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Beginning of Blackwater USA
In the remote, swampy lands in Moyock, North Carolina, the world's largest mercenary army made its footprint in 1997. Unbeknownst to founders Erik Prince and Al Clark the little town of Moyock would be home to one of the nations most premiere training facilities for the elite Blackwater USA civilian soldiers. Blackwater USA, also referred to just as Blackwater, would go on to protect, diplomats, dignitaries, and reconstruction officials. Among them were Ambassador Paul Bremer III, then Sen. Barack Obama, then Sen. Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel, and John Kerry1. Blackwater would protect these men and women in battle in the War on Terror at home and abroad. Whilst doing so, however, the secret mercenary army faced a great amount of tragedy, loss, and controversy. The argument as to whether civilian warriors, or secret mercenary armies, who are contracted by the federal government have, and continue, to help the United States fight the War on Terror with the Middle East became is still a heavily debated topic. The story of Blackwater USA is one of continued controversy, skepticism, and debate that began with a young former Navy SEAL, Erik Prince.
As a former Navy SEAL, serving on SEAL Team 8, Erik Prince began his journey to creating the most powerful mercenary army in the War on Terror. During his tour with SEAL Team 8, beginning in the late 1980s into the early 1990s, Prince saw fault in the President's defense spending budget2. With the Cold War behind the United States, the defense spending budget was cut significantly under the Clinton administration. Prince notes, . .that view wasn't wrong, and I believe strongly that it is important to rain in unnecessary defense spending. But the focus was on the wrong things, because amid that drawdown traditional conflict was quickly giving way to unconventional attacks."3
With his knowledge on defense and the rising use of unconventional attacks, Prince expressed to his SEAL Team 8 members that the peacekeeping failure in Bosnia could have been avoided with "a modest peacekeeping force of United States special ops personnel."4 The peacekeeping failure in Bosnia would lead to Prince's journey toward creating a new way for special forces to fight current conflicts and, later, the War on Terror....