Force For Hire

Over the past few episodes of Force for Hire, hosts Michelle Harven and Desmon Farris have broached a number of topics pertaining to private military contracting.  Throughout, they’ve briefly touched on the issue of money, from guest Adam Gonzales talking about his salary as a private security operator to author Sean McFate talking about the profit of doing business downrange.  Now, it’s time to dive headfirst into the topic that has bubbled beneath the surface of nearly every conversation about private military contracting.  Money. 

We sit down with Erik Prince, co-founder of Blackwater and the face of an industry that generally tries to stay out of the limelight. Listen in as he talks about the history of Blackwater, his vision for the war in Afghanistan and what he views as the mistakes the military has made there over these past 17 years.

Even though the name is relegated to history, Blackwater remains the first thought that springs to mind when most think of private military contractors. In this episode, we delve into its history and how its success and failures changed American foreign policy forever. 

This week on Force for Hire we’re taking a step back from the politics and controversy surrounding private military contracting and talking to a man who knows what it’s like to be both a soldier and a private operator.  Adam Gonzales was an Army infantryman who served in a long-range surveillance detachment for a brief time in 2003 before deciding to look at other opportunities. One arose in the form of a security job with the then-relatively unknown contracting firm Blackwater. His journey took him from the Army to a Blackwater training facility in North Carolina. There, the one-time Army grunt had to compete against members of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, SEALs, Rangers and force recon Marines for a spot at Blackwater – and a $15,000 a month salary. The job? Protecting U.S. ambassador Paul Bremer, America’s chief representative in Iraq and the man who decided to disband the Iraqi Army.

Welcome to Force for Hire, where we will take you on a deep dive into the shadowy world of private military contracting. Join hosts Michelle Harven and Desmon Farris as they talk to military contractors, defense experts and servicemembers to help clear up the myths surrounding private military contracting and find out the truth behind the legends. In this first episode Michelle and Desmon talk to Sean McFate, former self-proclaimed mercenary and author of "New Rules of War" and David Isenberg, a Navy veteran and international security affairs analyst.   Together, they'll talk about what private military contracting is, what it's capable of and how it has helped shape the modern battlefield. 

We'd like to welcome you to Force for Hire, a podcast dedicated to private military contracting, the myths that surround it and the reality that has made contracting a vital part of modern American warfare.  The first episode will launch March 7, 2019.