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huntcg · 07-24-2006, 08:41

In the discussion of companies that charge their employees for expensive training, the commercial aviation industry comes to mind. It is not uncommon for regional carriers and small freight lines to charge their pilots for their type ratings at FlightSafety Int'l or SimuFlight, courses which can easily run upwards of $20,000. NDD is dead-on in pointing out that this does prevent someone from jumping ship soon after training.

As for running into former comrades downrange, in early '04 we did run into our former company commander, who had been relieved about 6 months earlier and sent home. He was back in Baghdad with Custer Battles. From our limited dealings with THAT company, it would seem that they certainly did not have any kind of training program or standard prior to sending their employees into the Middle East. They were a mess and generally a pain to deal with. That being said, the Blackwater guys were usually very professional, and squared away when compared to most of the other contractors doing business in our area.

07-24-2006, 08:41	#12
huntcg Auxiliary Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Navarre, FL Posts: 58	Blackwater Better than Most In the discussion of companies that charge their employees for expensive training, the commercial aviation industry comes to mind. It is not uncommon for regional carriers and small freight lines to charge their pilots for their type ratings at FlightSafety Int'l or SimuFlight, courses which can easily run upwards of $20,000. NDD is dead-on in pointing out that this does prevent someone from jumping ship soon after training. As for running into former comrades downrange, in early '04 we did run into our former company commander, who had been relieved about 6 months earlier and sent home. He was back in Baghdad with Custer Battles. From our limited dealings with THAT company, it would seem that they certainly did not have any kind of training program or standard prior to sending their employees into the Middle East. They were a mess and generally a pain to deal with. That being said, the Blackwater guys were usually very professional, and squared away when compared to most of the other contractors doing business in our area.
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