I have some questions about the feature article, “Part-time urban warfare” (Dec. 7), on “Fred,” the wonder mercenary who portrays himself as a real-life Rambo. In the article it states, “Fred, now 21 years old and pursuing a career in law enforcement, specialized in urban warfare and is trained for air assaults and night operations.” Really? I worked as a civilian employee of the U.S. Army for two years in the mid-1980s, and the only people who had the kind of background that this “Fred” claims to have were people who had first gone through Basic Training, then qualified in a combat arms Military Occupational Specialty, then went through the Army’s Air Assault School and urban warfare training. The article makes no mention of him having served in either the U.S. military or another country’s military.
The article fails to mention how he got to be so well trained by the age of 21. I find it hard to believe a young man who has been in and out of college and working essentially as a part-time soldier got to be so well trained. The average 21-year-old in the U.S. Army is, at most, a buck sergeant (E-5). Furthermore, the article says, “He knows how to handle the AK-47 assault rifle, M-4 assault rifle, M-40 sniper rifle, MP-5 submachine gun and most pistols. For Fred, the ability to fire these weapons translated into bullets on an employment database.” The picture painted is of someone who would have received special operations training, is Army Ranger qualified or has at least received advanced marksmanship training. The U.S. Army Special Forces will not take anyone until he is on his second term of enlistment. There simply are not a whole lot of 21-year-olds who qualify for this kind of work.
The article mentioned Fred is “pursuing a career in law enforcement.” And how does Fred expect to pass the background check that any professional law enforcement agency is going to run? How will he explain to his next employer these shadowy private contractors? Does he think police departments are really interested in people with unverifiable backgrounds as nighttime urban warriors?
And what about these contractors? Take, for example, one of the more well-known military contractors such as Blackwater USA, which was started by former U.S. Navy SEALS. Its website says, “Applicants must, at a minimum, have completed a four year tour of duty in the Armed Forces or its equivalent as determined by the admissions review board,” and “Only those who were honorably discharged need apply.” In other words, no young adventurers and wannabes are allowed. Only people who have a reliable and verifiable background.
If our “Fred” did not train with a company such as Blackwater, then most likely he hooked up with some fly-by-night operation. But that still doesn’t explain where Fred got his training. I suppose it is not completely out of the range of possibility that he received this training somewhere along the way, but his failure to provide any verifiable information makes this story difficult to believe, especially when he says he violated his company’s nondisclosure policy. Sorry, but if a mercenary fights for money instead of God and a country, then the only reason he would violate a company policy is also for money. What are his reasons for wanting to tell his story now, when he could be sacrificing a lot of money?
The article also states, “An Associated Press story from December 2003 corroborated Fred’s story, describing outlawed militia fighters giving up their ‘shotguns, machetes, and explosives’ as part of the government’s larger plan to demobilize the country’s 12,000 paramilitary forces.” The only thing here that may be verified is the existence of the outlaw militias in Colombia. Did the AP story actually verify Fred’s part in the Colombia operation? The article also admits, “Despite many attempts to confirm Fred’s claims, The Diamondback was unable to definitively verify his employment at the company.” Everything in the article could have been straight from Soldier of Fortune magazine.
Finally, the interview with Fred is not riveting stuff. After all the “uhs” and “yeahs,” I had to wonder how this guy made it to his junior year of college. The special operations guys I met when I worked for the Army were a lot more articulate than this character.
Mike Fekula is a faculty research assistant in the school of languages, literatures and cultures. He can be reached at fekulam@warpmail.net.
