The Bremer Detail Read Free

American officials was nascent. I believe Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater, should be applauded for his willingness to step up and take the monumental risk of supporting the U.S. military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the time he accepted this first-of-its-kind contract to protect the highest-ranking U.S. official in a war zone, the rewards and risks were crystal clear: Succeed in keeping Ambassador Bremer alive, and your company will have accomplished something no private company has ever achieved before. However, if Bremer gets killed, your company will serve as a poster child for those who believe a private company cannot possibly provide the level of protection required to safeguard government officials. Oh, and by the way, your company will, in all likelihood, never receive another government contract.
    But again, let me back up. This is my story and the story of how a group of dedicated protection professionals managed to do something that they themselves never thought possible.

21 July 2003
    As I hung up and reached for my coffee, I heard Kim turn off the vacuum. She walked into the kitchen and asked who called. Deep breath: I told her it was Blackwater asking me if I wanted to work, and that I would be leaving for Iraq in three weeks. She clamped her teeth and did not say a word, obviously not overjoyed with the idea. Neither were my daughters (one in high school, one in college) when I told them. I explained it was only for thirty days, so it would be easy. I really believed this when I said it.
    For the majority of my executive protection career I have kept well-known, recognizable figures safe. I have always had an excellent sense of the who, the where, and the when of potential problems. I’ve worked in forty-two different countries but never in a war zone environment. And I always came back safe. Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia—most spots were civilized, no spot had thousands of folks trying to kill my protectee. I expected Iraq to be similar. Boy, was I naïve as hell!
    At age forty-four I was not in the same shape I was back when I was a Recon Marine. From talking to some of my friends, I knew Blackwater’s physical fitness test would include a 1.5 mile run and some pull-ups. The pull-ups would be easy. The run? Yeah, not so much. I knew, too, I would have to get to the shooting range and put some holes in some targets to make sure I did not embarrass myself. So I made the decision to increase the tempo of my workouts and actually start running. I hate running.
    In 2003 Blackwater, virtually unknown to the public, had a mystique of excellence and elitism among security specialists; and a reputation for hiring only the “best of the best.” I was honored­ and nervous. I knew my friend Brutus had put my name in for consideration, and the last thing I wanted to do was make him look bad. In our world, if you recommend someone and he doesn’t work out, you run the risk of getting fired for making a bad recommendation. Brutus was a great friend and a brother Recon Marine, and I certainly didn’t want to sully his reputation. We had worked together for Dr. Kissinger for five years, and I knew Brutus thought I could do it or he would not have risked the recommendation. He had never bullshitted me.
    I called Brutus and gave him the news. He had been working in Iraq for Blackwater for several months on a different project, and he cautioned me that the selection process was no joke. He gave me the limited insight he had about the upcoming project. We talked about the heat and the operations that were going on over there in the “sandbox.” Iraq at this time was not going through the troubles that would soon begin. Coalition forces had been there for four months. The Iraqis still weren’t quite sure what to expect as we attempted to convert the country from Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship to a functioning democracy. The coalition was extremely hopeful the transition would be