Academi PMC
Blackwater USA is a private security company consisting of professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operation personnel. It was founded by a former Navy SEAL in in 1997, and is involved in United States military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Blackwater consists of five separate units: Blackwater Training Center, Blackwater Target Systems, Blackwater Security Consulting, Blackwater Canine, and Raven Development Group. The Blackwater Training Center is the largest private firearms and tactical training center in the United States.[1]
Blackwater was brought into the national spotlight when allegations stated that Blackwater employees had shot innocence civilians during a firefight in Baghdad, Iraq, in September 2007. Blackwater founder, Erik Prince, appeared before the United States House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and stating that his company had a "record of honorable service" to the United States.[2] Prince claims that in 16,000 missions in Iraq since 2005, Blackwater contractors have discharged their weapons fewer than 200 times. [3]