Has Somali piracy crisis returned? 'Yes and no', says maritime veteran
The seemingly relentless widening of the Middle East conflict beyond the Red Sea appears to ...
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This is great. First-hand account of setting up a private maritime security firm from an ex-armed forces operative and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan on the problems he encountered when launching a company to guard ships transiting the waters off Somalia and just how difficult it is for professional soldiers to adapt to civilian life, no matter how extreme. You need to click on a link at the end of the page to go to the full article, but it’s well worth it, with gems such as: “Put a suit and tie on a friend, give him a laptop, a mobile phone and few quid and a plush business card, and he changes from that guy who helped you in a firefight in Baghdad to a self-promoting, greedy, backstabbing bastard.”
Comment on this article
Michael Webber
October 08, 2014 at 8:03 pm“Put a suit and tie on a friend, give him a laptop, a mobile phone and few quid and a plush business card, and he changes from that guy who helped you in a firefight in Baghdad to a self-promoting, greedy, backstabbing bastard.”
For a moment, I thought I’d meandered into an item about the music business. Terrific read. Thank you.
Andy Robins
October 09, 2014 at 1:43 amI worked with a few ex army guys in Nairobi on UN missions in Somalia and Rwanda.
In the army they may be trained to fight as one, but in civvy street what a mixed bag they become. A few were quite upstanding but the rest fits with the story, especially the “self-promoting, greedy, backstabbing bastard.” part.