud tale of performance excellence and driven entrepreneurialism.