Force for Hire

From Military Matters: SF Veteran and son extradited to Japan

March 16, 2021 19:57 - 1 minute - 1.64 MB

Former auto industry mogul Carlos Ghosn was smuggled out of Japan in true Hollywood heist movie fashion while awaiting trial for corporate fraud. Now Special Forces Veteran Mike Taylor and his son Peter have been extradited to Japan in connection with Ghosn's evasion of Japanese authorities. Subscribe to Military Matters today!

Coming soon: Military Matters

January 02, 2020 22:31 - 1 minute - 7.28 MB

Stay tuned for Military Matters, the new podcast from Stars and Stripes. Listen as U.S. Air Force veteran and Force for Hire host Desmon Farris and U.S. Army warrant officer Rod Rodriguez examine the topics that matter to service members, veterans, and the people and communities that support them. Subscribe now to Military Matters, launching in January 2020.

Wrapping up, a look at key issues, and farewell

October 09, 2019 20:00 - 33 minutes - 23.1 MB

In this final episode of Force for Hire, we examine some key issues about the private military contracting world that we uncovered. The cost effectiveness of contracting kept coming up as one of the major questions during the season, and experts had widely differing answers. We found that the broad use of third-country and host-country nationals in security contracting often goes overlooked, particularly when it comes to their casualty rates. We examine the use of private contractor...

'Mercenary Mum' talks leaving military, joining contracting world

October 02, 2019 20:00 - 24 minutes - 17.2 MB

In this penultimate episode of Force for Hire, we welcome on air Neryl Joyce, an Australian servicemember who turned to contracting when she wasn’t allowed to deploy with her fellow soldiers. She soon found out that what kept her from deploying with the Australian military was one of her greatest assets in the private sector. Joyce worked with a couple of different private military contractors, one of which was the infamous Blackwater. In this episode she talks about her experiences wi...

Contractors: Asset or liability to nation's cybersecurity?

September 18, 2019 18:00 - 27 minutes - 19.2 MB

Thanks to high-profile cybersecurity operations — the recent U.S. cyberattack against Iran and Russia’s 2016 attack on Ukraine’s power grid, for example — the public is much more aware of the digital threats that the U.S. faces. While the public lags behind in understanding these threats, the U.S. has for years been taking steps to keep U.S. assets safe from foreign and domestic hackers. The National Security Agency has long been responsible for cybersecurity operations, and the military ...

Fighting for justice in a lawless land

September 11, 2019 19:00 - 29 minutes - 20.3 MB

Attorney Kimberley Motley has spent years fighting for justice in a country where most women are still fighting for basic human rights. As the first foreigner to litigate cases in Afghanistan’s criminal courts, Motley faces judges whose concept of “not guilty” is often as foreign as the “perahan tunban” is to Americans. This week Force for Hire welcomes Motley, who has made a career out of fighting corruption in Afghanistan and has helped bring justice to those working to support the U...

Dodging bullets, execution during rise of ISIS in Iraq

September 04, 2019 15:00 - 23 minutes - 16.4 MB

Military contractors in Iraq have had to deal with a near constant threat of violence, corrupt politicians and untrusting locals who often saw them as an invading force. South African national Johann Raath had to deal with all of that during his many years working security in the Middle East. But when the Islamic State came to power in 2014, he — and other contractors supporting the U.S. mission in Iraq — faced a new threat. As one the most bloodthirsty terrorist organizations in recent me...

Fighting piracy on high seas often job for private military contractors

August 21, 2019 19:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MB

Maritime security operations are complex. The mesh of international politics, private company procedures and the uncaring nature of the open seas make for a security situation best handled by professionals. More often than some may think, those professionals are private military contractors. It’s those security professionals often tasked with keeping vital shipping lanes open, fighting off threats and keeping the goods people worldwide depend on, safe. On this week’s episode of Force f...

Kidnapping, death of US contractor leaves behind shattered family

August 07, 2019 20:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MB

The day Russell Frost and two former American soldiers were kidnapped was an unusual one, even by the standards of 2016 Baghdad. On Jan. 15, as the battle against Islamic State raged across the country, Frost and his two fellow contractors — former U.S. Army soldiers Amr Mohamed and Waiel el-Maadawy — found an interpreter to assist in their government mission of training coalition forces. The interpreter was a strange one, Mohamed said, offering the men liquor and women in an area where ...

The legend of 'Mad Mike' Hoare

July 31, 2019 19:00 - 32 minutes - 22.2 MB

Michael Thomas Hoare has lived a life that, were it not endlessly documented, would seem a pastiche of barroom brags, urban legends and anecdotes lifted from mid-21st century military pulp fiction. Hoare, better known as “Mad Mike,” is a soldier of fortune. A mercenary. He has seen combat in multiple battles during World War II with the British army, and in numerous conflicts across the Congo and elsewhere. He recently celebrated his 100th birthday — apparently, living hard is no predictor...

Exploring the murky, mysterious world of Russian military contracting

July 17, 2019 21:00 - 35 minutes - 24.2 MB

Force for Hire’s hosts have focused primarily on American military contracting. We’re changing it up this week as Michelle and Desmon look at a private Russian paramilitary force that is a global threat, even though it isn’t formally recognized by its government. The Wagner Group, believed to be run by former Russian military intelligence officer Dmitriy Utkin, is shrouded in secrecy. A 2017 Bloomberg article placed its membership as high as 6,000, even though mercenary forces are not al...

Former British Army leader Tim Collins talks Iraq War, contracting

July 10, 2019 20:00 - 23 minutes - 16.3 MB

When the United Kingdom sent soldiers to join the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the force was marked with veterans of a decades-long conflict between England and Northern Ireland, which came to be known as “The Troubles.” Among those soldiers was a Tim Collins, a British colonel in charge of the Royal Irish Regiment’s 1st Battalion. Collins, 59, had grown up in Belfast and came of age while serving in the British army as his hometown was rocked almost daily by violence. He was no stranger to bl...

Examining contracting, military spending in the UAE and Saudi Arabia

July 03, 2019 17:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MB

There is a lot of money in the private military and security contracting worlds. While the U.S. remains ahead of the pack in defense spending, countries like Saudi Arabia spend a greater percent of their gross domestic product than the U.S. Other countries in the Saudi region continue to build up their defenses by recruiting native forces or hiring private military contractors. The United Arab Emirates is known for hiring foreign nationals, including a large number of private military co...

A talk with Tim Lynch, voice of a misunderstood industry

June 19, 2019 17:00 - 21 minutes - 14.5 MB

Tim Lynch retired from the Marine Corps in 2000 after a lengthy career as an infantry officer. Some would consider that timing — just a year before the 9/11 attacks thrust America into decades of combat operations — fortuitous. Not Lynch. The retired Marine major saw his former brothers-in-arms deploy, watched them put into practice the combat training he had spent his life perfecting. He wanted in. So Lynch threw his resume at every private military contracting company he could find...

Exploitation, human trafficking rampant in third-country national contracting

June 12, 2019 18:00 - 39 minutes - 27.2 MB

This week on Force for Hire, we bring aboard a pair of experts to examine an aspect of military contracting that ties into issues of human rights abuses and modern-day slavery. Third-country nationals, workers not employed by a company headquartered in their home country and operating in a country outside of their native lands, are often part of the contracted workforce supporting the Department of Defense. A 2019 U.S. Central Command report counts 24,000 third-country nationals among its...

Meet Cindy Waldron, war zone trucker, military mom and survivor

June 05, 2019 15:00 - 42 minutes - 19.6 MB

Cindy Waldron has done a little bit of everything, it seems. She has taken big rigs up and down America’s highways. She has delivered much-needed supplies to troops in Iraq, braving gunfire and improvised explosive device attacks along the way. She’s a proud mother of a U.S. soldier and author of the 2006 book “Cindy in Iraq: A Civilian’s Year in the War Zone,” which chronicles her experiences. She’s also a survivor – of firefights, of abusive relationships and of a sexual assault whil...

Contractors navigate complex maze of laws, policies for health care

May 15, 2019 19:00 - 34 minutes - 15.8 MB

As complex as military health care can be, servicemembers don’t have to worry about the Department of Defense shutting down overnight. Contractors who work for smaller private military or security firms have faced exactly that, leaving them without continued care. Even though that was an extreme case, contractors commonly face a tangled web of regulations, insurance policies and legal loopholes when seeking health care. A trio of experts joins hosts Michelle Harven and Desmon Farris t...

Black Rifle Coffee CEO’s life as Green Beret, military contractor

May 08, 2019 19:00 - 37 minutes - 17.4 MB

The idea of leaving active duty for a contracting gig is a dream that many servicemembers share. And why not? Heading back to college at an older age or going from leading a fire team to working in retail can sound less than exciting. Taking hard-earned military skills and applying them to a lucrative new career is appealing to many veterans. But is contracting all it’s cracked up to be? In the last episode of Force for Hire, we heard how servicemembers and veterans can get started in pr...

Leveraging military skills, expertise to forge a new career

May 01, 2019 15:00 - 42 minutes - 19.6 MB

With Force for Hire, we’ve covered the modern history of military and security contracting, talked to veterans of the industry and spoke to the families affected by the realities of the business. Now, it’s time to find out what it takes to become a military contractor: the skills needed, the attitudes recruiters are looking for and what challenges veterans can expect to face when looking to make the leap into the industry. Many veterans have designs on using the skills they’ve picked up ...

The families left behind

April 17, 2019 16:00 - 38 minutes - 17.6 MB

In this episode we talk to Barbie Baker and Nicole Woodland, two women with firsthand knowledge of the lifestyle change that takes place after a spouse joins the world of private military contracting. Their story might sound familiar to former military spouses — loneliness, uncertainty and a search for new meaning — but some of what they say might surprise you.

Money makes the contracting world go 'round

April 10, 2019 21:00 - 57 minutes - 26.6 MB

Over the past few episodes of Force for Hire, hosts Michelle Harven and Desmon Farris have broached a number of topics pertaining to private military contracting. Throughout, they’ve briefly touched on the issue of money, from guest Adam Gonzales talking about his salary as a private security operator to author Sean McFate talking about the profit of doing business downrange. Now, it’s time to dive headfirst into the topic that has bubbled beneath the surface of nearly every conversat...

An interview with Erik Prince, Blackwater founder, outspoken proponent of military contracting

April 03, 2019 04:00 - 47 minutes - 22 MB

We sit down with Erik Prince, co-founder of Blackwater and the face of an industry that generally tries to stay out of the limelight. Listen in as he talks about the history of Blackwater, his vision for the war in Afghanistan and what he views as the mistakes the military has made there over these past 17 years.

The beginnings of Blackwater and how it forever changed US policy

March 20, 2019 21:00 - 41 minutes - 19.2 MB

Even though the name is relegated to history, Blackwater remains the first thought that springs to mind when most think of private military contractors. In this episode, we delve into its history and how its success and failures changed American foreign policy forever.

Soldier turned contractor explains Blackwater training, security detail in Iraq

March 13, 2019 21:00 - 28 minutes - 13.2 MB

This week on Force for Hire we’re taking a step back from the politics and controversy surrounding private military contracting and talking to a man who knows what it’s like to be both a soldier and a private operator. Adam Gonzales was an Army infantryman who served in a long-range surveillance detachment for a brief time in 2003 before deciding to look at other opportunities. One arose in the form of a security job with the then-relatively unknown contracting firm Blackwater. His jour...

Outsourcing America's military might

March 06, 2019 22:00 - 35 minutes - 16.3 MB

Welcome to Force for Hire, where we will take you on a deep dive into the shadowy world of private military contracting. Join hosts Michelle Harven and Desmon Farris as they talk to military contractors, defense experts and servicemembers to help clear up the myths surrounding private military contracting and find out the truth behind the legends. In this first episode Michelle and Desmon talk to Sean McFate, former self-proclaimed mercenary and author of "New Rules of War" and David Isen...

Trailer - Welcome to Force for Hire

February 13, 2019 05:00 - 36 seconds - 363 KB

We'd like to welcome you to Force for Hire, a podcast dedicated to private military contracting, the myths that surround it and the reality that has made contracting a vital part of modern American warfare. The first episode will launch March 7, 2019.

Episodes