Hey Steyr Brotherhood, My graduation from law school is right around the corner and my long time plan has been to take a little personal vacation after the Bar Exam as a reward for my hard work. To that end I have been looking into many professional private training organizations around the country and have come across Blackwater USA. I've heard alot of great things about Blackwater and I think it would be great to take their Carbine & Pistol Civilian Course. Has any member of this website been to Blackwater for instruction and if so, what is your impression of the place as a whole. Would like to hear the good, the bad and the ugly about the place. Thanks
I can help Because of one of the businesses that I am involved in, I am around and deal with PMC's, internationally. I was always impressed by the "product" Blackwater produced (the shooters themselves). In my honest opinion, they are the most professional in the business and it is evident, because they get all of the tier one jobs. Paul Bremer, Colin Powell, etc.... They offer diverse training and the fact that they are a leading procurer of international military talent doesn't hurt the situation either. Feel free to PM.
Before you get too far into your planning, check with Blackwater. Last I heard they were very backlogged on contracts and were not taking any "walk-ins." Another school for you to consider is Thunder Ranch. Clint Smith runs a great school and since moveing to Oregon, the classes are very small, very personal, and very intense. Feel free to PM me for details.
I know some BW guys that have also trained at Front Sight. They say good things. Some of the BW shooters have gone private over the years and take care of security for high profile persons....BW background/Vetted/Combat Proven is a major plus and they are in high demand, especially with hollywood and tier one corporations.
WARNING: Graphic Content and Graphic Language Blackwater Operating In Najaf http://www.motionpersonified.net/lamda/ ... _Najaf.wmv
IDPA, I thought TR was like a year or more wait to get a spot? BW and TR are certainly THE kings. also well reputed and where i'd like to go is OPS or Tactical Response or for competition style shooting is Universal Shooting Academy. Gun Site used to be top notch when Cooper was directly involved, but went downhill w. new management. Is it back under "old management" again or was that a rumor?
Chef, It can be a long wait to get into TR but if you check the web paga early in the year, there is generally no problem in getting into a class. All of the good schools have a wait. Gunsite, under the current management has a reputation for good, solid training. It will never be what it was when Cooper was still active, but it is good.
as I know blackwater is the well known private organisation. A lot of information is in internet about blackwater operations. I think such organisation must have some good training facilities and courses as well as teaching methods. I guess if they are providing such courses you can request for more information about traininga and methods they use. I saw that najaf video long time ago, it was a fierce fight.......
as to the videos abou blackwater, few months ago assmonkeys clip circulated in internet involving Little Birds, practices with M-249. very impressive and well made clip :!:
Ok, I`ll try I have downloaded from internet video dedicated to Blackwater aviation dettachment which is now in Baghdad. Video involved rock music, flyig low in Baghdad, practice shooting from OH-6 with M-249 machine guns and slide show at the end.
I thought i read somewhere that the gov was goin to shut all the training places down to the average citizen?
The Blackwater USA website still lists a number of courses open to civilians: tactical pistol I & II, tactical shotgun I & II, and tactical carbine & pistol courses. They also claim that they are strong proponents of the second amendment, which leaves me to believe that they believe in a citizens right to bear arms and train with them at quality facilities. Their website list 5-day training sessions at a cost of $950.00 plus an additional $200.00 for staying at the Bunkhouse in a four man dorm style room. Needless to say its expensive, but I like the looks of the place and obviously the staff are well qualified (ex. Seals, Recon, Delta, etc.). I'm thinking of going sometime next spring so I have awhile, but obviously I'll have to make my reservations within the next few months as their training classess appear to fill up fast. I figure it would be a better vacation than laying on a beach somewhere, which I have already done a number of times.
MOD, I live 3 hours from Blackwater and I've been there for of all things the NC CCW class. It was not indicative of the training you will get with the other classes, but I did get around the place a bit during the day and got to see their facilities and watch parts of some other classes. During breaks in our class we would see VIP protection details in a parking lot, full-kitted operators on a reactive-steel range and a ship-clearing team practicing on the 3-story ship-deck trainer. Plus you could hear .50 BMG fire from far away on the 1200-meter range and automatic rifle fire from the other ranges. I've never been to any of the other schools (although I have been to Gunsite to walk around), but I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better training facility or more experienced instructors than at Blackwater USA. Ever since the war started they have been THE source for training and outsourced operational personnel. Their people rotate after 3-6 months ops over in the Sandbox and other places, then come back and run the training, modifying the courses with improvements they get from actual field experience. Their rumored $100 Million contract with the State Department for security (State Dept. and Foreign Dignitary) allows them to pay top dollar for qualified/experienced operators. I also have had the opportunity to shoot several IDPA and 3-Gun matches with their instructors, and these guys are the real deal. If you get into a class with either Bill Go or Aaron Roberts, you will be with some of the finest pistol shooters I have EVER seen - Aaron won ESP/MA at both the Carolina Cup and last weekend's NC State IDPA Match and is just blazing to watch in person. All good people too - you don't get egos with people who truly have been there and done that - they are professionals. I think it is an obvious choice, but I may be biased because of my first hand experience. Jeff
BTW - if you're into combat video, here is more from that Blackwater team in the video above: http://www.cqbarms.com/Najaf_edit.wmv Right-click and "Save as" for best results. Jeff
Just got back from the range. They guy next to me was wearing a Blackwater tee shirt. He says he got it from a friend who works for them, but was unaware of their facilites. He thought they were mercenaries, which, I guess they are. They just call it "private security" these days. Matches
