Iraqis physically did it, and it doesnt get any more horrible than what they did to my son, does it? This month marks the two-year anniversary of the first US siege of Fallujah, in which at least 600 Iraqis were killed. I mean, thats I knew it was him from his looks, everything. I mean, clear as day. units, but Blackwater didnt provide them with the maps to go in the G.P.S. Were talking to Katy Helvenston, Scotts mother; Jeremy Scahill, whos breaking the story today in The Nation magazine; and Marc Miles, the attorney for the families of the four Blackwater employees. 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. Unbeknownst to Helvenston, this goal would drive a series of events that would ultimately lead to his death. Thats the only thing they understand, she says. Kathy Potter told the News and Observer that Regency would quote ESS a price, say $1,500 per man per day, and then tell Blackwater that it had quoted ESS $1,200. ESS then contracted with Halliburton subsidiary KBR, which in turn billed the government an unknown amount of money for the same security services, according to the paper. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. Helvenston et al. Jane and did a few stints on reality television. Blackwater said that they would be operating in armored vehicles. covers war or gun violence, were not brought to you by the weapons manufacturers. AMY GOODMAN: And who told them that they would have to sue? There was a local minister that spoke, and then Erik Prince spoke. So they were to escort these two E.S.S. Blackwater sent my son and the other three into Falluja knowing that there was a very good possibility this could happen, says Katy Helvenston, the mother of 38-year-old Scott Helvenston, whose charred body was hung from the Falluja bridge. The killing was March 31. And thats the type of conduct at Blackwater that were dealing with. Scott Helvenston | Military Wiki | Fandom More than 428 private contractors have been killed to date in Iraq, and US taxpayers are footing almost the entire compensation bill to their families. AMY GOODMAN: What about the other families? Indeed, the real scandal here isnt that these men were sent into Falluja with only a four-person detail when there should have been six or that they didnt have a powerful enough machine gun to kill their attackers. Erik Prince comes from a major powerful Republican family in Michigan. But then things started to get strange. Justin J Shrek, age 31, Summerfield, FL Search Report. It will be precise, and it will be overwhelming. Within days of the ambush, US forces laid siege to Falluja, beginning what would be one of the most brutal and sustained US operations of the occupation. had a contract with Halliburton with K.B.R., the subsidiary of Halliburton. Had they had a rear gunner, had they had armored vehicles, a very strong case could be made that they never would have been killed. And I think we can look to a situation such as a new firefighter. They were vulnerable and obvious. KATY HELVENSTON: Yeah. [includes rush transcript]. 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. KATY HELVENSTON: That exact incident. He went through the rigorous Navy Seal program at age 17. While the Iraq war has helped the company Blackwater USA see its profits soar, the company is facing a major battle here at homethis time in court. Later that night, according to Scotts mother, McQuown came up to Helvenstons hotel room. They said it was the direct line. Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License, Fighting in Sudan Persists Despite Extended Ceasefires as U.N. Lets see if we can screw with Scott. And he came up to Scotts room a couple days before Scott was murdered and got into an altercation, and he took Scotts gun away from him. These men and women are never included in the death tolls provided by the Pentagon or reported on in the media. You did the piece, the investigation into this case. [6] And I was just literally dumbfounded. AMY GOODMAN: Were talking about a groundbreaking lawsuit against Blackwater, the security contractor in Iraq. KATY HELVENSTON: And I was just literally stuttering. I couldnt believe I was talking to the man. 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. At the top, the federal government could be getting billed as much as like $2,000 $1,500 to $2,000 for these men. Not so, say the families of the four men and their lawyers. AMY GOODMAN: Each of you in separate hotels? So they were easy to pick out. This is not even close. It goes through multiple hands, at least three or four layers per contract. After the killings, Blackwater released a statement saying the heinous mistreatment of our friends exhibits the extraordinary conditions under which we voluntarily work to bring freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people. They wrote back to us and said, Out of respect for the families and the integrity of the judicial proceedings, I cannot join you. Scott Helvenston Net Worth 2023: Wiki Bio, Married, Dating, Family It was about what happened to Scotty and Jerry and Mike and Wesley. Justin Shreck Facebook, Instagram & Twitter on PeekYou As always, click on the title of the post above. They do not deny that the men were aware of the risks they were taking, but they charge that Blackwater knowingly refused to provide guaranteed safeguards, among them: They would have armored vehicles; there would be three men in each vehiclea driver, a navigator and a rear gunner; and the rear gunner would be armed with a heavy automatic weapon, such as a SAW Mach 46, which can fire up to 850 rounds per minute, allowing the gunner to fight off any attacks from the rear. 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. 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. And they, at that time, asked specifically for the incident report and a copy of the contract. And each family was assigned a guard, literally, and it was to me, it was just so bizarre, because we were being watched 24/7. navy seal scott helvenston death video - indigocreativity.com But three days before the deposition, Miles says, Blackwater hired Potter up, flew him to Washington where its my understanding he met with Blackwater representatives and their lawyers. But one thing to stress here, and this is what the lawsuit alleges, its not just wrongful death, its also fraud. Helvenston v. Blackwater Security - Alchetron, the free social encyclopedia Theyre the whores of war.. In honor of Public Media Giving Days, a generous donor will DOUBLE your donation, which means itll go twice as far to support our independent journalism. Had they been, I sincerely believe that theyd be alive today. And so, literally, the people that killed them were able to walk up and open fire on them. AMY GOODMAN: Moyock in North Carolina, where Blackwater is based. It wasnt just a compilation of everything that was going on. KATY HELVENSTON: And I had called I did several follow-up calls, and I said, I still dont have that information.. Scotty had tried to call me in the middle of the night, Katy Helvenston remembers. And the people he had been with in Kuwait City, all of a sudden he was no longer working in that team. Can you talk about that a little bit? hidden potential 2020 Katy, of course, can talk about how Scott ended up going there. A Blackwater official later boasted, the suit says, that they saved two lives by not sending all six men. And I just got on the internet, and I tracked them down, and I said, I have an attorney, and what happened was not right, and I want to pursue this. And I said, Do you want come on board with me? And they said, Hell, yeah, because they had been trying to do the same thing. When Democracy Now! tn_articleid: [72445], 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. What theyre trying to do is to say, Lookwe can do anything we want and not be held accountable. And I called them, and I said, Thats just not acceptable. And the insurgents knew that it was a fairly easy mark. Our tasks are dangerous and while we feel sadness for our fallen colleagues, we also feel pride and satisfaction that we are making a difference for the people of Iraq., The company swiftly rose to international prominence: Journalists were flooding Blackwater with calls, and military types were clamoring to sign up for work. is funded by you, and thats why were counting on your donation to keep us going. 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. And Erik had a check for the Zovkos. In one, Man vs. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. We had argued about him going over there, she recalls. They were killed by insurgents literally walking up and shooting them with small-arms fire. He was divorced but continued to support his ex-wife and two children. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yeah, I appreciate that very much. They said Blackwater.. And that may work for some companies that are manufacturing staples or shoes or something along those lines, but what Blackwater doesnt understand here is that the commodity that theyre dealing with is not a paper clip or a staple, but its actually human life, and so what we want to do is we want to create a situation where these companies are held accountable. targeting:{ But we couldnt hear anything, because there were these two helicopters that were flying, I mean, just a couple hundred foot over our heads. So I sent Blackwater about 23 specific questions, and from that first email that Chris Taylor sent me, I never heard back. Justin McQuowns nickname, according to documents weve gotten and to other people who were in Kuwait and Iraq at the time, was Shrek, after the green ogre character, and it doesnt sound like he was too popular of a guy and really sort of targeted Scott Helvenston. Justin McQuown is a Director, Engineering at Caretaker Medical based in Charlottesville, Virginia. KATY HELVENSTON: In the rooms on the balcony, because we had gotten so paranoid, we thought maybe the rooms were tapped or something. Hes protecting Paul Bremer. But the day went on, and all of a sudden it was Blackwater. And I do want to say we invited Blackwater on the program today. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: I was going to ask him. The lawsuit alleges that these men were defrauded, because Blackwater failed to provide them with the basic minimal guarantees of their contract, among them that they would be in armored vehicles, that they would have heavy weapons, something like a SAW Mach 46 machine gun that could fire up to 850 rounds per minute, and its very key. And there are other people that have talked to Katy and Marc that have affirmed all of this. justin shrek'' mcquown If you think Democracy Now!s reporting is a critical line of defense against war, climate catastrophe and fascism, please make your donation of $10 or more right now. Hooyah! Scott Helvenston Net Worth & Bio/Wiki 2018: Facts Which You Must To Know! Prince has never given a penny to a Democrat. MARTIN SMITH: Around 9:30 a.m., they approached the center of town. Jane movie, and he ended up playing a small role on the film, because the guy that was supposed to play the Navy Seal instructor was terrified of the ocean. Jane), and was also featured in the reality shows Combat . We have seen numbers in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 contractors working in Iraq. There should be three men per team. Were joined in our New York studio by Democracy Now! And he wrote me back and said, Hi, Jeremy, Im the appropriate person to deal with on this, and he said he would entertain my questions and go over them with counsel. Helvenston Et Al. V. Blackwater Security - Facts & Allegations AMY GOODMAN: Did they say it was Fallujah? KATY HELVENSTON: Yeah. Marc Miles, attorney for the families of the four Blackwater contractors killed in Fallujah, March 31, 2004. They had guards on each one of the families. We are speaking with the mother of one of the four men who were killed in Fallujah, March 31, 2004, Katy Helvenston; Jeremy Scahill has written a piece, an article in The Nation magazine called Blood Is Thicker Than Blackwater; and Marc Miles, the attorney for the families of the four Blackwater contractors. And then the reports are that E.S.S. And so, corporate America is primarily concerned with their bottom line. You will be launched to my site where you can watch the teaching. On occasion, Helvenston would attempt to politely assist McQuown by offering his expertise on the correct manner of the particular training exercise. They have no values, they have no morals. According to the suit, McQuown lacked the credentials of Helvenston and other ex-SEALs. Scott Helvenston - Interesting stories about famous people, biographies But their personal contracts also warned of death and/or injury caused by everything from civil uprising and terrorist activity to poisoning and flying debris. In filing its motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Blackwater quoted from its standard contract, insisting that those who sign it fully appreciate the dangers and voluntarily assume these risks as well as any other risks in any way (whether directly or indirectly) connected to the Engagement.. Thats why this case is being watched so closely by other firms operating in Iraq. But today, Blackwater is facing a potentially devastating battlethis time not in Iraq but in court. Name. Username. They were not provided with the armored vehicles or able to do the pre-trip inspection or the risk assessment. So they announced there was going to be a memorial service after you made the call to the head of Blackwater, asking for an incident report. Well, that left Scott no choice. has denied any relationship to this and wont talk about it anymore. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. Username. AMY GOODMAN: And then he was in a Survivor-like program called Combat Missions? However, when youre talking about an assumption of the risk, youre talking about a calculated assumption of risk. He was an extremely accomplished Navy Seal, was popular with other guys, and it seems very plausible that he viewed Scott Helvenston as a threat. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. But Blackwater was not aware of that. 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. He spent 12 years in the Navy SEALs until he left in 1994 as an E-6 (Quartermaster First Class).Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. 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. They deleted the word armored. And Marc Miles says that in doing that, Blackwater was able to save $1.5 million. All four guards were shot and killed. Since the Falluja incident, and also because of it, Blackwater has emerged as one of the most successful and profitable security contractors operating in Iraq. Several armed men approach the two vehicles and open fire from behind, repeatedly shooting the men at point-blank range. He swam like a fish. And the email, its incredible, because Scott sort of makes all these apologetics. Ill be home soon. He said, Im going to spoil you. And, you know, he was already dead by the time I got that. A few nights before Scott was killed, and actually the night before he left Kuwait to go to Baghdad, he sent an email to the owner, president and upper management of Blackwater, and the subject of that email was extreme unprofessionalism. And in this email, which we have, he is complaining about Justin McQuown, who he refers to as Justin Shrek. Scott Helvenston apparently thought his actual name was Shrek and was referring to him as Justin Shrek throughout the email. Erik Prince and his late wife gave $275,000 since 1989 to various political candidates, not a single penny ever to a Democrat. But I can imagine that there may be other lawsuits to follow if these companies dont shape up and actually realize what theyre dealing with here. Copy may not be in its final form. Name. They had done everything in their power to keep us apart. Once the cover boy on a Navy calendar, he also had several workout videos. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. Right now, its my understanding that U.S. law doesnt apply, because it did not happen in the U.S.; military law doesnt apply; and Iraqi law, well, there is no Iraqi law, and so, as things stand now, they literally can get away with murder. What happened that day, as far as you have been able to understand and as your lawsuit alleges? In the presentation, called Managing Contracting Risks in Battlefield Conditions, Capace laid out a legal strategy for deflecting the kind of lawsuit Blackwater now faces. Reading this, it would seem that Blackwater has a reasonable defense. is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. Many firms specializing in contractor law advertise the DBA as the best way for corporations servicing the war to avoid being sued. 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. For more on this ground-breaking lawsuit, we are joined by the three guests: JUAN GONZALEZ: This is an excerpt from _Frontline_s program Private Warriors, a documentary on the role of private military contractors working in Iraq. Well, Scotty chose the military, and he wanted to continue his education through that. The men got lost on the evening of March 30 and eventually found a Marine base near Falluja where they slept for a few hours. Several other contractors stepped forward, offering to go in his place. Democracy Now! KATY HELVENSTON: It was a brand-new area. Its lead counsel is Greenberg Traurig, the influential DC law firm that once employed lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Thats why the company moved swiftly to apply for benefits for the families under the Defense Base Act. They were not provided with the six folks that they were supposed to have in each vehicle. He was an incredible athlete his whole life. As it turned out, Helvenston was slated to carry out a far less glamorous task. Was this months later, weeks later? So what this lawsuit is about, its about creating accountability for those firms, those private military firms that are working in Iraq, and its also not only about holding Blackwater accountable for these four deaths, but its also about sending a message to the other private security firms out there that they cannot cut costs to increase their bottom line and put lives at risk. Simply Ernest: Pity the poor mercenary - Blogger Bills a judge in Tampa, and I called Bill, and I said, Bill, I think I need to get an attorney. And he said, Yeah, you sure do.. Ill only be away from my kids for a couple of months. Thats why he chose Blackwater, she recalls. Helvenston arrived in Kuwait on March 18, where he was under the management of John and Kathy Potter, whom he knew from Combat Missions . He said, Im gonna go over there, make some money, maybe make a difference. Scott Helvenston (US Navy SEAL) ~ Bio Wiki | Photos | Videos KATY HELVENSTON: I was given a number. Blackwater has not offered a rebuttal to the specific allegations made by the families, except to deny in general that they are valid. They have no respect for the families. KBR/Halliburton refuses to discuss the matter and will not confirm any relationship with ESS. Without the big gun, without the third man, without the armored vehicle, they were sitting ducks, says Callahan. Democracy Now! Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. 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. Surely there are other instances like this one with wrongful conduct involved, but, of course, we havent seen one single prosecution coming out of any contractors in Iraq, and that is essentially the entire focus of the litigation here. And they did approach the Zovkos and asked if they would meet Erik Prince in his office, and they did. While it is not unheard of for a successful business to cast its lot entirely with one party, it has clearly paid off. Im going to call the secretary and say you brought up a very valid question, and what are we doing about it? They made a killing off of New Orleans. About 6,000 of these are security contractors. I wrote an email to Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater. AMY GOODMAN: Can you tell us what happened when you asked for an incident report for what happened to your son? We will not be intimidated, he said. We will hunt down the criminals. And five seconds after I connected to that line, Erik Prince was on the phone. 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. VIDEO: People in Denmark Are a Lot Happier Than People in the United States. And Im reading these articles, and all of a sudden . However, Iraq is clearly not currently capable of enforcing its laws, much less against you know, over our American military contractors. 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. The suit alleges that there were six guards available that day, but McQuown intervened and ordered only the four to be sent. Is it your sense that this is an isolated situation that happened with these men, or are you exploring the possibility that there have been systematic problems with the way these contractors have been handling security? The deposition was set for January 28, 2005, and Miles was to fly to Alaska, where the Potters were living. Scott Helvenston was a walking ad for the military. Since the team was driving without a rear-gunner and did not have armored vehicles, the insurgents were able to literally walk up behind the vehicles and shoot all four men with small arms at close range, the suit alleges. Scott was tall, tan and chiseled and, by all accounts, a model soldier and athlete. According to the suit, McQuown lacked the credentials of Helvenston and other ex-SEALs. They charged the government $400,000 for 14 guys for 28 days in September of 2005 14 guys, $400,000 for 22 days in September. A new firefighter goes through the academy, is shown all these big hook-and-ladder trucks and pumpers and engines, all this equipment, and then is told to run into a burning building where a family is inside, but is given nothing other than a squirt gun. Heres Why. And so, what happened that particular day from the evidence that Ive accumulated is that they were basically told to escort three flatbed trucks, which I understand were going to pick up some kitchen equipment, far different from what Scott Helvenston had understood, that he would be guarding an ambassador.

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