Blackwater Chief Describes Mettle of His Security Men

Few critics of Blackwater have ever spent time with the company's security professionals who are constantly being maligned.

Blackwater CEO Erik Prince personally knows more than a thousand of the military and police veterans he has hired and trained to run diplomatic security operations for the State Department in war zones. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Prince introduces the public to one of them with a compelling personal story:

One of these brave people is Derrick Wright. In April 2007, a rocket tore through the Baghdad living quarters where Blackwater personnel were sleeping. Fortunately, no one was killed. But many were seriously injured, including Mr. Wright, a West Point graduate, Army Ranger and father of three. He suffered grave injuries when a portion of his skull was shattered in the attack.

Stabilized in the Green Zone, Mr. Wright was airlifted to a hospital in Europe where his prognosis was bleak. When Mr. Wright's wife arrived, she found her husband coming out of brain surgery and described him as a man who "had one foot in this world and one out." He has since shown remarkable progress after extensive physical therapy, a cranioplasty to repair damage to his skull, and many other procedures.

Derrick Wright and the other team members injured that day were not in Iraq to fight the war. Just like every Blackwater professional who makes the trip to Iraq, they were putting their lives at risk each day to protect U.S. Department of State officials and other civilians working in the country. Yet somehow that role and the part they play in this war have been grossly misunderstood.

While some of our critics seize upon inaccurate labels, I doubt they have ever known one of our contractors personally or been protected by them. Our teams are not cooking meals or moving supplies. They are taking bullets. They are military veterans who have chosen to serve their country once again. Very few people know someone who would voluntarily go into a war zone to protect a person he has never met. I know 1,000 of them, and I am proud that they are part of our team.

How Blackwater earned its 100% success rate

In an October 6 profile of Blackwater CEO Erik Prince, the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's most influential newspaper, explains how the security company was able to maintain a perfect record of keeping American diplomats and VIPs alive in Iraq in more than 16,000 wartime missions.

"Blackwater . . . claims a 100 per cent success rate in guarding its charges, which naturally impresses its clients. 'It's no wonder they haven't lost anyone, because they enforce a security bubble around the convoys and anyone who enters it is a threat and is treated as such,' says one security contractor who has worked in Iraq for a rival firm, but does not want to be named.

"'If a vehicle or person enters that bubble, the Blackwater guards will react. They might use high-powered torches to signal people to move back, or they might start pointing guns and shooting in front of or at the vehicle. I've had them point guns at me because I inadvertently entered the bubble, even though I am a big white guy.'"