A year after Prince proposed private troops for Nigeria, the West African nation is now using mercenaries. Prince’s old firm, Blackwater, used to contract with the U.S. to protect convoys and officials, and train foreign armies — but caused controversy when its employees killed Iraqi civilians.

Nigeria’s government is deploying South African mercenaries in its effort to battle the Islamist Boko Haram militia that’s wreaking havoc in the northern part of the country, the New York Times reported last week.

DynCorp International LLC, of Fort Worth, Texas, protests the award of a task order to Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. (KBR), of Houston, Texas, under request for proposals (RFP) No. W52P1J-14-R-0086, which was issued by the Department of the Army under the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP IV) contract, for support services for U.S. military installations located in the Arabian Peninsula.

DynCorp argues that the Army unreasonably evaluated offerors' proposals under the technical/management and cost/price evaluation factors, failed to engage in meaningful and equal discussions, and failed to reasonably consider pending False Claims Act (FCA) litigation in evaluating the awardee's past performance and responsibility.

Private Military Contractors (PMC), or private military or a security company, provides military and armed security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs euphemistically prefer to refer to their staff as security contractors or private military contractors.

The services and expertise offered by PMCs are typically similar to those of governmental, military or police forces, most often on a smaller scale. While PMCs often provide services to train or supplement official armed forces in service of governments, they can also be employed by private companies to provide bodyguards for key staff or protection of company premises, especially in hostile territories.

Four hundred miles from land. The nearest vessel isn’t even showing up on the radar. A container ship is sailing in the middle of the ocean. A skiff approaches, what does the armed security guard do? No one would hear it if he popped off a few rounds. Sure the ammo count would be off, but he could say he spent that on zeroing the weapon.

This is a fight private maritime security companies operating off the coast of Somalia face every day. How does a firm find personnel with integrity that go beyond what is codified or the industry standard? How does it evaluate the mental capacity of someone to be fit for duty as a privately contracted armed security personnel?

Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations  (OBO) — In an important symbol of the commitment and enduring relationship with Pakistan, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G. Olson, and the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations Deputy Director Casey Jones, alongside local officials, dedicated the first phase of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad today.

The first phase includes a chancery and office annex, a service support annex, a warehouse, and a utility building. The second phase will include staff apartment buildings, a consular annex, a parking structure, and additional facilities for the embassy community.

As Erik Prince pitched his plan last year to fight Ebola with private contractors, Blackwater founder Erik Prince spoke alternately in hypotheticals and nostalgic past tense. Prince thinks that with a large supply vessel off the coast of Ebola-ravaged West Africa, private contractors like the ones formerly employed by Blackwater could quickly deliver crucial medical assistance where it’s needed — an old idea of his in a new context.

“We could carry 250 vehicles, couple of helicopters, couple of landing craft, and everything else — so that’s all your mobility equipment,” he told Foreign Policy on Thursday. “Everything else was containerized: food, medicine, field hospitals, tents, water purification, generators, fuel — everything you’d need for a humanitarian disaster.”

Congress is investigating the U.S. military to evaluate charges that it manipulated studies to justify building an intelligence center in the United Kingdom.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon sent its European Infrastructure Consolidation plan to Congress, proposing to build the new base for about 1,000 intelligence analysts attached to European and Africa Command and to a related NATO intelligence center. The plan caught the attention of Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and other lawmakers who consider the Lajes Field strategically important and thought the intelligence center would be a good fit there.

Working overseas can be a wonderful experience. You might be looking at an overseas job or expatriate assignment with your current employer or you could have found a job on your own. Either way, don't embark upon an overseas employment opportunity without resolving issues related to the type of assignment or employment, your compensation and adapting to a new culture.

Whether you're accepting an overseas job as an expatriate assignment with your current employer or you're contemplating accepting a job with an overseas employer, you need to know how long you'll be there. You decision may depend on the length of time you're going to spend in a foreign country.

A former military contractor who ran two Kuwaiti companies during the Iraq War was sentenced today to 54 months in prison for paying a $15,000 bribe to a lieutenant in the Army National Guard in exchange for the award of a contract. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania made the announcement.

George H. Lee, 71, of Philadelphia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

KBR Inc. took a hit in an ongoing False Claims Act suit from the federal government Thursday when a Texas federal judge ordered the company to hand over an internal investigation report on alleged kickbacks at the center of the case on the grounds it had waived attorney-client privilege of the document.

Obliging the government’s midtrial request to compel the report, U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone ruled shortly before closing arguments in the case that protection for the report had been waived nine years before when one KBR employee transmitted it to another, an attorney for KBR confirmed to Law360 in an interview.

Vectrus, Inc. announced a prime contractor position on the $5 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract under the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program (AFCAP IV) has been awarded to its subsidiary, Vectrus Systems Corporation (formerly known as Exelis Systems Corporation).

"Winning a position on AFCAP IV allows Vectrus to continue executing a long-term strategy that focuses on enhancing our solid foundation, balancing our portfolio and providing more value," said Ken Hunzeker, chief executive officer and president at Vectrus. "We look forward to continuing and strengthening our long-term relationship with the Air Force, and providing innovative and affordable global contingency solutions under AFCAP IV."

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DynCorp has been hard hit by the military drawdown in Afghanistan and Iraq, with its sales dropping half by within the last year. U.S. and its allies cut orders for services such as training and maintaining military equipment and facilities to the giant defense firm.

After a few questionable replacement for the executive role with the company Delta Tucker Holdings, Inc., the parent company of DynCorp International, Inc. (DI), released that Lewis “Lou” F. Von Thaer has been named chief executive officer (CEO) last week. Von Thaer will replace Jim Geisler, who will step down as interim CEO to take on a new role as non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors.

“We are delighted to have Lou Von Thaer lead the Company going forward,” said Delta Tucker Holdings, Inc.’s lead director Chan Galbato. “Lou brings a track record of success and deep knowledge of adjacent markets. Lou’s talents will be additive to an already strong management team.”