Blackwatered

David Pugliese of the Ottawa Citizen reports on the CF's use of a certain security firm for certain types of specialized training. The story gets the main front page headline--why?

Private firm trains Canadian troops
Forces send soldiers to Blackwater outfit under scrutiny for killings in Iraq

The Canadian Forces is [are?] using a controversial private security firm to train some of its troops sent to Afghanistan.

Select Canadian soldiers have been sent to Blackwater U.S.A. in North Carolina for specialized training in bodyguard and shooting skills. Other soldiers have taken counter-terrorism evasive-driving courses with the private military company now at the centre of an investigation into the killings of Iraqi civilians and mounting concerns about the aggressive tactics of its workers in the field.

Critics of Blackwater label the firm as a mercenary organization and question why a professional military such as the Canadian Forces can't do its own training in specialized areas...

Because a small military such as the CF just cannot do everything, Mr Pugliese.

Canadian military police trained by Blackwater operated in Kandahar last year in support of coalition special forces. Members of the Strategic Advisory Team, which operates in Kabul, also underwent counter-terrorism driving training.

The Ottawa-based counter-terrorism unit, Joint Task Force 2, has also maintained ongoing training links to the company. For instance, in February 2000, JTF2 operatives went to the Blackwater skills school at Moyock, North Carolina, while others from the unit's 2 Squadron took shooting courses at Blackwater in October 2000 and enrolled in the firm's tactical shotgun course a month later. More recent data on JTF2's training with Blackwater was not available.

Canadian Forces spokesman Lt.-Col. Jamie Robertson said the military does not discuss its special forces training. But he said that Blackwater and other firms have been contracted to provide services for other units.

"The Canadian Forces has occasionally contracted companies to provide specialized training to our personnel in those cases when specialized training is not available within the Canadian Forces due to a range of factors, including the unavailability of training resources, expertise or specialized facilities and equipment," Lt.-Col. Robertson said. He said the training is adapted to Canadian Forces requirements and procedures.

The Canadian Forces does not use such contractors as advisers or in combat operations.

But Dawn Black, the NDP's defence critic, questioned the need for Blackwater to be involved in training Canadian troops in the first place. "My understanding is we have some of the best-trained forces in the world, and great trainers, so why do we need our armed forces personnel to be trained by a mercenary organization?" Ms. Black said. She said she was also concerned because of allegations regarding the firm's track record in Iraq.

Your understanding is sadly limited, Ms Black. See the part on her in this post of Babbling's. And, to follow her line of thinking, should the CF not train (as they do) with the US military because members of the US forces have been convicted for unlawful killings in Iraq?