ArmorGroup
 ArmorGroup  (Private military contractor)   | |
|---|---|
| File:Malcolm Rifkind.jpg | |
| Formation | 1984 |
| Parent organization | G4S Secure Solutions |
| Type | • military • commercial |
| Subpage | •ArmorGroup/North America |
| A large mercenary firm in Iraq | |
ArmorGroup is a mercenary firm based in London which was headed by former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind and is one of the biggest working in Iraq.
It is 'one of two companies that have raked in a total of 15m between them' providing round-the-clock security in Iraq during 2003-4.[1] According to Jack Straw ArmorGroup and Control Risks were being paid a combined total of £50,000 a day to protect bureaucrats stationed in Iraq.[2] This included a £876,000 contract to supply 20 security guards for the Foreign Office - a figure that was to rise by 50 per cent in July 2004.[3]
The firm employs more than 1400 mercenaries in Iraq , including 700 Gurkhas who guard executives with the US firms Bechtel and Kellogg Brown & Root. The Gurkhas reportedly earn $1300 a month. Employees also guard construction sites for Bechtel and deal with unexploded ordnance across Iraq.
The firm raised eyebrows when it was discovered that Derek Adgey, one of its employees, had been jailed in the past for helping the Ulster Freedom Fighters.[4]
Contents
Phoenix
Sold to ArmorGroup in 2005 for £4m Phoenix CP was founded five years earlier by former SAS men Jim Devenney and Michael Clifford, the only SAS member to be awarded the OBE for his services to that regiment. With Devnney retired the company was run by Clifford.[5] According to its website it is the UK’s leading specialist provider of close protection training to security professionals and military personnel as part of resettlement courses.[6]
It has trained men and women for the commercial sector since 2000 and holds preferred supplier status with the Ministry of Defence for Armed Forces’ resettlement training. Its website says that Phoenix-trained personnel are highly sought after and deployed on a wide variety of close protection assignments throughout the world (wherever ArmorGroup operates).
Based in Hereford the company works closely with military resettlement organisations and is registered with the Department of Education and Skills and can therefore accept students taking advantage of Career Development Loans or other government led initiatives.[7]
People
- Michael Clifford OBE [8]
Resources
ArmorGroup North America | G4S | Group 4 Falck | Securicor
Scandals
Warlord Scandal in Afghanistan
On Oct. 7, 2010, the Senate Armed Services Committee released a report detailing how ArmorGroup turned to local, Afghan warlords to provide most of the guard force at a US airbase in the Herat Province in Western Afghanistan. The report included statements from many, including an Army sergeant, who said that one of the warlords used by the company "would provide money because of his contracting jobs with ArmorGroup. He had a lot of money from that and he would give that money to Taliban commanders, and they in turn would buy weapons and ammo, whatever they needed."[9]
The Danny Fitzsimons Case
On February 28, 2011, Danny Fitzsimons, a British employee of ArmorGroup, was sentenced to twenty years in prison for killing two colleagues and attempting to murder an Iraqi man. He was the first contractor to be tried in Iraqi courts. No formal inquiry was made into who armed Fitzsimons, a man who had a criminal record, pending weapons charges, had been diagnosed as having psychiatric issues, was fired from two other security companies and was known to be a problem among his peers.[10]
Resources
- Alec Klein, For Security in Iraq, a Turn to British Know-How, Washington Post, 24 August 2007.
Employees on Wikispooks
| Employee | Job | Appointed | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Kappes | Director | November 2005 | June 2006 |
| Stephen Kappes | ? | April 2005 | November 2005 |
References
- ↑ Brian Brady Former foreign minister cashes in on Iraq crisis, Scotland on Sunday, Published Date: 23 May 2004
- ↑ Brian Brady Former foreign minister cashes in on Iraq crisis, Scotland on Sunday, Published Date: 23 May 2004
- ↑ Robert Fisk and Severin Carrell Occupiers Spend Millions on Private Army of Security Men, The Independent, March 28, 2004
- ↑ Matthew Tempest Rifkind made head of Iraq security firm, guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 13 April 2004 14.38 BST, accessed 7 September 2009
- ↑ 'It was a tough nut to crack but we've made £4m' Western Daily Press 19 November 2005 SECTION: News; Other; Others; Pg. 8
- ↑ Phoenix CP Homepage, Archived version of <http://www.phoenixcp.com/index.htm> dated 16 March 2005, accessed 7 September 2009
- ↑ Phoenix CP Homepage, Archived version of <http://www.phoenixcp.com/index.htm> dated 16 March 2005, accessed 7 September 2009
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Senate Armed Services Committee Releases Report on the Role and Oversight of DoD's Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan, Senator Carl Levin, 7 October 2010
- ↑ Danny Fitzsimons Jailed for Iraq Security Guard Murders, BBC, 28 February 2011
