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Fast and Furious Afghanistan: More Illegal Weapons in The Hands of The Enemy?
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Do we have another situation similar to "Fast and Furious" happening in Afghanistan? Has our government been made aware that illegal weapons, RPGs
specifically, are in the hands of civilian Afghan subcontractors hired by U.S. DOD, UN, the ISAF (International Security Assistance Forces), and NATO
contractors to protect the convoys supplying our troops and done nothing about it? Afghan civilians who in multiple cases are claimed to have had zero
background checks?
Did the United States government, ignore the warnings of a whistle blower to the peril of Lt. Colonel Christopher Raible and Sergeant Bradley Atwell and the biggest loss of U.S. military aircraft in a single attack since the Vietnam war at Camp Bastion Afghanistan in September, 2012?
It sure looks that way.
While the mechanics are different, this time the people allowing, if not supplying , illegal RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades) to be within easy grasp of the Taliban aren't agents of the U.S. Government, they're just being paid by the U.S. Government (and others) via the United Nations, N.A.T.O. and the ISAF through lucrative Private Security Contracts.
In these heated and heady days of the US government seeking to gain more control over weapons here at home due to tragedies in our communities, it appears that same government has little or no control over weapons in the very theater our military personnel are fighting, and sadly, dying in. While our country is split, right down the middle, over the second amendment, those who seek to assert more control have ignored a whistle that has been blowing for over a year. It also appears as though they may have ignored or "brushed off" information that could have prevented the Camp Bastion attack from happening or at least reduced its severity considerably.
WHY?
Several days ago we received an email from a gentleman in New Zealand, Mr. Ben Timmons, who claims to have been witness to illegal weapons, RPGs specifically, in the hands of Afghani subcontractors, working for a Private Security Company (PSC), who were under contract to guard convoys of fuel and other supplies in Afghanistan in February, 2011.
Why does that matter? Two big reasons;
1. RPGs are not supposed to be anywhere near PSCs in Afghanistan because they are the Taliban's weapon of choice and with the reported (by multiple sources) lack of security surrounding the PSCs in Afghanistan it doesn't take a rocket scientists to see why this would be a bad thing. RPGs
2. Mr. Timmons' location at the time of these events was a mere few hundred yards from Camp Bastion. That name should ring huge bells but I bet it doesn't unless you're following the war in Afghanistan very closely.
Camp Bastion was the scene of a devastating attack by the Taliban in September, 2012. Members of the Taliban, dressed in U.S. Army uniforms and wielding RPGs assaulted the Camp and killed Lt. Colonel Christopher Raible and Sergeant Bradley Atwell by firing RPGs at them. The Taliban also destroyed more U.S military aircraft than any single attack has destroyed since the Vietnam war. BBC Article - Camp Bastion Attack Families Want Answers About Camp Bastion Attack
What you're about to read may give you an idea of how the Taliban might have got their hands on those uniforms and the RPGs they did so much destruction with. We've redacted the names of the people involved to protect their privacy.
Being a whistleblower is not an optimal position to be in but Ben Timmons won't give up. His story has it all; claims of kidnapping, beating, cover up and a breach of contractual restrictions by contractors paid to protect ISAF supply convoys that may well have led to one of the most damaging attacks on an ISAF facility to occur in Afghanistan and the death of two of America's finest.
In spite of contacting every official agency, group and person he could think of Ben claims the situation described in the following pages has gone uninvestigated and this is the first time it's been publicly brought to light. The main reasons given for no investigation have been either a lack of jurisdiction or, a lack of substance to the claims after what appears to be very limited questions asked of people who didn't have the complete story.
Ben's understanding, based on the responses he received from the two or three officials who indicate they actually looked into these allegations, the case was given a cursory look (a few questions asked of one or two people) and then handed over to the prime contractor (Supreme Group) for them to deal with.
Considering the company that is the focus of this story, Compass ISS has been under scrutiny before, Compass ISS 2010 Investigation, it's surprising, to say the least, little if anything has been done about this from what we can tell based on the record Ben has presented us.
As recently as this month he has received emails telling him what he saw and experienced "didn't happen" (pretty strong language) with, according to Ben, no copies of an investigation report or any evidence of an investigation at all.
It is our hope this gets the attention it deserves and some formal investigation into the situation with PSCs in Afghanistan is looked at through a more scrutinizing eye.
The Story:
Ben was hired by Compass ISS in December 2010. He left New Zealand on 15 January, 2011 and headed to Kabul for initiation training which was completed on 24 January, 2011. Upon completion of his orientation training he was assigned to the Helmand Regional Distribution Center (HRDC) at Camp Bastion which is operated by Supreme Group www.supreme-group.net/ a global supply and logistics company.
Compass was contracted to provide all the security for the entire HRDC and the convoys bringing fuel, food, and other supplies to Camp Bastion.
Upon arrival at HRDC Ben was assigned as a site coordinator. Ben understood his job was to do whatever the senior management needed him to do. After about a week overseeing the fuel operations at the site he was asked to temporarily take over the duties of the Compliance Officer.
Ms. H., the current Compliance Officer, was scheduled to go on leave so Ben was asked to "shadow" her for the few days leading up to her departure so he could learn the job and the duties required to carry it out.
This is the point where things went horribly wrong according to Ben.
During the second day of following Ms. H., Ben discovered RPGs under a blanket in the rear of one of the guard vehicles during his compliance inspection at the check point all the guard vehicles had to pass through to exit the compound. Ben stepped back away from the vehicle and reported what he saw to Ms. H. who responded, strangely, "I've never seen one".
Let's stop here for a moment...
RPGs are illegal in Afghanistan for obvious reasons, they are the Taliban's weapon of choice. ISAF regulations also forbid the possession of RPGs among non combatant personnel. In other words, a PSC allowing its employees (subcontractors or otherwise) to have RPGs in Afghanistan is huge violation of just about every law, regulation, and contract stipulation and basic common sense imaginable.
According to Ben the only weapons these guards were supposed to be carrying were Compass issued AK47s. the PSCs are supposed to keep track of all the weapons in the theater and only those authorized and issued by the PSC should be available to the subcontracted guards.
Continued...
Did the United States government, ignore the warnings of a whistle blower to the peril of Lt. Colonel Christopher Raible and Sergeant Bradley Atwell and the biggest loss of U.S. military aircraft in a single attack since the Vietnam war at Camp Bastion Afghanistan in September, 2012?
It sure looks that way.
While the mechanics are different, this time the people allowing, if not supplying , illegal RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades) to be within easy grasp of the Taliban aren't agents of the U.S. Government, they're just being paid by the U.S. Government (and others) via the United Nations, N.A.T.O. and the ISAF through lucrative Private Security Contracts.
In these heated and heady days of the US government seeking to gain more control over weapons here at home due to tragedies in our communities, it appears that same government has little or no control over weapons in the very theater our military personnel are fighting, and sadly, dying in. While our country is split, right down the middle, over the second amendment, those who seek to assert more control have ignored a whistle that has been blowing for over a year. It also appears as though they may have ignored or "brushed off" information that could have prevented the Camp Bastion attack from happening or at least reduced its severity considerably.
WHY?
Several days ago we received an email from a gentleman in New Zealand, Mr. Ben Timmons, who claims to have been witness to illegal weapons, RPGs specifically, in the hands of Afghani subcontractors, working for a Private Security Company (PSC), who were under contract to guard convoys of fuel and other supplies in Afghanistan in February, 2011.
Why does that matter? Two big reasons;
1. RPGs are not supposed to be anywhere near PSCs in Afghanistan because they are the Taliban's weapon of choice and with the reported (by multiple sources) lack of security surrounding the PSCs in Afghanistan it doesn't take a rocket scientists to see why this would be a bad thing. RPGs
2. Mr. Timmons' location at the time of these events was a mere few hundred yards from Camp Bastion. That name should ring huge bells but I bet it doesn't unless you're following the war in Afghanistan very closely.
Camp Bastion was the scene of a devastating attack by the Taliban in September, 2012. Members of the Taliban, dressed in U.S. Army uniforms and wielding RPGs assaulted the Camp and killed Lt. Colonel Christopher Raible and Sergeant Bradley Atwell by firing RPGs at them. The Taliban also destroyed more U.S military aircraft than any single attack has destroyed since the Vietnam war. BBC Article - Camp Bastion Attack Families Want Answers About Camp Bastion Attack
What you're about to read may give you an idea of how the Taliban might have got their hands on those uniforms and the RPGs they did so much destruction with. We've redacted the names of the people involved to protect their privacy.
Being a whistleblower is not an optimal position to be in but Ben Timmons won't give up. His story has it all; claims of kidnapping, beating, cover up and a breach of contractual restrictions by contractors paid to protect ISAF supply convoys that may well have led to one of the most damaging attacks on an ISAF facility to occur in Afghanistan and the death of two of America's finest.
In spite of contacting every official agency, group and person he could think of Ben claims the situation described in the following pages has gone uninvestigated and this is the first time it's been publicly brought to light. The main reasons given for no investigation have been either a lack of jurisdiction or, a lack of substance to the claims after what appears to be very limited questions asked of people who didn't have the complete story.
Ben's understanding, based on the responses he received from the two or three officials who indicate they actually looked into these allegations, the case was given a cursory look (a few questions asked of one or two people) and then handed over to the prime contractor (Supreme Group) for them to deal with.
Considering the company that is the focus of this story, Compass ISS has been under scrutiny before, Compass ISS 2010 Investigation, it's surprising, to say the least, little if anything has been done about this from what we can tell based on the record Ben has presented us.
As recently as this month he has received emails telling him what he saw and experienced "didn't happen" (pretty strong language) with, according to Ben, no copies of an investigation report or any evidence of an investigation at all.
It is our hope this gets the attention it deserves and some formal investigation into the situation with PSCs in Afghanistan is looked at through a more scrutinizing eye.
The Story:
Ben was hired by Compass ISS in December 2010. He left New Zealand on 15 January, 2011 and headed to Kabul for initiation training which was completed on 24 January, 2011. Upon completion of his orientation training he was assigned to the Helmand Regional Distribution Center (HRDC) at Camp Bastion which is operated by Supreme Group www.supreme-group.net/ a global supply and logistics company.
Compass was contracted to provide all the security for the entire HRDC and the convoys bringing fuel, food, and other supplies to Camp Bastion.
Upon arrival at HRDC Ben was assigned as a site coordinator. Ben understood his job was to do whatever the senior management needed him to do. After about a week overseeing the fuel operations at the site he was asked to temporarily take over the duties of the Compliance Officer.
Ms. H., the current Compliance Officer, was scheduled to go on leave so Ben was asked to "shadow" her for the few days leading up to her departure so he could learn the job and the duties required to carry it out.
This is the point where things went horribly wrong according to Ben.
During the second day of following Ms. H., Ben discovered RPGs under a blanket in the rear of one of the guard vehicles during his compliance inspection at the check point all the guard vehicles had to pass through to exit the compound. Ben stepped back away from the vehicle and reported what he saw to Ms. H. who responded, strangely, "I've never seen one".
Let's stop here for a moment...
RPGs are illegal in Afghanistan for obvious reasons, they are the Taliban's weapon of choice. ISAF regulations also forbid the possession of RPGs among non combatant personnel. In other words, a PSC allowing its employees (subcontractors or otherwise) to have RPGs in Afghanistan is huge violation of just about every law, regulation, and contract stipulation and basic common sense imaginable.
According to Ben the only weapons these guards were supposed to be carrying were Compass issued AK47s. the PSCs are supposed to keep track of all the weapons in the theater and only those authorized and issued by the PSC should be available to the subcontracted guards.
Continued...
edit on 12-31-2012 by Springer because: (no reason given)
Fast and Furious Afghanistan: More Illegal Weapons in The Hands of The Enemy? pg. 2
For the Compliance Officer to act as if they just aren't there(or even more bizarre, she doesn't know what one looks like) is an astounding situation. According to Ben, Ms. H. went on to explain that she never signed her compliance sheets because "she knew from her background as an Australian Police Officer not to sign things like that".
Ben believed the implication being she knew if the officials at Supreme or any of the military commanders in the ISAF found out the subcontractors were toting RPGs around Afghanistan there would be severe consequences.
In addition to finding the illegal RPGs, Ben discovered many of the sub contractor guards had obviously fake ID cards (made of paper rather than the issued plastic, coded IDs, etc...) or no ID at all. That's a big deal considering Afghanistan is unique in that the PSCs are allowed to hire local companies as subcontractors to supply guards for the convoys. This isn't typically done because you're likely to get insurgents and infiltrators who may be sympathetic to the enemy unless you really do a thorough background check into each individual.
The purpose behind the IDs is to assure nobody has one who hasn't been thoroughly checked out, you can see how discovering fake IDs presents problems. Especially in light of the utter disregard for weapon laws and regulations.
So let's review, we have guards protecting the convoys of fuel, food, and various supplies to the ISAF soldiers and airmen at Camp Bastion with fake IDs, indicating nobody really knows who they are, carrying illegal RPGs the Taliban would love to get their hands on.
Wouldn't you imagine the Regional Operations Manager, the senior person on site, would want to know about this and correct it immediately? I certainly would.
This is where the story really gets strange...
Ben states that when he reported the issues to Mr. L., Regional Operations Manager for Compass at HRDC, after making his report Ben was instructed by Mr. L. as follows:
1. Not to report anything, not even to the Intel cell.
2. Not to report anything to the military as lawfully required as it involved illegal weapons being utilised, stored, and transported by Compass employees
3. Not to use any phone or email to discuss non compliances or sensitive issues because the military will intercept it through their electronic eavesdropping
4. Daily situational reports (SITREP'S) needs to be hand delivered to him because they were too sensitive. (several were hand delivered and the company computer will verify this)
5. He confirmed that he knew carrying RPG’s is strictly forbidden.
6. He knew the weapons were illegal and that he knew some staff carried them as well as the other illegal weapon the DSHK (Degtyarov-Shpagin Krupnokaliberny - Russian / Soviet 12.7 mm Heavy Machine Gun),
Ben goes on to state that,
So, we have the Regional Ops Manager basically telling Ben he doesn't want him to say a word to anyone. He doesn't want the military to find out what's happening all around them because, Ben believes, according to a declassified U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee investigation report US Senate Armed Services Committe Report, he learned of much later, Compass had come under scrutiny before and it wasn't good. Here's more from the Australian press back in 2010: Australian Press on Compass
One quote from the Report almost foreshadows what Ben would discover at HRDC/Camp Bastion:
Continued...
For the Compliance Officer to act as if they just aren't there(or even more bizarre, she doesn't know what one looks like) is an astounding situation. According to Ben, Ms. H. went on to explain that she never signed her compliance sheets because "she knew from her background as an Australian Police Officer not to sign things like that".
Ben believed the implication being she knew if the officials at Supreme or any of the military commanders in the ISAF found out the subcontractors were toting RPGs around Afghanistan there would be severe consequences.
In addition to finding the illegal RPGs, Ben discovered many of the sub contractor guards had obviously fake ID cards (made of paper rather than the issued plastic, coded IDs, etc...) or no ID at all. That's a big deal considering Afghanistan is unique in that the PSCs are allowed to hire local companies as subcontractors to supply guards for the convoys. This isn't typically done because you're likely to get insurgents and infiltrators who may be sympathetic to the enemy unless you really do a thorough background check into each individual.
The purpose behind the IDs is to assure nobody has one who hasn't been thoroughly checked out, you can see how discovering fake IDs presents problems. Especially in light of the utter disregard for weapon laws and regulations.
So let's review, we have guards protecting the convoys of fuel, food, and various supplies to the ISAF soldiers and airmen at Camp Bastion with fake IDs, indicating nobody really knows who they are, carrying illegal RPGs the Taliban would love to get their hands on.
Wouldn't you imagine the Regional Operations Manager, the senior person on site, would want to know about this and correct it immediately? I certainly would.
This is where the story really gets strange...
Ben states that when he reported the issues to Mr. L., Regional Operations Manager for Compass at HRDC, after making his report Ben was instructed by Mr. L. as follows:
1. Not to report anything, not even to the Intel cell.
2. Not to report anything to the military as lawfully required as it involved illegal weapons being utilised, stored, and transported by Compass employees
3. Not to use any phone or email to discuss non compliances or sensitive issues because the military will intercept it through their electronic eavesdropping
4. Daily situational reports (SITREP'S) needs to be hand delivered to him because they were too sensitive. (several were hand delivered and the company computer will verify this)
5. He confirmed that he knew carrying RPG’s is strictly forbidden.
6. He knew the weapons were illegal and that he knew some staff carried them as well as the other illegal weapon the DSHK (Degtyarov-Shpagin Krupnokaliberny - Russian / Soviet 12.7 mm Heavy Machine Gun),
Ben goes on to state that,
"When I got the advice from Mr. L. I thought it was very odd and contrary to what the company wanted and contrary to the documents I had read elsewhere, that Mr. L. was advising me not to advise anyone further including our own Intel officer and not to report on the matter."
So, we have the Regional Ops Manager basically telling Ben he doesn't want him to say a word to anyone. He doesn't want the military to find out what's happening all around them because, Ben believes, according to a declassified U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee investigation report US Senate Armed Services Committe Report, he learned of much later, Compass had come under scrutiny before and it wasn't good. Here's more from the Australian press back in 2010: Australian Press on Compass
One quote from the Report almost foreshadows what Ben would discover at HRDC/Camp Bastion:
"Failures to adequately vet, train and supervise armed security personnel have been wide spread among DOD Private Security Contractors, posing a grave risk to U.S. and coalition troops as well as Afghan civilians."
Indeed, the utter lack of knowing who you hired, armed and allowed on to an ISAF Base populated by U.S. and other coalition military personnel would pose a grave threat. How do you know who is and who is not a member of the Taliban? How do you know who is or is not sympathetic to the Taliban? You don't. Throw in the aspect of un accounted for RPGs rolling out the gate for good measure and you have a perfect storm of "grave danger".
Continued...
edit on 12-28-2012 by Springer because: (no reason given)
Fast and Furious Afghanistan: More Illegal Weapons in The Hands of The Enemy? pg. 3
Considering the fact that RPGs were and are completely in violation of Afghanistan law, every DOD, ISAF, NATO, and UN regulation on the books it's understandable why nobody accounted for them or kept records of who took one out.
Think about that for a moment, if you're a Taliban member or even just a sympathizer, according to what Ben reports, all you need to do is cruise over to the HRDC, get on with Compass' subcontractor PSC and you can have an RPG that nobody will ever miss(!). I don't know what they're selling for over there but I bet to a guy who makes $70.00 a month (Average wages for a guard employed by the Afghanistan government) it's quite a temptation. I would further argue that to a member of the Taliban an RPG is worth more than money.
Ben goes on to say,
Considering Ben states he had reported, RPGs inside company guard vehicles on their way out of the compound, Guards with faked or no ID, weapons gone missing, intel reports of guards defecting to the Taliban with convoy equipment (and presumably weapons), intel reports that some of the guards are actually members of the Taliban (with fake IDs that wouldn't be surprising surprising), insurgents fighting within the compound, and several other unacceptable situations, it's astounding to me that Ben was told to forget about it all and move on to "other things more meaningful" by management.
Really?!
The complete breakdown of security isn't "meaningful" to a security company's top on site management?!
What comes next is one of the most intriguing stories of corruption, cover up, and maltreatment we've been told in a long time...
Ben states that he ignored Mr. L.'s instructions,
Apparently that wasn't appreciated by management, on February 14, 2011 Mr. L. fired Ben.
Are you starting to see picture here? Ben says he tries to warn the management and the management's response is to lock him down and make sure he can't talk. If true, not what one would consider the actions of a company that is ethical or looking to ensure the safety of anything but their lucrative contract.
It gets better, or worse if you're Ben Timmons...
Apparently Mr. L. and Mr. D.M. had discovered that Ben had attempted to contact someone at Supreme Group regarding the gross lack of security and the extreme threat to the safety of the convoy and ISAF personnel Ben says he witnessed. (Supreme Group had done an audit on Compass not long before this (we have a copy) and it wasn't complimentary, and if they got caught in non-compliance, according to Ben, it may have put an end to the cash flow pouring into Compass' coffers and Operations Managers would no longer be needed.)
This was not good and Ben says Mr. L. became very agitated and raised his voice saying, ”I have had 20 years in the police force, I know how to deal with people like you."
Apparently he did.
The next three days, (14 - 16 February, 2011) Ben says he was left in his room incommunicado.
Continued...
Considering the fact that RPGs were and are completely in violation of Afghanistan law, every DOD, ISAF, NATO, and UN regulation on the books it's understandable why nobody accounted for them or kept records of who took one out.
Think about that for a moment, if you're a Taliban member or even just a sympathizer, according to what Ben reports, all you need to do is cruise over to the HRDC, get on with Compass' subcontractor PSC and you can have an RPG that nobody will ever miss(!). I don't know what they're selling for over there but I bet to a guy who makes $70.00 a month (Average wages for a guard employed by the Afghanistan government) it's quite a temptation. I would further argue that to a member of the Taliban an RPG is worth more than money.
Ben goes on to say,
"This aspect of RPG’s being stored, transported, and distributed was just a few of the problems which were all noted to the ROM and his Assistant Regional Operations Manager (AROM,) Mr. D. (also a New Zealand National) where I was instructed, don’t investigate or report anything and move onto things more meaningful."
Considering Ben states he had reported, RPGs inside company guard vehicles on their way out of the compound, Guards with faked or no ID, weapons gone missing, intel reports of guards defecting to the Taliban with convoy equipment (and presumably weapons), intel reports that some of the guards are actually members of the Taliban (with fake IDs that wouldn't be surprising surprising), insurgents fighting within the compound, and several other unacceptable situations, it's astounding to me that Ben was told to forget about it all and move on to "other things more meaningful" by management.
Really?!
The complete breakdown of security isn't "meaningful" to a security company's top on site management?!
What comes next is one of the most intriguing stories of corruption, cover up, and maltreatment we've been told in a long time...
Ben states that he ignored Mr. L.'s instructions,
"on the 3rd February, after Mr. L. instructed me not to, I did advise other pertinent staff, specifically of the RPG'S."
Apparently that wasn't appreciated by management, on February 14, 2011 Mr. L. fired Ben.
"Late that afternoon I was called into his office. He told me my contract was terminated. I was told to hand over my weapons. Mr. L. and another person whose name I don't remember took me back to my room. Mr. L. asked for my ID, which I said was in the vehicle. They went through the room and confiscated other equipment that I had. When they left Mr. L. said I couldn't leave my room and told me not to go anywhere.
They then came back with more staff and went through my room again and took the company laptop, documents and reports. They pulled the internet cable.
I was isolated.
Mr. L. and Mr. D.M. then came back a third time. They went through things again and confiscated my personal laptop and documents. At this time I had a discussion with Mr. L. that the laptop was my personal item and they were not taking it. Mr. L. told me that we can do it the easy way or the hard way.
I requested to be taken to military police. Mr. L. advised me “this was a civilian post and we don't answer to the military and the police are not coming”.
Are you starting to see picture here? Ben says he tries to warn the management and the management's response is to lock him down and make sure he can't talk. If true, not what one would consider the actions of a company that is ethical or looking to ensure the safety of anything but their lucrative contract.
It gets better, or worse if you're Ben Timmons...
Apparently Mr. L. and Mr. D.M. had discovered that Ben had attempted to contact someone at Supreme Group regarding the gross lack of security and the extreme threat to the safety of the convoy and ISAF personnel Ben says he witnessed. (Supreme Group had done an audit on Compass not long before this (we have a copy) and it wasn't complimentary, and if they got caught in non-compliance, according to Ben, it may have put an end to the cash flow pouring into Compass' coffers and Operations Managers would no longer be needed.)
This was not good and Ben says Mr. L. became very agitated and raised his voice saying, ”I have had 20 years in the police force, I know how to deal with people like you."
Apparently he did.
The next three days, (14 - 16 February, 2011) Ben says he was left in his room incommunicado.
Continued...
edit on 12-28-2012 by Springer because: (no reason given)
Fast and Furious Afghanistan: More Illegal Weapons in The Hands of The Enemy? pg. 4
On 16th February, 2011 Ben was driven to Camp Bastion by Compass employees, supposedly to catch a flight to Dubai, so he could meet with the Country Operations Manager for Compass (the biggest boss in country), Mr. Mc. Since flying to Dubai was the traditional method of exiting Afghanistan for Compass employees he thought nothing was amiss. Ben believed he was going to meet with Mr. Mc. and finally have the opportunity to speak with someone at Compass who would actually listen to him and do something about the terrible situation at Camp Bastion/HRDC.
Once they reached Camp Bastion Ben's belongings were searched by the security staff and he immediately asked to speak to the supervisor. Knowing he was to catch a flight Dubai in 20 minutes he knew his time was short...
Ben says he never heard from "S." again. Not only that, he did not fly to Dubai as is routine, Ben says he was flown to Kandahar instead by order of Mr. Mc.
Looking at this from the perspective of a rational thinking person, this makes no sense to us either. Why would Mr. Mc., presumably a very busy guy running all the operations for a Private Security Contractor in the biggest combat theater on the planet, want to waste an entire day flying to Kandahar only to fly back to Dubai (Compass' global headquarters) with Ben?
You can draw your own conclusions, but, based on the way Ben describes what happens next, I think there were some very nefarious plans in the offing.
Ben was assigned to a room at the Supreme Group Facility in Kandahar...
At this point Ben is at another Supreme Group facility, locked up in a room, incommunicado, and not knowing what's happening all because, as he puts it, he tried to do the right thing, the job his manager, Mr. L., assigned him.
What comes next sounds like something straight out of detective novel or the "how to keep a whistleblower from blowing their whistle handbook".
Continued...
On 16th February, 2011 Ben was driven to Camp Bastion by Compass employees, supposedly to catch a flight to Dubai, so he could meet with the Country Operations Manager for Compass (the biggest boss in country), Mr. Mc. Since flying to Dubai was the traditional method of exiting Afghanistan for Compass employees he thought nothing was amiss. Ben believed he was going to meet with Mr. Mc. and finally have the opportunity to speak with someone at Compass who would actually listen to him and do something about the terrible situation at Camp Bastion/HRDC.
Once they reached Camp Bastion Ben's belongings were searched by the security staff and he immediately asked to speak to the supervisor. Knowing he was to catch a flight Dubai in 20 minutes he knew his time was short...
" Immediately after that I asked to speak to the supervisors. I was taken to the Military Police and I asked to speak to the Commanding Officer. I was taken to a staff sergeant. She was the head official at the time. Her first name was S. I cannot remember her last name.
I believe she was Military Police Royal Airforce. I told S. what had happened and what I had found. I explained to her that I needed to be on a plane in 15 minutes. Compass had booked me on a plane to Dubai, which is normal procedure, to meet with head officials at Compass.
I gave her details of whom and what was involved (being the illegal weapons and my detainment back at Supreme). S. took the details and advised me that she would contact me once I arrived back in New Zealand."
Ben says he never heard from "S." again. Not only that, he did not fly to Dubai as is routine, Ben says he was flown to Kandahar instead by order of Mr. Mc.
" Normally staff flies from Bastion to Dubai, however Mr. Mc., who is the Country Manager for Compass changed my flight where instead I flew from Bastion to Kandahar. From memory it was Mr. L. who told me that Mr. Mc. wanted to meet me in Kandahar before I went on to Dubai.
I understood that I was meant to have a meeting with Mr. Mc. in Dubai on the 17th. I do not understand why he needed to fly from Dubai to Kandahar then back to Dubai with me.
I flew into Kandahar on 16th February and was picked up by an individual at about 12.46pm and taken to another Compass employee named J., who was a New Zealand National. J. was assigned at another Supreme Group complex that was just three or four minutes drive from the Kandahar airport."
Looking at this from the perspective of a rational thinking person, this makes no sense to us either. Why would Mr. Mc., presumably a very busy guy running all the operations for a Private Security Contractor in the biggest combat theater on the planet, want to waste an entire day flying to Kandahar only to fly back to Dubai (Compass' global headquarters) with Ben?
You can draw your own conclusions, but, based on the way Ben describes what happens next, I think there were some very nefarious plans in the offing.
Ben was assigned to a room at the Supreme Group Facility in Kandahar...
" When I got there J. informed me that I was to meet Mr. Mc. the next day here in Kandahar. I stayed isolated on sight at the Supreme complex. I was not given access to phone or internet and on questioning J. why, J. replied he was instructed by Mr. Mc. not to give me access. I was kept in isolation in a room that was well away from everyone. I appeared to be in someone else's room of which was away on holiday.
At about 8:06pm I asked J. where the nearest Military Police post was and he refused to take me there. He further said that it was a 1/2 hour walk and that he did not have a phone number for them.
At about 8:30pm J. entered my room with an armed guard and informed me that he was posting the guard at the door so that I did not leave and further said “if I attempted to leave that he (J.) would forcibly put me put back in my room.
At this stage I was detained and kept incommunicado again."
At this point Ben is at another Supreme Group facility, locked up in a room, incommunicado, and not knowing what's happening all because, as he puts it, he tried to do the right thing, the job his manager, Mr. L., assigned him.
What comes next sounds like something straight out of detective novel or the "how to keep a whistleblower from blowing their whistle handbook".
Continued...
edit on 12-28-2012 by Springer because: (no reason given)
Fast and Furious Afghanistan: More Illegal Weapons in The Hands of The Enemy? pg. 5
A Trip Through Kandahar:
Ben says that around 9:00PM J. returned with approximately 10 Compass protection force members one of whom was Mr. D. who Ben recognized from his orientation training, and told Ben they were going to take him "somewhere else" and ordered Ben to get in a car.
At this point Ben had no idea where they were taking him, all J. would say was that they wanted to make sure Ben "didn't go anywhere else". Ben could only speculate they were removing him from the compound to keep him under tighter wraps so he couldn't get to the Military Police and report the fact he was being held against his will and give a full report on the illicit activity he knew was going on at Camp Bastion.
We must remember that at this point Ben says the only military official who knew anything about this whole affair was British Staff Sergeant "S.", who would have figured Ben was in Dubai at this time and likely being processed out to return to his home in New Zealand. Nobody knew where Ben was except the people he claims were holding him against his will, and now they were driving him through the back streets of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
I asked Ben if it crossed it mind that he may never get home. The situation, as he describes it, would make it easy for someone who wanted to teach Ben a lesson or, worse yet, silence Ben permanently. (Reminds one of the old Las Vegas Mob in a way.) He told me that he did fear for his life, he was in a car with several armed men who weren't happy with him, and clueless as to where he was being taken. He had been removed from the relative safety of the compound and was out in the back streets of Kandahar, not exactly the safest place to be after dark.
After a few minutes the car arrived at a military checkpoint and Ben saw his opportunity.
After being forced back into the vehicle, Ben was now sandwiched between two men one of whom was Mr. D..
According to Ben, Mr. D. was upset about his crew being taken out into Kandahar and away from the safety of the Supreme Group compound at this time of night and claimed Ben had put them in danger.
Oh the irony.
Ben believes Mr. D. was not told why he had to do what he was doing, he was simply ordered by Mr. B. (Regional Operations Manager) who was apparently ordered by Mr. Mc. to make sure Ben was secured and not allowed to speak to anyone.
After the car ride Ben arrived at another facility in Kandahar and was met by Mr. B. who wanted to know what was going on. Ben states he had a long conversation with Mr. B. and informed him of all the issues with HRDC and Compass - Camp Bastion.
Ben was finally informed by Mr. B. that Mr. Mc. would be meeting with him in the morning.
Continued...
A Trip Through Kandahar:
Ben says that around 9:00PM J. returned with approximately 10 Compass protection force members one of whom was Mr. D. who Ben recognized from his orientation training, and told Ben they were going to take him "somewhere else" and ordered Ben to get in a car.
At this point Ben had no idea where they were taking him, all J. would say was that they wanted to make sure Ben "didn't go anywhere else". Ben could only speculate they were removing him from the compound to keep him under tighter wraps so he couldn't get to the Military Police and report the fact he was being held against his will and give a full report on the illicit activity he knew was going on at Camp Bastion.
We must remember that at this point Ben says the only military official who knew anything about this whole affair was British Staff Sergeant "S.", who would have figured Ben was in Dubai at this time and likely being processed out to return to his home in New Zealand. Nobody knew where Ben was except the people he claims were holding him against his will, and now they were driving him through the back streets of Kandahar, Afghanistan.
I asked Ben if it crossed it mind that he may never get home. The situation, as he describes it, would make it easy for someone who wanted to teach Ben a lesson or, worse yet, silence Ben permanently. (Reminds one of the old Las Vegas Mob in a way.) He told me that he did fear for his life, he was in a car with several armed men who weren't happy with him, and clueless as to where he was being taken. He had been removed from the relative safety of the compound and was out in the back streets of Kandahar, not exactly the safest place to be after dark.
After a few minutes the car arrived at a military checkpoint and Ben saw his opportunity.
” While we were driving through the back streets of Kandahar, which did not appear to be a direct route, not knowing where I was being taken, or for what reason, when the vehicle stopped at a well lit military check point, I immediately exited the vehicle, by choice. The guard who were sitting in the back seat with me grabbed my vest from behind and then I could hear him on his radio calling for assistance.
The military guard at the check point had come out at this point. I called for assistance to the guard saying "help I've been kidnapped". Straight after that I was surrounded by the Compass Force Protection crew which emanated from the other Compass support vehicles.
As I was surrounded still standing outside the vehicle the (Compass) guard on the back gets out from the left side, comes around to my position on the right hand side and started kicking the sides of my legs, trying to get me to get back in the vehicle.That didn't have any affect so he started to bash me on the back of my head. While my head was down the back of my hand, which was holding onto the top of the door frame to the vehicle was also hit several times.
At some point another guard entered the back of the vehicle and he was pulling me into the vehicle. There were approximately 5 people that were pulling me and hitting me and I ended up being forcibly put back into the vehicle. This was witnessed by the guards at the checkpoint."
After being forced back into the vehicle, Ben was now sandwiched between two men one of whom was Mr. D..
According to Ben, Mr. D. was upset about his crew being taken out into Kandahar and away from the safety of the Supreme Group compound at this time of night and claimed Ben had put them in danger.
Oh the irony.
Ben believes Mr. D. was not told why he had to do what he was doing, he was simply ordered by Mr. B. (Regional Operations Manager) who was apparently ordered by Mr. Mc. to make sure Ben was secured and not allowed to speak to anyone.
After the car ride Ben arrived at another facility in Kandahar and was met by Mr. B. who wanted to know what was going on. Ben states he had a long conversation with Mr. B. and informed him of all the issues with HRDC and Compass - Camp Bastion.
" Mr. B. was very concerned about the RPG’s. He outlined that if what I told him was true that those involved would be sacked without question, irrespective of who or what they are. He also went into detail that in the last few years he had been personally involved in the confiscation and destruction of such weapons as per required by regulation and mentioned a drawer full of certificates of verification of destruction."
Ben was finally informed by Mr. B. that Mr. Mc. would be meeting with him in the morning.
Continued...
edit on 12-28-2012 by Springer because: (no reason given)
Fast and Furious Afghanistan: More Illegal Weapons in The Hands of The Enemy? pg. 6
After this conversation Ben was taken by Mr. D. to the room he was to stay in for the night and upon arrival to the room Mr. D. proceeded to search through all of Ben's belongings. Through this search Mr. D. found Compass reports that Ben had hoped to keep as evidence and confiscated them.
Mr. D. informed Ben that an armed guard would be in the room with him and more armed guards would be placed outside the door and if Ben tried to leave "there would be consequences". In spite of this Ben decided to write up a report of all the events he had witnessed and endured while they were fresh in his mind on his personal computer since his company notebook computer, that held all of the original reports, had been confiscated by Mr. L. back at Camp Bastion.
Ben states he stored a copy this report on a zip drive and placed the drive on a chain around his neck for safe keeping.
Ben didn't sleep at all that night between working on the report and the "in room" guards being changed every two hours.
The next morning, around 11:00am, 17 February, 2011 Mr. D. arrives at Ben's room to inform him that Mr. Mc. had arrived and was waiting to speak with Ben.
After returning to his reportedly ransacked room Ben claims he was subjected to a "personal" or "body" search during which the zip drive was discovered by Mr. D. and taken from Ben "to have the serial number checked to make sure it wasn't Compass ISS Property". Ben states when the zip drive was returned to him the report he had saved on it the night before was the only thing missing from the drive.
Later that afternoon Ben, Mr. D., St. "the guard", and Mr. Mc. left the facility and went to Kandahar Airport to get on the flight to Dubai.
Ben states that it was obvious St. was there to keep Ben from "wandering off" or speaking to anyone outside of their group of three.
Continued...
"I believe this is when I found out that Mr. Mc. was flying in from Dubai in the morning to meet with me, which seemed odd, given that I was meant to be going to Dubai to see him and why risk my safety flying me to Kandahar then forcibly take me out of a secured spot and move to another location through a hotspot, only to be brought back to the safe location in the morning!
I still didn't understand why he would be flying to Kandahar to meet me only to fly with me back to Dubai"
After this conversation Ben was taken by Mr. D. to the room he was to stay in for the night and upon arrival to the room Mr. D. proceeded to search through all of Ben's belongings. Through this search Mr. D. found Compass reports that Ben had hoped to keep as evidence and confiscated them.
Mr. D. informed Ben that an armed guard would be in the room with him and more armed guards would be placed outside the door and if Ben tried to leave "there would be consequences". In spite of this Ben decided to write up a report of all the events he had witnessed and endured while they were fresh in his mind on his personal computer since his company notebook computer, that held all of the original reports, had been confiscated by Mr. L. back at Camp Bastion.
Ben states he stored a copy this report on a zip drive and placed the drive on a chain around his neck for safe keeping.
Ben didn't sleep at all that night between working on the report and the "in room" guards being changed every two hours.
The next morning, around 11:00am, 17 February, 2011 Mr. D. arrives at Ben's room to inform him that Mr. Mc. had arrived and was waiting to speak with Ben.
" At about 11am Mr. D. arrives back into my room and said that Mr. Mc. had arrived. At about 11:30 I am escorted to Mr. Mc.'s office (on foot). I was taken down a long corridor and I am waiting outside his office. Mr. Mc. comes to the door.
Inside the office were Mr. B. and Mr. Mc.. Mr. Mc. see's me, takes his phone out of his pocket and then closes his door, leaving me standing with Mr. D. and another couple of guards outside the office. I could hear him talking, what appeared to be on the phone for a short time.
I was left waiting outside his office door for about 20 minutes.
The door opened, Mr. D. instructed me to go inside.
I was sitting in front of Mr. Mc.. He advised me that we were going to Dubai after lunch and that I can tell my story to Compass Legal. This was the all important meeting in a nut shell start and finish. I didn't say anything to him apart from Yes when he asked me if I understood.
He instructed Mr. D. to take me to the dining facility to have some lunch before I get on the plane. I left the office; go down the corridor, straight across the open covered walkway was the dining room. Mr. D. instructed me to walk towards that direction which was to the dining area. I said that I wasn't hungry and continued to walk back toward my room.
Mr. D. told me to stop walking. I said I didn't want anything to eat.
He then got on the radio. He told me to wait for a few minutes. I was then taken back to my room.
On my way to my room I noticed St., who had been in the vehicle at the previous mentioned check point, and was part of the assault, standing out in the open towards my room. I passed St. and turned down the alley way towards my room. There were a lot of guards standing outside my room.
I went into my room and found all my personal items and equipment strewn all over my room. It was obvious that it was been rummaged through and thrown everywhere. I asked what was going on. Mr. D. told me that he was instructed by Mr. Mc. to go through my gear while I was at the meeting with him.I believe they were still doing this while I was meant to go and have lunch. But because I didn't want to eat they were caught short of time and in the middle of the search hence Mr. D. instructing me to stop walking."
After returning to his reportedly ransacked room Ben claims he was subjected to a "personal" or "body" search during which the zip drive was discovered by Mr. D. and taken from Ben "to have the serial number checked to make sure it wasn't Compass ISS Property". Ben states when the zip drive was returned to him the report he had saved on it the night before was the only thing missing from the drive.
Later that afternoon Ben, Mr. D., St. "the guard", and Mr. Mc. left the facility and went to Kandahar Airport to get on the flight to Dubai.
”I was then escorted to the Kandahar airport by Will and the guard named St. who was also part of the armed guards who uplifted me from my initial location in Kandahar 16 Feb 9.00 pm and who restrained me during the assault at the military check point."
Ben states that it was obvious St. was there to keep Ben from "wandering off" or speaking to anyone outside of their group of three.
Continued...
edit on 12-27-2012 by Springer because: (no reason given)
Fast and Furious Afghanistan: More Illegal Weapons in The Hands of The Enemy? pg. 7
Upon arrival at Dubai Ben was taken to the Compass ISS offices and had a meeting with representatives of Compass' Legal Department. Ben states he was informed that he was dismissed for breaching his contract by communicating his findings to people outside the company, namely Supreme Group.
What's astounding here is that Ben claims he had been trying to reach Compass legal from 10 February, 2011 through 14 February, 2011 to report what was going on at Camp Bastion in the hope someone would investigate and correct the gross non compliance and illegal weapons issue. He says he sent emails and even called on the telephone, all to no avail, he never got a response. Ben believes it took learning that he had informed Supreme Group (thus putting the contract at risk) for legal to get interested...
It was at this meeting Ben realized the report he typed up and saved on the zip drive the night before had been deleted from the drive when it was taken from him in Kandahar, again, it was the only file missing from the drive. The meeting lasted another hour and a half or so and Ben says the legal team took notes. We'd love to see those notes.
Ben goes on to say that during this meeting with legal Mr. Mc. admitted he had instructed employees of Compass to avoid reporting non compliance issues because of the negative impact they would have on the ongoing contracts, everybody would be out of a job. Ben was then informed by Compass legal that he had a confidentiality clause in his contract and that if he talked about this Compass would bring legal action against him.
Ben believes they figured a bunch of lawyers under the umbrella of a large corporation would frighten a regular working man like himself, this story and all the letters he has written are evidence to the contrary.
Home at Last and Looking For Action:
Ben finally made it back to New Zealand on 19 February, 2011, he began his work at trying to blow the whistle on the surreal circumstances surrounding Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. Ben started researching who had jurisdiction, which agency could initiate an investigation into what is in his mind a terrible situation. To his dismay the standard response has been "that happened in Afghanistan, we don't have jurisdiction" "we looked into it and it didn't happen".
He's received a few variations on that theme as you can tell by reviewing the supporting documents linked below, but, no matter how well Ben documents the jurisdiction, responsibility, and common sense of investigating a situation wherein illegal weapons are being used by civilian contractors and within easy reach of our enemies, if not being sold to our enemies, Ben has met with what appears to be the classic brush off or an utter lack of desire to really show it has been investigated and taken seriously.
Considering it took tremendous pressure from the media to get any of our politicians to dig into the "Fast and Furious" scandal, in spite of the fact one of our border patrol agents was murdered with a rifle ATAF allowed to "walk across" our border , I'm sad to say it's not surprising Ben believes he has had no success in getting any attention and very little, if any indication, much less evidence of, a legitimate investigation has been done to see if his claims have any merit.
The latest responses to Ben's inquiries were received by him on 19 December, 2012 (we were just made aware of them moments ago while publishing this article) from US ARMY CID seem to indicate there was "an investigation".
Continued...
Upon arrival at Dubai Ben was taken to the Compass ISS offices and had a meeting with representatives of Compass' Legal Department. Ben states he was informed that he was dismissed for breaching his contract by communicating his findings to people outside the company, namely Supreme Group.
What's astounding here is that Ben claims he had been trying to reach Compass legal from 10 February, 2011 through 14 February, 2011 to report what was going on at Camp Bastion in the hope someone would investigate and correct the gross non compliance and illegal weapons issue. He says he sent emails and even called on the telephone, all to no avail, he never got a response. Ben believes it took learning that he had informed Supreme Group (thus putting the contract at risk) for legal to get interested...
" From the 10th February to the 14th February I had tried to contact Compass through phone and emails about the compliance issues but received no replies. Now, 17 Feb, they wanted to know about the issues after I contacted Supreme."
It was at this meeting Ben realized the report he typed up and saved on the zip drive the night before had been deleted from the drive when it was taken from him in Kandahar, again, it was the only file missing from the drive. The meeting lasted another hour and a half or so and Ben says the legal team took notes. We'd love to see those notes.
Ben goes on to say that during this meeting with legal Mr. Mc. admitted he had instructed employees of Compass to avoid reporting non compliance issues because of the negative impact they would have on the ongoing contracts, everybody would be out of a job. Ben was then informed by Compass legal that he had a confidentiality clause in his contract and that if he talked about this Compass would bring legal action against him.
Ben believes they figured a bunch of lawyers under the umbrella of a large corporation would frighten a regular working man like himself, this story and all the letters he has written are evidence to the contrary.
Home at Last and Looking For Action:
Ben finally made it back to New Zealand on 19 February, 2011, he began his work at trying to blow the whistle on the surreal circumstances surrounding Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. Ben started researching who had jurisdiction, which agency could initiate an investigation into what is in his mind a terrible situation. To his dismay the standard response has been "that happened in Afghanistan, we don't have jurisdiction" "we looked into it and it didn't happen".
He's received a few variations on that theme as you can tell by reviewing the supporting documents linked below, but, no matter how well Ben documents the jurisdiction, responsibility, and common sense of investigating a situation wherein illegal weapons are being used by civilian contractors and within easy reach of our enemies, if not being sold to our enemies, Ben has met with what appears to be the classic brush off or an utter lack of desire to really show it has been investigated and taken seriously.
Considering it took tremendous pressure from the media to get any of our politicians to dig into the "Fast and Furious" scandal, in spite of the fact one of our border patrol agents was murdered with a rifle ATAF allowed to "walk across" our border , I'm sad to say it's not surprising Ben believes he has had no success in getting any attention and very little, if any indication, much less evidence of, a legitimate investigation has been done to see if his claims have any merit.
The latest responses to Ben's inquiries were received by him on 19 December, 2012 (we were just made aware of them moments ago while publishing this article) from US ARMY CID seem to indicate there was "an investigation".
Sir,
The complaint you filed was investigated by my office and other
authorities. I have read the file and had oversight into the
investigation. It was determined the allegations filed by you were
deemed to be unfounded, meaning did not occur, specifically those
involving illegal weapons trafficking. I'm assuming this was a
misunderstanding on your part, and not an intentional false report.
Additionally, the allegations you filed involved an foreign company,
owned and operated by a foreign nationals (NON-US Citizens), and was not
operating under a US Contract, therefore they are outside of the
investigative responsibility and authority of the US Army Criminal
Investigation Command. I recommend filing a criminal complaint with the
Federal Law Enforcement Agency from the companies country of origin.
Continued...
edit on 12-28-2012 by Springer because: (no reason given)
Fast and Furious Afghanistan: More Illegal Weapons in The Hands of The Enemy? pg. 8
Ben believes they simply asked the people who were involved and got told exactly what one would expect to be told in such a circumstance. Ben has responded to these latest emails with:
The following is from email correspondence Ben presents as being between himself and a U.S. Senator (one of several), indicating he has reached out to the highest levels of the U.S. Government.
Finally, it's not hard to see that Ben holds what he saw to be true, in the face of flat denials and even strident rebuttals he won't give up or give in. We believe this should be answered once and for all with at least a serious investigation that shouldn't require much in the way of resources considering we still have thousands of coalition forces in Afghanistan. Many of these forces are assigned to command and one would have to believe several of those would be the "Legal Officers" ordered by the DOD Directive (linked below) who not only have jurisdiction, but a responsibility, to take every report of PSC non-compliance seriously and investigate them.
As stated earlier in the article, Ben has written letters, sent emails, telephoned, and filed reports with just about every authority one could think of to alert about a situation like this; the U.S. Senate, U.S. and British DOD, the U.S. Army, the Afghanistan government, the New Zealand Police, Interpol, the list goes on and on.
So far, based on the record Ben has shared and the research we've been able to do, it doesn't appear there has been a serious inquiry into these allegations.
We will be doing a FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) inquiry into everything we can on this case and will update this thread as we gain new information.
In any case, we hope, at a minimum, this thread/story may help to cause somebody with the reach and power to get the attention of those who can make a difference to think it might be worthy of a closer look.
Below are a few links that support Ben's assertion that the ISAF/Coalition forces do have jurisdiction and reports from other sources of "issues" with the PSCs in Afghanistan. There's also a link to a declassified U.S> Senate Armed Services Committee Report investigating the PSC situation in Afghanistan.
It's also worth pointing out that this is not all of the documentation Ben has sent us and any media requests for more information will be honored to the best of our ability.
The full U.S. Armed Services Report of PSCs in Afghanistan:
US Senate Report
U.S. DOD Directive Proving Jurisdiction and Illustrating Responsibilities to Investigate Reports of PSC Non-Compliance:
U.S. DOD Directive
Updated (2011) U.S. DOD Directive Proving Jurisdiction and Illustrating Responsibilities to Investigate Reports of PSC Non-Compliance:
U.S. DOD Directive
Copy of completed (personal info redacted) Inspector General's Action Form indicating Ben reported the situation to the Inspector General's Office:
Inspector General CENTCOM Report
A recent article form the New York Daily News, October, 2012 indicating allegations of serious issues/violations with PSC staff in Afghanistan persist:
Recent News Reports of alleged issues with PSC staff in Afghanistan
Here's a link to a story where British Machine Guns, capable of firing 1000 round a minute, came up missing from HRDC (Helmand Regional Distribution Center) and went unreported for over a year until they were found at a battlefield being used by the Taliban against NATO/ISAF/U.S. military (Thanks to ATS Member "Brotherman" for finding it.):
Britsh Machine Guns from GRDC
Mr. TIMMINS, I'm not going to debate with you the merits of our
investigation nor try to explain to you our jurisdictional and
investigative limits. I'm sorry you do not agree with our finds or the
outcome.
Ben believes they simply asked the people who were involved and got told exactly what one would expect to be told in such a circumstance. Ben has responded to these latest emails with:
Sir,
There was absolutely no mistake on my part and I now have independent
eye witnesses so your finding of the multiple complaints now seem
inaccurate partly because others who participated, witnessed and knew
about these events were never questioned unlike the perpetrators who
naturally denied these events for reasons of self preservation in
regards to criminal prosecution and to falsely preserve the company's
contract status.
Before I relinquish the new information regarding the witnesses for your
verification I respectfully request a copy of the report you refer to in
your email so I can accurately address and correct your mistake.
Also and with respect, there seems a conflict in your comments as the
company and personnel involved in the crimes, some American, were
accompanying US forces in an AO controlled by US command and were
funded, as a subcontractor, by US taxpayers, therefore accountable under
varying US legislation.
The following is from email correspondence Ben presents as being between himself and a U.S. Senator (one of several), indicating he has reached out to the highest levels of the U.S. Government.
Dear Senator redacted
Thank you for your correspondence 17 June 2011. My name in Benjamin Timmins, I live at redacted, New Zealand.
I am hoping to contact someone who is able to help in relation to Contractor abuse Gross Negligence and illegal activities in of an Australian owned Private Security Company (PSC) involved with US Funded contracts in Afghanistan.
This particular Contractor concerned is Compass ISS and is registered as a supplier of security services to the US Government with a Central Contractor Registration (DUNS: 561680427).
This involves.. Illegal weapons as deemed by ISAF and the Afghan MOI being used, stored, transported, and distributed by an Australian owned Private Security Company (PSC) operating in Afghanistan and the use of US and UK staff to Illegally detain, keep incommunicado then Kidnapped and assaulted one of its own managers who is New Zealand National and retired military personal because he was attempting to report to the authorities accounts of illegal weapons, company abuse and Illegal activities of the PSC and Safety concerning personnel, ISAF convoys and its forces, Taliban infiltration and a raft of other concerns in and near camp Bastion.
There has also been Gross negligence of ISAF and the British Military Police because instead of investigating pursuant to varying Military directives, referred the matters involving illegal detainment, kidnapping and Assault, illegal weapons, Taliban staff and insurgents and illegal activities back to a civilian Logistic company who supplies NATO/ ISAF/ DoD with logistical necessities needed to maintain is operations but has no lawful jurisdiction and who hires the specific PSC who are the main offenders.
This also involves a Military Technical Agreement which has frustrated the Authorities because the Contractors involved are unable to be held accountable for their actions and where the same PSC has previously been arrested and investigated for the same and similar offences 2007, 2009 and in 2010 was investigated by the US Armed Services Committee but what I encountered was the same but occurred Feb 2011...
The attached documents outlines briefly the details and I respectfully ask you to view these documents and then please advise.
Finally, it's not hard to see that Ben holds what he saw to be true, in the face of flat denials and even strident rebuttals he won't give up or give in. We believe this should be answered once and for all with at least a serious investigation that shouldn't require much in the way of resources considering we still have thousands of coalition forces in Afghanistan. Many of these forces are assigned to command and one would have to believe several of those would be the "Legal Officers" ordered by the DOD Directive (linked below) who not only have jurisdiction, but a responsibility, to take every report of PSC non-compliance seriously and investigate them.
As stated earlier in the article, Ben has written letters, sent emails, telephoned, and filed reports with just about every authority one could think of to alert about a situation like this; the U.S. Senate, U.S. and British DOD, the U.S. Army, the Afghanistan government, the New Zealand Police, Interpol, the list goes on and on.
So far, based on the record Ben has shared and the research we've been able to do, it doesn't appear there has been a serious inquiry into these allegations.
We will be doing a FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) inquiry into everything we can on this case and will update this thread as we gain new information.
In any case, we hope, at a minimum, this thread/story may help to cause somebody with the reach and power to get the attention of those who can make a difference to think it might be worthy of a closer look.
Below are a few links that support Ben's assertion that the ISAF/Coalition forces do have jurisdiction and reports from other sources of "issues" with the PSCs in Afghanistan. There's also a link to a declassified U.S> Senate Armed Services Committee Report investigating the PSC situation in Afghanistan.
It's also worth pointing out that this is not all of the documentation Ben has sent us and any media requests for more information will be honored to the best of our ability.
The full U.S. Armed Services Report of PSCs in Afghanistan:
US Senate Report
U.S. DOD Directive Proving Jurisdiction and Illustrating Responsibilities to Investigate Reports of PSC Non-Compliance:
U.S. DOD Directive
Updated (2011) U.S. DOD Directive Proving Jurisdiction and Illustrating Responsibilities to Investigate Reports of PSC Non-Compliance:
U.S. DOD Directive
Copy of completed (personal info redacted) Inspector General's Action Form indicating Ben reported the situation to the Inspector General's Office:
Inspector General CENTCOM Report
A recent article form the New York Daily News, October, 2012 indicating allegations of serious issues/violations with PSC staff in Afghanistan persist:
Recent News Reports of alleged issues with PSC staff in Afghanistan
Here's a link to a story where British Machine Guns, capable of firing 1000 round a minute, came up missing from HRDC (Helmand Regional Distribution Center) and went unreported for over a year until they were found at a battlefield being used by the Taliban against NATO/ISAF/U.S. military (Thanks to ATS Member "Brotherman" for finding it.):
Britsh Machine Guns from GRDC
edit on 12-29-2012 by Springer because: (no reason given)
This is exactly why I am here. Strip away the middle man, kill the spin, and get the scoop right from the source. Amazing work Springer.
Trying to imagine how I'd feel if I were taken hostage by a rogue corporation, practicing their own version of freelance extraordinary rendition??? Seemingly with every major Government and law enforcement agency willing to be that obtuse ( or tainted )?
Chilling.
~Heff
Trying to imagine how I'd feel if I were taken hostage by a rogue corporation, practicing their own version of freelance extraordinary rendition??? Seemingly with every major Government and law enforcement agency willing to be that obtuse ( or tainted )?
Chilling.
~Heff
edit on 12/28/12 by Hefficide because: (no reason given)
Great post .
Aussie know this bloke well.
From your link
www.smh.com.au...
Aussie know this bloke well.
From your link
www.smh.com.au...
The company is owned by Peter McCosker, the son of the cricketer Rick McCosker. Read more: www.smh.com.au...
Simple solution, bring the troops home.
Typical government hypocrisy, spend trillions on weapons for themselves and the military industrial complex, disarm citizens.
Why do the "enemies" have US weapons? For the same reason we're there in the first place: money. Secondly, there has to be some sort of resistance. If there arent any more attacks, theres no "justification" to stay (not that theres any justification now).
Afghanis arent our "enemies". These are average Afghan citizens who are resisting foreign occupation. But our government can never admit that otherwise we'll be forced to leave. They have to be portrayed as "Taliban" or "terrorists" or "insurgents" or [insert brainwashing trigger word here].
92% of Afghans Never Heard of 9/11
They would be partially correct. Its for Afghanistan's strategic importance and natural resources.
The survey was conducted in those regions where the US encounters the most resistance.
This debunks the theory that Afghans who are fighting against the American occupation are doing so because they are loyal to the Taliban or Al-CIAeda.
Being attacked and occupied is enough motivation for anyone.
Typical government hypocrisy, spend trillions on weapons for themselves and the military industrial complex, disarm citizens.
Why do the "enemies" have US weapons? For the same reason we're there in the first place: money. Secondly, there has to be some sort of resistance. If there arent any more attacks, theres no "justification" to stay (not that theres any justification now).
Afghanis arent our "enemies". These are average Afghan citizens who are resisting foreign occupation. But our government can never admit that otherwise we'll be forced to leave. They have to be portrayed as "Taliban" or "terrorists" or "insurgents" or [insert brainwashing trigger word here].
92% of Afghans Never Heard of 9/11
A report (PDF) from the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) shows that 92 percent of those surveyed had never heard of the coordinated multiple attacks on US soil on September 11, 2001.
It also shows that four in 10 Afghans believe the US is on their soil in order to "destroy Islam or occupy Afghanistan."
They would be partially correct. Its for Afghanistan's strategic importance and natural resources.
The survey was conducted in those regions where the US encounters the most resistance.
This debunks the theory that Afghans who are fighting against the American occupation are doing so because they are loyal to the Taliban or Al-CIAeda.
Being attacked and occupied is enough motivation for anyone.
edit on 28-12-2012 by gladtobehere because: (no reason given)
reply to post by Springer
Incredible !
Kudos to Ben Timmons for giving ATS a huge exclusive !
This is the type of investigating and whistle-blowing that NEEDS to be seen and heard. Seems like anyone with a handful of cash can get an RPG from anyone working in this company, not to mention access to areas that are suppose to be secure. This endangers so many people ! ANYONE with a family member working at or near Camp Bastion, or ANYWHERE this company is supplying their services, should be requesting a formal investigation into this ! What a sad Company to be working for. Piss poor security, and people willing to coverup it all up, for the sake of money. The Bureaucracy of it all, is SO big that it takes a guy like Ben, to do what ANYONE with half a mind would do. QUESTION the WHY'S !!! I wonder how many other shady company's like this, are on the Government payroll ?
This is Huge !
Incredible !
Kudos to Ben Timmons for giving ATS a huge exclusive !
This is the type of investigating and whistle-blowing that NEEDS to be seen and heard. Seems like anyone with a handful of cash can get an RPG from anyone working in this company, not to mention access to areas that are suppose to be secure. This endangers so many people ! ANYONE with a family member working at or near Camp Bastion, or ANYWHERE this company is supplying their services, should be requesting a formal investigation into this ! What a sad Company to be working for. Piss poor security, and people willing to coverup it all up, for the sake of money. The Bureaucracy of it all, is SO big that it takes a guy like Ben, to do what ANYONE with half a mind would do. QUESTION the WHY'S !!! I wonder how many other shady company's like this, are on the Government payroll ?
This is Huge !
edit on 28-12-2012 by sonnny1 because: spelling
____________________
The british government is fabricating a diversion to
keep the wars going, all while dealing in the opium trade
as they always have.
____________________
The british government is fabricating a diversion to
keep the wars going, all while dealing in the opium trade
as they always have.
____________________
reply to post by gladtobehere
Did you even read the story?
They don't have US weapons.
The US government isn't giving them weapons, it is private contractors using/storing weapons that aren't used or authorized by coalition forces.
It is private contractors not vetting who get's employed by them
The fear here is that these weapons could be getting into the hands of insurgents either by being stolen or sold and Taliban insurgents (yes, they are very real) gaining access to "safe" areas like Camp Bastion.
And what the hell does a video about Chinese troops in America have to do with any of this??
Did you even read the story?
They don't have US weapons.
The US government isn't giving them weapons, it is private contractors using/storing weapons that aren't used or authorized by coalition forces.
It is private contractors not vetting who get's employed by them
The fear here is that these weapons could be getting into the hands of insurgents either by being stolen or sold and Taliban insurgents (yes, they are very real) gaining access to "safe" areas like Camp Bastion.
And what the hell does a video about Chinese troops in America have to do with any of this??
edit on 28/12/12 by Chadwickus because: (no reason given)
This is quite a long thread but I have read through it twice but if I have missed some key point then please correct me
But.
I see no evidence here that the PSC is providing arms to insurgents, all I see here is a thread about an employee being unfairly treated by highlighting that his colleagues where using illegal weapons. On the issue of them using illegal weapons, I recall reading a couple of books by ex-military guys who have worked with these PSC’s who talk about the need to get hold of decent weapons to match their opponents. It makes sense that PSC’s would want to have RPG’s and DSHK’s if the people who are potentially going to attack them have similar gear. Even if they are illegal if the Taliban have them and are targeting these convoys then it makes sense that the PSC’s would want to have similar weapons.
Everybody knows that some of the arms provided to the Afghan National Army do end up in the hands of the Taliban but for the most part their weapons are smuggled in from Pakistan. The same is bound to happen with Afghan nationals employed by these PSC’s they are going to sell their guns for a quick buck, and they are also going to do the same with their ID’s so they can be faked. They will also lose their jobs if caught, all it takes is for them to turn up and say “I lost my gun” and they’re out of a job.
This thread does not provide any solid evidence that PSC’s are providing weapons to the Taliban either independently or under the direction of the ISAF.
I am surprised that ATS is posting a thread like this, it is based on solely on the testimony of one former and admittedly disgruntled employee, I cannot see anything to corroborate what Mr. Timmons has to say. I get the feeling that he’s got pissed off at his old employers and decided to go to the media about what has happened to him they told him to beat it then he has gave his story to ATS because it might have some conspiracy angle.
It does not. This is just the story of a disgruntled employee, he could have told you that he saw Obama handing out free nukes to the Taliban and then provided you with an email he sent to his mum about it, but it would not make it true. I would be highly sceptical of this story, yes I do believe that some of these weapons might end up in the hands of the Taliban but I do not think that this is intentional nor do I think that any attempt to cover this up lead to Mr. Timmons treatment.
I think that Mr. Timmons is not telling us the whole story.
But.
I see no evidence here that the PSC is providing arms to insurgents, all I see here is a thread about an employee being unfairly treated by highlighting that his colleagues where using illegal weapons. On the issue of them using illegal weapons, I recall reading a couple of books by ex-military guys who have worked with these PSC’s who talk about the need to get hold of decent weapons to match their opponents. It makes sense that PSC’s would want to have RPG’s and DSHK’s if the people who are potentially going to attack them have similar gear. Even if they are illegal if the Taliban have them and are targeting these convoys then it makes sense that the PSC’s would want to have similar weapons.
Everybody knows that some of the arms provided to the Afghan National Army do end up in the hands of the Taliban but for the most part their weapons are smuggled in from Pakistan. The same is bound to happen with Afghan nationals employed by these PSC’s they are going to sell their guns for a quick buck, and they are also going to do the same with their ID’s so they can be faked. They will also lose their jobs if caught, all it takes is for them to turn up and say “I lost my gun” and they’re out of a job.
This thread does not provide any solid evidence that PSC’s are providing weapons to the Taliban either independently or under the direction of the ISAF.
I am surprised that ATS is posting a thread like this, it is based on solely on the testimony of one former and admittedly disgruntled employee, I cannot see anything to corroborate what Mr. Timmons has to say. I get the feeling that he’s got pissed off at his old employers and decided to go to the media about what has happened to him they told him to beat it then he has gave his story to ATS because it might have some conspiracy angle.
It does not. This is just the story of a disgruntled employee, he could have told you that he saw Obama handing out free nukes to the Taliban and then provided you with an email he sent to his mum about it, but it would not make it true. I would be highly sceptical of this story, yes I do believe that some of these weapons might end up in the hands of the Taliban but I do not think that this is intentional nor do I think that any attempt to cover this up lead to Mr. Timmons treatment.
I think that Mr. Timmons is not telling us the whole story.
edit on 28-12-2012 by OtherSideOfTheCoin because: (no reason given)
reply to post by Chadwickus
I can reiterate what I said but I dont know if that will help you.
The first problem is the fact that we are occupying foreign nations. EVERYTHING else is a consequence of this flawed policy.
Now to address the details.
The second problem is the premise that these people are our "enemies". We bomb and occupy nations and are then confused as to why they resent, resist and attack us... Actually our government does care why. They wont leave regardless.
Not sure which analogy to use to help you understand. Maybe something like a murder victim being viewed as an "enemy" or "insurgent" or "terrorist" because hes not willing to be killed "peacefully"?
As the article showed, most of the Afghans surveyed had no idea that the 9/11 attacks occurred and these were in regions where resistance to the American occupation was strongest. They werent "Taliban" or "insurgents" or whatever label you want to use which absolves the US of any responsibility. They are ordinary citizens fighting to free themselves of foreign occupation as allowed under any reasonable code of justice.
By the time we get to the weapons issue, its really another detail in a long list of problems which stem from the main dilemma: illegal occupation and a terribly flawed, imperialistic foreign policy.
I could simply say, "hey, this is bad, howd those bad guys get the bad weapons!? Stop it!", but that fails to address the bigger issue in all of this.
I can reiterate what I said but I dont know if that will help you.
The first problem is the fact that we are occupying foreign nations. EVERYTHING else is a consequence of this flawed policy.
Now to address the details.
The second problem is the premise that these people are our "enemies". We bomb and occupy nations and are then confused as to why they resent, resist and attack us... Actually our government does care why. They wont leave regardless.
Not sure which analogy to use to help you understand. Maybe something like a murder victim being viewed as an "enemy" or "insurgent" or "terrorist" because hes not willing to be killed "peacefully"?
As the article showed, most of the Afghans surveyed had no idea that the 9/11 attacks occurred and these were in regions where resistance to the American occupation was strongest. They werent "Taliban" or "insurgents" or whatever label you want to use which absolves the US of any responsibility. They are ordinary citizens fighting to free themselves of foreign occupation as allowed under any reasonable code of justice.
By the time we get to the weapons issue, its really another detail in a long list of problems which stem from the main dilemma: illegal occupation and a terribly flawed, imperialistic foreign policy.
I could simply say, "hey, this is bad, howd those bad guys get the bad weapons!? Stop it!", but that fails to address the bigger issue in all of this.
edit on 28-12-2012 by gladtobehere because: (no reason given)
reply to post by PvtHudson
It has nothing to do with “the government” really or Obama this thread is about a PSC allegedly providing guns to militants unintentionally that are meant for their own use (illegally) and a pissed of employee having a moan about it.
Obama and Bush have nothing to do with it, its even a Auzi PSC
It has nothing to do with “the government” really or Obama this thread is about a PSC allegedly providing guns to militants unintentionally that are meant for their own use (illegally) and a pissed of employee having a moan about it.
Obama and Bush have nothing to do with it, its even a Auzi PSC
Great post Springer.
That is quite a story and I'd care to bet he's far from the only person there to experience such incredible lapses in security as to make one wonder if were not intentional.
I'm sure it is.
To have a war on terror we need terrorists.
We can't have enemies who only have rocks to throw.
Ensuring insurgents access to weapons keeps the old GWOT running right along with occasional "bumps in the road" like the attack on Camp Bastion.
Sadly, this costs lives and money but the war MUST go on.
The war is their power, were it to end so would their gravy train of no-bid contracts.
This is the legacy of Cheney and Rumsfeld, the privatization of war for corporate profits at public expense.
There is much blood on their hands.
That is quite a story and I'd care to bet he's far from the only person there to experience such incredible lapses in security as to make one wonder if were not intentional.
I'm sure it is.
To have a war on terror we need terrorists.
We can't have enemies who only have rocks to throw.
Ensuring insurgents access to weapons keeps the old GWOT running right along with occasional "bumps in the road" like the attack on Camp Bastion.
Sadly, this costs lives and money but the war MUST go on.
The war is their power, were it to end so would their gravy train of no-bid contracts.
This is the legacy of Cheney and Rumsfeld, the privatization of war for corporate profits at public expense.
There is much blood on their hands.
Profit at any cost. Dead people? Kids. Women. Meh, so long as the bottom line is in the black.
A few months back, my community lost a fine, fine young man in the mountains of Afghanistan... His helicopter was shot down by Taliban fighters... I knew him when he was a small boy, I know his parents.
If this is verified and found to be true, I'll volunteer to throw the switch that opens the gallows floor.
Bring the troops home, and bring 'em home yesterday. Enough is enough. How much more blood to avenge nine eleven?
A few months back, my community lost a fine, fine young man in the mountains of Afghanistan... His helicopter was shot down by Taliban fighters... I knew him when he was a small boy, I know his parents.
If this is verified and found to be true, I'll volunteer to throw the switch that opens the gallows floor.
Bring the troops home, and bring 'em home yesterday. Enough is enough. How much more blood to avenge nine eleven?
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