Aegis Defence Services

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Aegis Defence Services
Founded2002
FoundersTim Spicer
Mark Bullough
Jeffrey Day
Dominic Armstrong[1]
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Nicholas Soames (chairman)
ProductsDefence services
ServicesMilitary services
Websitewww.aegisworld.com

Aegis Defence Services is a British

private security company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Somalia and Mozambique. It is part of the Aegis Group of companies, which includes Aegis LLC, which is based in the United States. It was founded in 2002 by Tim Spicer, who was previously CEO of the private military company Sandline International;[2] Jeffrey Day, an entrepreneur; and Mark Bullough and Dominic Armstrong, former investment bankers.[3]

It is a founding signatory of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers, inaugurated on 9 November 2010, a 'Swiss government convened, multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to both clarify international standards for the private security industry operating in complex environments, as well as to improve oversight and accountability of these companies.'[4] It was a founding member of the British Association of Private Security Companies (BAPSC), a body lobbying for the regulation of the British PSC sector,[5] which is now defunct. It is also a member of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq.

In October 2015 Aegis was taken over by

GardaWorld.[6]

Aegis in Iraq and Afghanistan

In Iraq, Aegis is under contract (worth $293 million over three years[when?]) to the United States Department of Defense to provide security support services to the Project and Contracting Office (PCO), responsible for managing the reconstruction program. These services include:

  1. Providing static and mobile security details for the PCO and United States Army Corps of Engineers;
  2. Maintaining
    situational awareness
    of logistical movement and reconstruction security operations;
  3. Facilitating intelligence–sharing between security forces and reconstruction contractors; and,
  4. Providing continuous information on the viability of road movement throughout the country.

Through its charitable foundation Aegis conducts a self-funded civil affairs programme to facilitate reconstruction in areas where there are gaps in mainstream projects. It also provides expatriate–led and Iraqi–staffed Reconstruction Liaison Teams to monitor the progress of reconstruction work subcontracted to Iraqi building companies.

In separate contracts, Aegis is engaged in providing security protection to the inquiry into alleged corruption in the Oil-for-Food Programme. It provided security support to the UN Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD) and the Independent High Electoral Commission (IECI) facilitating both the constitutional referendum to proceed in October 2005 and the general election in December 2005.

In May 2011, it was announced that U.S. military was to pull out of Baghdad, in the air and ground, and to be replaced by eight companies including Aegis and

DynCorp International to take over security operations.[7]

In 2011, Aegis was awarded a $497 million contract by the U.S. Department of State for assuming security forces operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Guardian newspaper reported that from 2011 onwards Aegis "broadened its recruitment" to include African countries, including Sierra Leone. Security guards recruited from Sierra Leone were paid only $16 (£11) a day.[6]

Trophy videos

On 27 October 2005 a number of "trophy" videos showing

U.S. Army Ranger and lead security contractor) denouncing the contractors and ordering a cease fire. Aegis benefited from CPA-mandated immunity from prosecution by Iraqi authorities.[8]

On 6 April 2006 More4 News reporter

MP Jeremy Corbyn insisted that the Pentagon
's contract with Aegis Defence Services should be suspended until the matter had been properly investigated and fully reported upon.

Acquisition

On 28 October 2005 Aegis acquired

Rubicon International Services Ltd
, a longstanding provider of corporate and other executive private security services. The public announcement was made on 4 November 2005. John Davidson, managing director of Rubicon, joined the Aegis board and became director of operations.

In July 2013, the Aegis chief executive was former

On 13 July 2015, GardaWorld announced the acquisition of Aegis Defence Services to expand its strategic expansion in Africa and the Middle East.[10] The acquisition was completed on 12 October 2015 for $130,725,000 plus an earnout amount.[11]

Following the acquisition, former Aegis Defence Services co-founder and head of Aegis Risk Advisory (the intelligence arm of the company), Dominic Armstrong, founded strategic intelligence firm Herminius.

References

  1. ^ "AEGIS - History". Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  2. ^ "Tim Spicer". Sourcewatch. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Aegis Defence Services". Sourcewatch. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  4. ^ "About the ICoC". ICoC. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015.
  5. ^ Phinney, David. "From Mercenaries to Peacemakers?: Scandals Confront Military Security Industry". CorpWatch, 29 November 2005
  6. ^ a b Ross, Alice (17 April 2016). "UK firm 'employed former child soldiers' as mercenaries in Iraq". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  7. ^ "As U.S. Military Exits Iraq, Contractors To Enter : NPR". npr.org. 2011. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  8. ^ Fainaru, Steve (27 May 2007). "U.S. Security Contractors Open Fire in Baghdad". The Washington Post.
  9. ^ Aegis Defence Services website - Management Archived 24 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "GardaWorld Announces Strategic Expansion to Become the Premier Security Provider in Africa and the Middle East". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 13 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Mergers & Acquisitions - Highlights". Séguin Racine. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

External links