More info on Black Water coming soon

Blackwater Worldwide, formerly Blackwater USA, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince, and Al Clark.It has alternatively been referred to as a security contractor or a mercenary organization by numerous reports by the U.S. and international media. Interestingly, in October 2007, Blackwater USA renamed itself Blackwater Worldwide, basing themselves in the U.S. the state of North Carolina, where it operates a tactical training facility claiming to be the world's largest. The company undertakes training of more than 40,000 people a year, mostly from U.S. or foreign military and police services. The training consists of military offensive and defensive operations, as well as smaller scale personnel security. However, technologies used and techniques trained are not limited by U.S. domestic law, although it is unclear what legal status Blackwater Worldwide operates under in the U.S. and other countries, or what protection the U.S. extends to Blackwater Worldwide operations globally.

Blackwater Worldwide is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors. Of the 987 contractors Blackwater provides, 744 are U.S. citizens. At least 90 percent of its revenue comes from government contracts, two-thirds of which are no-bid contracts. Blackwater Worldwide is currently contracted by the United States government to provide security services in the Iraq War.

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Blackwater to change name to ‘Xe’

Associated Press
Friday, February 13, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. - Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name. Blackwater officials said Friday its family of two dozen business will now operate under the name Xe (zee), pronounced like the letter “z.”

The decision comes as part of an ongoing rebranding effort that grew more urgent following a September 2007 shooting in Iraq that left at least a dozen civilians dead.

Blackwater president Gary Jackson said in a memo to employees the new name reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security.

Full story here.