Al Clark (Blackwater)
Encyclopedia
Al Clark, along with Erik Prince
, was the founder of the private security firm Blackwater
.
Clark and Prince created Blackwater in 1997 as a business for assuming some of the roles once played by the public sector military, most notably providing security for American and British officials in the Iraq war.
As a Navy SEAL firearms instructor, Clark grew dissatisfied with the fact that the Navy did not own firing ranges, and instead had to borrow time on Marine
or Army
ranges or rent facilities that were highly inadequate for serving the Navy’s needs. With the idea of creating a “one-stop shopping” private training facility, Clark’s concept simply lacked the financial backing, until he realized that one of his SEAL trainees (Erik Prince) was a man with similar ideas but far greater financial resources.
Erik Prince
Erik Dean Prince is the founder and formerly the sole owner of the private military company Xe Services LLC, formerly Blackwater Worldwide. On March 2, 2009, Prince announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Xe. He is currently living abroad in the United Arab Emirates, where he is creating a...
, was the founder of the private security firm Blackwater
Blackwater USA
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
.
Clark and Prince created Blackwater in 1997 as a business for assuming some of the roles once played by the public sector military, most notably providing security for American and British officials in the Iraq war.
As a Navy SEAL firearms instructor, Clark grew dissatisfied with the fact that the Navy did not own firing ranges, and instead had to borrow time on Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
or Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
ranges or rent facilities that were highly inadequate for serving the Navy’s needs. With the idea of creating a “one-stop shopping” private training facility, Clark’s concept simply lacked the financial backing, until he realized that one of his SEAL trainees (Erik Prince) was a man with similar ideas but far greater financial resources.
External links
- A Story on Blackwater Lodge
- Blackwater's Dark Side Exposed - video news report by MSNBC