justin shrek'' mcquown
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. Katy Helvenstons son Scott Helvenston is one of the four men who died, the security contractors working for Blackwater on March 31, 2004 in Fallujah. Heres Why. 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. Democracy Now! The day after the killings, Erik Prince hired the Alexander Strategy Group its a now-disgraced lobbying firm, but it once was very powerful; it was Tom DeLays private lobbying firm, basically hired the Alexander Strategy Group to manage the newfound fame of Blackwater. 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. 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. STUDENT: I was hoping your answer might be a little more specific. Blackwater was paying its men $600 a day but billing Regency $815, according to the Raleigh News and Observer. And whats important here is that the lawsuit alleges that because of Justin McQuowns personal animosity toward Scott Helvenston, he intervened to have only four men sent, that only four were sent on Justin McQuowns order that day, instead of six, and the other two were held back to perform clerical duties in the Blackwater facility in Baghdad. Well, that left Scott no choice. 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. Every dollar makes a differencein fact, gets doubled! President Bush issued a statement through his spokesperson. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yeah, I appreciate that very much. After the training session, Helvenston got on a plane to Kuwait, where he touched down on March 18. 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. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. And the noon news, it had this just all of a sudden it caught my attention, and I looked over there, and I thought, Oh, my god, you know. tn_subject: ['criminal-j', 'society', 'us-wars-an', 'war-and-pe', 'war-on-ter'], Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. They didnt have a rear gunner. And I think there were ten in all. 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. Lets take this opportunity. Now, just recently, last month, Cofer Black, who is a former C.I.A. The producer Paul Howard says Bohm merges, into his [] It was a simple thing, really, that kicked off Suresh's career shift. But Blackwater was not aware of that. 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. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Well, Scotty chose the military, and he wanted to continue his education through that. Given the uncounted tens of thousands of Iraqis who have died since the invasion and the slaughter in Falluja that followed the Blackwater incident, some might say this lawsuit is just warmongers bickeringno honor among thieves. [Blackwater] then flew him to Jordan for ultimate deployment in the Middle East, Miles says. JEREMY SCAHILL: Per day. tn_keyword: ['academi', 'security-c'], This was not done, according to Miles, so as to pad Blackwaters bottom line and to impress ESS with Blackwaters efficiency in order to win more contracts. V. Blackwater Security - Facts & Allegations. One point that I want to make, though, that I think is important is Katy Helvenston talks about the way that Erik Prince and others from Blackwater have dealt with these families. AMY GOODMAN: And then he was in a Survivor-like program called Combat Missions? 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. AMY GOODMAN: What did he think he was going to be doing? Shortly after George W. Bush was re-elected in November 2004, Gary Jackson sent out a mass celebratory e-mail declaring, Bush Wins, Four More Years!! Jeremy, lets begin with you. And at that point, Scotty was desperate for money, and he went in there. Attorney Marc Miles says that shortly after the suit was filed, he asked the court in North Carolina for an expedited order to depose John Potter. Blackwater has not offered a rebuttal to the specific allegations made by the families, except to deny in general that they are valid. As we expose Blackwater in this case, it will also expose the inefficient and corrupt system that exists over there.. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. They said Blackwater.. The Lafayette McQuown House is significant as a typical example of a late 19th-century miner's residence in good condition. In its motion to dismiss the case in federal court, Blackwater argues that the families of the four men killed in Falluja are entitled only to government insurance payments. 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. This is about holding Blackwater accountable and about creating accountable and sending a message to other private military firms operating over there. John Potter had recently teamed Blackwater up with a Kuwaiti business called Regency Hotel and Hospital Company, and together the firms won a security contract with Eurest Support Services (ESS), guarding convoys transporting kitchen equipment to the US military. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. Blackwater, in turn, was billing a Kuwaiti company more than $800 for Scott Helvenstons services, and then that Kuwaiti company, in turn, billed a Cypriot company called E.S.S., which was the company that provides catering services to military operations, basically the U.S. military bases. They got so lost that first day that they had to spend the night in a different camp, somewhere that they werent even intending on going. 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. 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. 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 . KATY HELVENSTON: I was in my home office doing research, and I was on the computer and I had CNN on. ease arkansas phone number AMY GOODMAN: Marc, I just want to interrupt for one second. [6] But instead, they missed that turnoff, and they ended up driving straight through the center of Fallujah, and it was as they got through the middle of town that they got stuck in traffic, that they were ultimately ambushed. Youre out of your mind. 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. AMY GOODMAN: At the memorial service for your son? Instead, the men set out at 8:30 in the morning with just two men per car, each short a rear gunner. You can read our Privacy Policy here. And theres all sorts of Scott speaks to us posthumously through his email, and I just want to read from this. 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 State Department official that Blackwater hired up, was in the country of Jordan announcing that Blackwater was interested in essentially farming out its services to the highest bidder to engage in overt combat missions. And I presume that thats the defense that Blackwater is going to make. Altogether an estimated 20,000 non-Iraqi civilian contractors are now working for the United States inside Iraq. I sent them, I think, seven or eight more emails, including one that just said, If you dont comment, youre not going to be represented in the piece, other than what I can find in the media, because these are very serious allegations, and it looks bad for you to not say anything about it. And Scotty finally went to casting, and he said, This guy is just not going to work, because he will not get in the water. So, Scotty did play a small role. COL. JOHN A. TOOLAN, U.S. Marines: Contractors were easily identified on the roads because they were all in brand-new SUVs 2004 SUV, tinted windows. KATY HELVENSTON: I think thats total garbage. Now, back in the United States, these killings were taken as a threat or a challenge to Americas resolve in the White House and immediately became a sort of turning point in the war. AMY GOODMAN: Jeremy Scahill, thank you for being with us. 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. Scotty chose Blackwater, because they had a two-month contract, and he could be back home. KATY HELVENSTON: He refused to even speak to me. JEREMY SCAHILL: I think, just in closing, you know, this is such an incredible tragedy, and whats clear from this the allegations in this lawsuit is that it really appears like it was preventable. Explore Scott Helvenston net worth, bio, age, height, family, wiki, birthday, career, salary [Last Update 2021]! Instead, each vehicle had only two men and far less powerful Mach 4 guns, which they had not even had a chance to test out. They deleted the word armored. And Marc Miles says that in doing that, Blackwater was able to save $1.5 million. He is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at the Nation Institute. And she was told that they would have to sue Blackwater to get that information. I did want to ask you, Katy Helvenston, about the email that we got from Blackwater, from Chris Taylor, who said, Out of respect for the families and the integrity of the judicial proceedings, I cannot join you. Your response? AMY GOODMAN: How did you hear that Scott had died? We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. And I was just literally dumbfounded. And I do want to say we invited Blackwater on the program today. 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.. Stephen "Scott" Helvenston (June 21, 1965 - March 31, 2004) was a United States Navy SEAL.He was working as a security contractor for Blackwater Security when he was killed in the 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush within days of arriving in Iraq.. Helvenston was a personal trainer for Hollywood celebrities such as Demi Moore (for G.I.
