“We have already noted Chad’s terrible human rights record. That bothers me. I would not want to be smeared by association with so corrupt a regime. Beyond that, what guarantees do we have that our training will not be turned against the civilians of Chad?”
Derringer shrugged. “No foolproof guarantees, of course. But if our training is limited to counterinsurgency…” He looked to Mohammed.
“Quite right,” the training officer interjected. “The techniques we would provide are not very applicable to police or civil concerns.” He looked across the table at Pilong. “Frankly, nobody needs any training to beat up political opponents or blackmail people into compliance. From what I’ve heard, the Chadians already have plenty of experience in those areas.”
“Well, maybe so,” Pilong responded. “I’ll take your word for that, Doctor. But I’m also an advocate for this company. What about our reputation? Hasn’t it occurred to anybody that the government wants a PMC to do its dirty work so the military doesn’t get the blame?”
Derringer nodded vigorously. “That is exactly the reason I called this meeting. It’s also why I invoked extreme secrecy at this point. I’d be remiss if I didn’t consider all aspects, the potential benefits against the risks. So I think that Corin is asking the right questions — the same questions that our board will raise.”
After a moment the CEO shoved back from the table. “Very well. I’ll have your comments summarized for distribution at the board meeting. Thank you, everyone.”
In the hall, Leopole and Carmichael stopped at the water fountain. “What d’you think?” he asked.
She winked. “It’s a go, Frank. I understand Corin’s viewpoint, but I’d bet next month’s retirement check that the board will approve.”
He nodded. “Concur. I could practically hear Ferraro’s gears crunching the numbers. This is a low-cost, high- return project.”
“There’s just one thing,” Carmichael said. “Through that whole meeting, General Varlowe didn’t utter one syllable. Isn’t that odd? I mean, he’s head of the advisory board. The admiral didn’t even ask him what he thought.”
“Yeah, I know. That means they both want to take the contract.”
5
“The meeting will come to order.”
Derringer convened the board of directors the morning after his meeting with SSI’s department heads. Mrs. Springer noted the attendees and double-checked each item on the agenda. Thomas Varlowe represented the advisory board, though he was entered in the minutes as Lieutenant General Varlowe.
Strategic Solutions, Incorporated, was structured like many PMCs. The directors all had personal interest in the firm’s success, and in fact most of them had been selected with finances in mind. Several were contributors to the start-up process; most were astute businessmen; all were connected militarily and/or politically. All were approximately patriotic; most fell somewhere between jaundiced and cynical. None would be described as naive.
As president and senior vice president, Marsh Wilmont and George Ferraro already were familiar with the topic at hand. Derringer already had their support and had obtained the proxy of another director, retired Colonel Samuel A. Small, formerly of Air Force Systems Command.
“Let the record show that we have a quorum. Colonel Small is in Europe but he faxed me his proxy. Dr. Craven is attending a conference in Hawaii and could not be reached in time.”
Derringer continued. “Gentlemen — and ladies — we will dispense with old business until a pressing matter is addressed. In fact, I would hope for a fast decision on an opportunity that has come our way. I refer you to the first information sheet in your meeting folders.
“As you see, the State Department has offered us first refusal on a training contract in Chad. The briefing paper describes the background to the situation: the U.N. peacekeeping force is being withdrawn after prolonged conflict among the government and warring factions. The French will send a sizable contingent independent of the U.N., which probably means a more effective presence in the country. Our role will be training selected units of the Chadian Army in counterinsurgency warfare.”
He looked around the room. “Any comments or questions?”
Harrison E. Rowell was a retired brigadier general with excellent connections on the Hill. It was hardly surprising, considering his lengthy service in the Army’s congressional affairs office. “Mike, the paper doesn’t mention the duration of the contract, though the monthly fee looks good enough. How long are we talking here?”
“It’s more or less open-ended, Harry. We didn’t try to estimate the length of the project because State still doesn’t have a handle on that. My guess is that it’ll be at least as long as the French need to stabilize things. Several months, anyway. Likely over a year.”
“Can we sustain enough instructors in a place like that, more or less indefinitely?”
Derringer nodded. “I discussed the salient details with operations and training yesterday. Frank and Omar believe we can recruit enough people with the military and language skills necessary. Matt Finch and his personnel office are already at work. They’re coordinating with our DoD liaison officer as well.”
Reuben J. Frisch, a Ph.D. in international relations, was a notable pragmatist in a crowd of pragmatists. “Admiral, I admit that this looks good on paper — low investment, potentially a nice yield. So I have to wonder: what’s the down side? Other than the obvious, that is.”
“I understand your concern, Doctor. That’s one of the reasons I convened a premature department head meeting yesterday. Marsh and George and I thought that we needed to hear the views of the people who’ll get their hands dirty over there. Colonel Leopole in operations and Dr. Mohammed in training, with some of their subordinates, all agree that we can provide the service requested. If necessary, we can rotate training teams in and out of the country so nobody has to stay for too long at a time.”
Frisch nodded his balding head and adjusted his glasses. “But there are other aspects…”
“Yes, there are. Frankly, one or two of our senior people expressed doubt about being seen as supporting a corrupt, even brutal government. It’s important enough to bring to a vote, which is why I bumped it to the top of today’s agenda. But I’d point out that we’re acting on behalf of the U.S. Government, and we can truthfully say that we’re working with military forces, not the national police.”
“Excuse me, gentlemen. I’d like to clarify something.” Major General Richard D. Jonas had made his reputation in the Air Force’s electronic warfare community. His post-retirement fortune had been made in defense electronics. “I admit that I don’t know much about Chad or the situation there. Just how bad is it? For instance, would our training team likely be in danger?”
Derringer swiveled his chair toward Thomas Varlowe. “The head of our advisory committee is well informed on that situation.”
Varlowe had the facts at the tips of his manicured fingers. “As far as the current situation, the U.N. peacekeeping force is pretty typical: a hodgepodge with a few troops from several countries with at least as many observers as active ‘peacekeepers.’“ With his fingers he etched quote marks around “peacekeepers.”
“There’s troops from Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Ghana, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, and Russia. I’m told that some of those like Argentina, Greece, Italy, and Poland only have a few observers just to run up the numbers for PR purposes. The ones doing most of the patrolling and getting shot at are Muslims and other Africans: Egyptians, Kenyans, Nigerians, and Pakistanis. However, Italy’s and Poland’s contingents have taken casualties and they’re already pulling out.” He shrugged. “And you heard about the Australians. They had a light armored outfit shot up pretty badly the other day.
“Now, the other player is the African Union, which draws on a lot of the same sources as the U.N. for peacekeepers. It’s not terribly effective, and probably will withdraw before the French move in. Consequently, there’s a growing power vacuum. Some areas are more secure than others, and some are under control of various rebel factions.
“Dick, to answer your question more specifically: our teams should operate in fairly secure areas. After all,
