justin shrek'' mcquown

And so, in that whole pyramid scheme, what you saw was Blackwater had a subcontract with this Kuwaiti company, and the Kuwaiti company had the contract with E.S.S., so the contract with E.S.S., the company that provides the catering services, said explicitly because there is a very serious security situation in Fallujah it actually names Fallujah as one of the cities these men need to be traveling in armored vehicles. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. And finally, about midnight, I just started I started when Scotty was born, and I went through his entire life to some other unknown person on the other end at Blackwater, because I knew he was gone, and at 3:00 in the morning they finally said, Hes gone.. We have seen numbers in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 contractors working in Iraq. Over a thousand people died because of what happened to Scotty that day, says Katy Helvenston. Scott Helvenston | Military Wiki | Fandom Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. STUDENT: My question is in regards to private military contractors. The Uniform Code of Military Justice does not apply to these contractors in Iraq. He reported . He didnt want to give up his gun. KATY HELVENSTON: Yeah. KATY HELVENSTON: I was given a number. Shortly after entering the city, they get stuck in traffic, and their small convoy is ambushed. They had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with us. We will not be intimidated, he said. And at that point, Scotty was desperate for money, and he went in there. It was about what happened to Scotty and Jerry and Mike and Wesley. After the training session, Helvenston got on a plane to Kuwait, where he touched down on March 18. AMY GOODMAN: When was it after the killing? And, Mr. President, how do you propose to bring private military contractors under a system of law? AMY GOODMAN: Months later. Now, they were ultimately to get to the other side of Fallujah. Scott Helvenston Net Worth 2023: Wiki Bio, Married, Dating, Family When we cover the climate emergency, our reporting isnt sponsored by the oil, gas, coal or nuclear companies. However, Iraq is clearly not currently capable of enforcing its laws, much less against you know, over our American military contractors. dr mark weiss psychologist; evaluate crossword clue 4 letters; pitt county jail bookings twitter. JUAN GONZALEZ: Now, even in the training period at Blackwater, he began to find problems in terms of the quality of the training that was going on? JUAN GONZALEZ: But, Marc Miles, Blackwater can claim that the men who sign on with them know exactly the kind of dangers that theyre going into, that they signed contracts that recognized the possible dangers and loss of life or injury that they may suffer. The producer Paul Howard says Bohm merges, into his [] It was a simple thing, really, that kicked off Suresh's career shift. I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple of months ago what law governs their actions. We speak with Jeremy Scahill as well as Katy Helvenston, the mother of Scott Helvenston who was killed in Fallujah, and the attorney in the case, Marc Miles. AMY GOODMAN: Were going to talk to Marc Miles and also with Katy Helvenston. He wouldnt accept anything but the very best, and he became a Navy Seal, and he considered that the best. New Yorks Working Families Party Came Back From the Brink. So they were to escort these two E.S.S. K.B.R. And the guard that was in charge of me, I said, You know, you really need to do something about these helicopters. You know, and he left for a minute or two, and finally the helicopters went away. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Gen. Mark Kimmitt vowed, We will be back in Falluja. One team member, former Army Ranger Wes Batalona, complained to a friend that the team had never worked together before. Previously, Justin was a Research Engineer at L una Innovations and also held positions at AeroVironment, Stryten Manufacturing, GE Healthcare, TopRank Marketing, Emerson, General Electric. The families were gathered in a conference room, where they thought they would be told how the men had died. And they, at that time, asked specifically for the incident report and a copy of the contract. Scott Helvenston - Interesting stories about famous people, biographies All this was shady enoughbut the real danger for Helvenston and the others lay in Blackwaters decision to cut corners to make even more money. Scott Helvenston and his team were to deploy to Iraq on March 29. And so, then I started I had never read any articles. tn_author: ['jeremy-s'], It was the event that sparked the U.S. siege of Fallujah, in which hundreds and hundreds of Iraqis were killed, many of them who had nothing to do with this whatsoever women, children, others. Well, he was a Navy Seal for about 12 years, and he resigned from the Navy, and times got tough. ease arkansas phone number But Katy mentioned the name of a guy named Justin McQuown, and I think its important to kind of back up for a second and explain who he is, because its a key part of this lawsuit. [6] MARC MILES: Thats correct. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I was going to ask him. I couldnt believe I was talking to the man. This is a billion-dollar industry, Jackson said in October 2004. Several other contractors stepped forward, offering to go in his place. The U.S. attack was sparked by the gruesome killing of four private contractors inside Fallujah. Justin received a Bachelor of Science degree from . Copyright (c) 2023 The Nation Company LLC, By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and, agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support. And like thousands and thousands of people in this war, their financial situation was one of the motivations that brought them to Iraq, where they could some of these guys would make $600 a paycheck in the United States, and they could make $600 a day by going to work for Blackwater or DynCorp or other companies. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. According to the lawsuit, It was virtually unheard of to take a single person, like Scott Helvenston, and place him on a different group with whom he had never trained or even met. Helvenston resisted the change. What Blackwater is trying to do is to sweep all of their wrongful conduct into the Defense Base Act, says Miles. But because they didnt have a map, they didnt have G.P.S., and, in fact, funny story, I think they had G.P.S. You may unsubscribe or adjust your preferences at any time. AMY GOODMAN: Well, what was the memorial service itself like? And theres all sorts of Scott speaks to us posthumously through his email, and I just want to read from this. The man heading the training was Justin McQuown, nicknamed Shrek, after the green ogre movie cartoon character. After the killings, Katy Helvenston joined the families of Mike Teague, Jerko Zovko and Wesley Batalona in grieving and in seeking details about the incident. KATY HELVENSTON: They said Fallujah, and I said, well, Scotty, hes in Baghdad. They made a killing off of New Orleans. So Donna and I think the check was like it was quite a bit of money. The Lafayette McQuown House is significant as a typical example of a late 19th-century miner's residence in good condition. There should be three men per team. All four of these men were veterans of the U.S. military, of Special Forces. The other two were kept behind at Blackwaters Baghdad facility to perform clerical duties. Blackwater is scooping up lucrative Homeland Security contracts. According to the suit, Blackwater was gung-ho to start in order to impress ESS and win further contracts. The killing was March 31. But they assumed it based upon certain representations by Blackwater. There he was. They say Blackwater refused to redraft the contract. When they took that word armored out, Blackwater was able to save $1.5 million in not buying armored vehicles, which they could then put in their pocket, says attorney Miles. In Defense of Blackwater's Private Contractors - Daily Kos They will be accountable., Still, Blackwater has friends in high places. While some of that may be legitimate defense tactics, the lawyers argue that the company has actively prevented court-ordered depositions from taking place, including taking steps to prevent a key witness from testifying: John Potter, the man who blew the whistle on Blackwaters removal of the word armored from the contract and was subsequently removed. Helvenston arrived in Kuwait on March 18, where he was under the management of John and Kathy Potter, whom he knew from Combat Missions. You need to show intent. And I had no idea it was Scotty, but I saw this burning vehicle, and I just said, This is insane. And I switched stations. AMY GOODMAN: And who told them that they would have to sue? Scott Helvenston was a walking ad for the military. Well, Blackwater then, when they cut their subcontract with this Kuwaiti company for this deal, kept intact the entire part of the contract that went over the security provisions, except for one word: armored. Theyre whores. Thats not what I was hired to do. And at that point McQuown apparently told him that if he didnt do it, he would be fired immediately. v. Blackwater Security is the lawsuit for wrongful death filed by the families of the four contractors for Blackwater Security (since renamed Academi ) murdered in the 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush. MARC MILES: I wouldnt be surprised if there are other incidents like this. For its part, Blackwater is represented by multiple law firms. KBR/Halliburton refuses to discuss the matter and will not confirm any relationship with ESS. The problem is that theyre working outside of the military structure, and therefore theyre not subject to court-martial or any particular chain of command, while at the same time theyre working within a country, such as Iraq, which really doesnt have a civil justice system or a police force, which would be able to hold American private security contractors accountable or liable for any of the conduct that they do over there. The fact that these four Americans found themselves located in the high-risk, war-torn City of Fallujah without armored vehicles, automatic weapons, and fewer than the minimum number of team members was no accident, the suit alleges. . And I presume that thats the defense that Blackwater is going to make. I wrote an email to Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater. JEREMY SCAHILL: Right. Now, thats not unusual for, you know, a lifelong Republican to give that kind of money. But on March 12, 2004, Blackwater and Regency signed a subcontract, which specified security provisions identical to the original except for one word: armored. Blackwater deleted it from the contract. Potter didnt have any other gainful employment, because many of these men who are ex-military, their skills dont transfer easily into the civilian sector, he says, adding that after Potter was removed for blowing the whistle on the armor issue, the company abandoned him until they needed him to avoid this subpoena and this deposition and they said, We need you and we need you now. And zoom, off he goes. Blackwater subsequently attempted to have Potters deposition order dissolved, but a federal court said no. But we couldnt hear anything, because there were these two helicopters that were flying, I mean, just a couple hundred foot over our heads. And I had turned off the ringer on my bedroom phone, and he left this message, and he said, Mom, Im okay. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Lets see if we can screw with Scott. Those were like the last words that Scott Helvenston basically wrote before being sent over there to Baghdad. Why cant I have it tomorrow? And I said, Are you going to rewrite it for my eyes only? I mean and I never did get that report. AMY GOODMAN: How did you hear that Scott had died? Justin Shreck. Instead, this team was sent out without the required equipment and personnel by those in charge at Blackwater.. Thats how I work.. JEREMY SCAHILL: Per day. Is he okay? And they said they didnt know. Would he speak to them? HAROLD VIDINHA: The first thing that came up was a camera bouncing toward this SUV, and it went right into the car. It was clear. AMY GOODMAN: Marc, I just want to interrupt for one second. The suit further alleges that McQuown intervened and ordered only a four-man team be sent, although six were available, the other two remaining to perform clerical duties. It is one of the most infamous incidents of the war in Iraq: On March 31, 2004, four private American security contractors get lost and end up driving through the center of Falluja, a hotbed of Sunni resistance to the US occupation. But when these four men ended up in Fallujah that day, they were in Pajero jeeps that were not armored at all. It wasnt just a compilation of everything that was going on. An analysis of Princes contributions prepared for The Nation by the Center for Responsive Politics reveals that since 1989, Prince and his wife have given some $275,550 to Republican campaigns. KATY HELVENSTON: I was in my home office doing research, and I was on the computer and I had CNN on. tn_loc:'atf' He went through the rigorous Navy Seal program at age 17. According to Callahan, there was a safer alternative route that went around the city, which the men were unaware of because of Blackwaters failure to conduct a risk assessment before the trip, as mandated by the contract. 2004 Fallujah Ambush - Ron Paul Forums [6] On March 30, 2004, Helvenston, Teague, Zovko and Batalona left Baghdad on the ESS security mission. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yeah, I appreciate that very much. Blackwater and this lawsuit is going to be the first of its kind, and its going to go forward, and were going to go into trial and prove all of the allegations that weve set forward. When less business is being done, and you have more time on your hands, we wanted to bring something positive to your . Your article, Blood Is Thicker Than Blackwater, appears in The Nation magazine today, and we will link to it at democracynow.org. The GOPs War Against Trans People Is a War Against Democracy, Green Rationales for Harsher Immigration Policies Are Nothing New, Gun Violence: A Week of Response to the Weak Republican Response to Mass Shootings in the USA. This was not a roadside bomb, it was not any other explosive device. Democracy Now! They had guards on each one of the families. In early 2004 Helvenston was between jobs and was eking out a living with the stints on reality TV, the movie consulting and the fitness videos. Scott Helvenston - Wikipedia People should understand, Scotty Helvenston wasnt even in Iraq for more than 48 hours before he was sent to Fallujah. Within moments, their bodies are dragged from the vehicles and a crowd descends on them, tearing them to pieces. And Erik had a check for the Zovkos. correspondent Jeremy Scahill. has denied any relationship to this and wont talk about it anymore. In fact, from what I understand, and folks that we have talked to, they had asked for a map shortly before going out on their mission, and basically the individual who was in charge of handing out the maps said, Its too late for a map now, and sent them on their way. And I do want to say we invited Blackwater on the program today. This is a precedent-setting case, says Marc Miles, an attorney for the families. Justin J Shrek, age 31, Summerfield, FL Search Report. I believe that we should have gone into Afghanistan, but I never believed we should have gone into Iraq, and Scott bought the whole story about Saddam Hussein being involved with Al Qaeda and all that. Thank you so much. Erik Prince, himself, for this piece I worked with the Center for Public Integrity, and we put together a profile of Erik Princes familys political contributions. In fairness, though, Justin McQuowns lawyer William Crenshaw did issue a statement to me, in which he said that there were numerous serious inaccuracies in the piece, and then he said that on behalf of his client Justin McQuown, that he wanted to extend his sympathy to the families and called it regrettable that anyone would imply that Justin McQuown had anything to do with the tragedy of what happened in Fallujah. KATY HELVENSTON: Well, not just at the memorial service. MARC MILES: Well, its important and its groundbreaking and its precedent-setting, because were working in such a unique situation here, where we have private American companies working within a war zone. And I said, I want an incident report on Scotty. And I said, I want a copy of his contract that he signed with you. And he said, Why? And I said, I just want to know what happened. He said I could he would get it to me in the next few weeks. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. AMY GOODMAN: Now, he was on television before he went to Iraq, is that right? AMY GOODMAN: And then he was in a Survivor-like program called Combat Missions? You did the piece, the investigation into this case. Helvenston et al. And she was told that they would have to sue Blackwater to get that information. And Bush jokes about it. And they did approach the Zovkos and asked if they would meet Erik Prince in his office, and they did. You raised a whole issue of the contract that required a risk assessment on their part and an overview of the mission that they were involved in. The Zovko family asked Blackwater to see the After Action Report detailing the incident. I was thinking of construction when they said contractor. And a couple hours later, they said security contractors, and I said, My god, Scotty is a security contractor, but hes not in Fallujah. Instead, kitchen equipment, actually empty trucks that were going to get kitchen equipment. They deleted the word armored. And Marc Miles says that in doing that, Blackwater was able to save $1.5 million. And Scott says, Youre nuts, you know, he says, Im not goin in there to Falluja. The fact that [McQuown]was being exposed infuriated him. Scotts mother believes, based on Scotts e-mails and conversations with contractors who served with her son, that McQuown feared that Scott might replace him at the company. Callahan says that if Blackwater and McQuown had done in the United States what they are alleged to have done in Iraq, There would be criminal charges against them. What happened between McQuown and Helvenston was no mere personality conflict. tn_keyword: ['academi', 'security-c'], AMY GOODMAN: Moyock in North Carolina, where Blackwater is based. Ill only be away from my kids for a couple of months. Thats why he chose Blackwater, she recalls. The gruesome image is soon beamed across the globe. In an expose in the new issue of the Nation magazine, independent journalist Jeremy Scahill tells the story of the struggle of the four families of the slain Blackwater contractors to hold those responsible for their deaths accountable. Justin McQuown Email & Phone Number - Caretaker.. | ZoomInfo

What Is Difference Between Turpentine Liniment And White Liniment, Dr O'neill Cardiologist Voorhees Nj, La Business Journal Women's Leadership Awards, Aaron May Chef Net Worth, West High School Basketball Coach, Articles J