Book Review – Erik Prince’s “Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror”

When the War on Terror was launched in 2001 following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, it wasn’t just the United States’ CIA and military that later invaded Afghanistan and Iraq.

Unknown to many people, there were a number of private companies that also deployed to those war zones to help support the combat troops along with the diplomats and other dignitaries.  While the military primarily carried out the attacks against the enemy, many times it was the private companies who helped transport cargo and provide security for many areas as well as people.

Perhaps the most famous (or infamous according to politicians and the media) private company involved with the War on Terror is Blackwater USA.

According to the media and many politicians, Blackwater’s workers were reckless cowboys, people who used too aggressive of tactics, rode around like maniacs, they overcharged the government for their services, and they were allowed to kill anybody they wanted.

Of course, there’s another side to the story of Blackwater USA and what *really* happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And that story is told by Erik Prince, the founder and former CEO of Blackwater USA.  His book, Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror, tells a completely different tale of the company, a tale that most people have never heard.  Until now.

Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror begins with a brief biography about Erik Prince.  The books covers his father’s dedication to his business and how that developed into a large and successful company, and how those traits were passed down to Erik Prince.  Prince went on to join the Navy and he succeeded in becoming a Navy SEAL, an elite warrior.

After the SEAL team, Prince left the Navy and created the company Blackwater USA, a company that initially focused on training soldiers, police officers, and other warriors in various combat tactics.  Blackwater saw success after incidents like the Columbine High School massacre and the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole proved that everybody from police officers to soldiers and sailors needed specialized training for newer types of warfare.  The company also saw success by selling custom targets to help riflemen become better shooters and marksmen.

Blackwater saw slow but steady growth during those early years, but it would quickly grow exponentially and make a serious name for itself shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the resulting War on Terror.

Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror goes into detail about how Blackwater was ultimately selected to help fulfill many “gaps” when it came to supporting and helping to defend the military and diplomatic aspects of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The government needed specialized forces to help with the other operations, and Erik Prince took financial risks to ensure that Blackwater was awarded contracts, and that his company would succeed.

And his methods worked.

Not only were the Blackwater forces some of the best trained people in the country (most of Blackwater’s security contractors were former Marines and military special forces (Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Green Berets, etc.), or elite police officers), but they had to go through an extensive background examination as well as a rigorous physical fitness test to qualify as a security contractor.  These simply weren’t renegade soldiers thrown into dangerous territory.  Nor were they lawless mercenaries who shot first and asked questions later.

The men of Blackwater were experts in their field, and they were extremely disciplined people who knew exactly what was at stake.  On top of that, Blackwater itself held the people to the highest of standards and discipline.

The book goes into further detail concerning some of the worst days for Blackwater (such as the ambush in Fallujah, Iraq, that killed for of Blackwater’s men, to the shooting in Nisour Square), to the heroics when the men defended their objective from the Mahdi Army.  Other heroic actions included rescue operations, successfully delivering badly needed supplies to remote outposts, to always being on call and ready to assist the CIA and military whenever it was necessary.  It’s safe to say that Blackwater was always there to provide help, and the soldiers and government agents were well aware of that.

On top of that, one of Blackwater’s proudest claims was that it never lost any V.I.P. that it was assigned to guard.  The Blackwater teams had fought off countless numbers of ambushes, but none of the V.I.P.s were killed.

Of course, that’s just part of the story concerning Blackwater USA.

Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror also tells tales about how lawyers and congressmen began to attack the company, and how the media launched wave after wave of negative publicity against Blackwater.  As the public opinion swayed against the occupation of Iraq, many negative news stories found ways to tie Blackwater into that same fiasco, whether it was true or not.

One of the biggest problems was that Blackwater really couldn’t fight back against the negative publicity.  The company couldn’t fire back against the attackers and tell them what really happened, as many of the company’s contracts were classified.  Responding to the attacks might expose other parts of the government that were still relying on Blackwater’s many services.

Throw in the fact that Erik Prince is conservative and that Blackwater seemed to operate more smoothly with the Republican government officials, and there was another angle for the media and many of the Democrats to attack.  In essence, Blackwater was the whipping boy for many of the problems in Iraq, whether the accusations held any merit or truth.

In the end, it’s clear that Blackwater was screwed by the very government that badly needed and paid for its services.  The company was ultimately forced to rename and basically rebrand itself, and a whole new team of executives was hired to run the company.  Erik Prince ultimately retired as CEO of Blackwater, and later the company was sold.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror is an eye-opening experience to what it was like to be a private contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The biggest question is —- How much of this book is honest?

It’s obvious that Erik Prince paints a very positive picture about Blackwater.  That’s easy to see as throughout the book as he has a passion for not only running a successful company, but to also do it honorably and respectfully to his workers and his country.  Prince had his men using the best armor and equipment, he allowed the men to make the call about whether or not to go out on a mission, and he seemed to truly care about bringing them all back home alive.

When disaster struck and people were killed, Prince himself was there to help console and comfort the families.  Those weren’t just workers, they were his friends and family.

You can feel Prince’s anger and frustration when his company is hit by false accusations and lawsuits.  The same is true for when the media, politicians and talking heads continued their verbal attacks against his company.

In the end, whether the stories in the book or true or not, it’s fascinating learning what it really takes to run a war in modern times.  It’s not just a process of attacking and destroying the enemy.  There’s a whole other element concerning security as well as delivering supplies to keep operations running smoothly.