By Malia Zimmerman Published February 25, 2015 FoxNews.com
“The 21 Afghan soldiers had been kidnapped in the remote Badakhshan Province by the Taliban, which, days later, returned their bullet-riddled bodies through tribal leaders.
Within hours, Tony Schiena, a real-life Rambo who has been called “one of the most highly trained covert operatives in the world,” was on a plane from Los Angeles to Kabul at the request of U.S. officials to put on clinics in defense tactics and teach the local conscripts the techniques he has taught to NATO Special Forces from the U.S., Canada, Germany and Croatia. For several weeks following the March 2013 incident, Schiena, at the request of the U.S. officials, instructed the Afghan Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, a game, but undermanned and outgunned crew of soldiers fighting for their nation’s future.
Charged with investigating executions and murders in Taliban territory, the Afghan squad often ventured into lawless land to bring killers to justice. The abduction and slaughter of its CID team was grim testament to the need for the kind of training Schiena, 40, a former South African intelligence operative, has provided to armies around the world.
“We taught them how to survive.”
– Tony Schiena, CEO of company that trained Afghan soldiers
“At that time, they were being sent into mud huts to investigate Taliban murders, decapitations,” said Schiena, CEO of Multi Operational Security Agency Intelligence Company (MOSAIC). “Due to Afghan government bureaucracy, they had not yet been issued any weapons. Here they were, deep in enemy territory, and they had nothing but their own bodies’ capabilities to defend themselves.”
“We taught them how to survive,” he added.
Schiena, whose company includes former intelligence operatives and commandos from various agencies such as the CIA, Navy SEALs, former British Secret Intelligence Service and other elite units, is one of several U.S. and foreign former special operators who have found a niche training the ragtag armies of war-torn nations to stand up to terror. Instruction in counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, unconventional warfare and defensive tactics are all in demand, and private companies such as MOSAIC have the staff and know-how to furnish it.
“We have provided forward intelligence and close protection for leaders of government and former presidents, prime ministers, sheiks and rulers,” said Schiena. “We have trained Cambodian special forces in their border conflict with Thailand, and American and NATO forces in Iraq and NATO in Kabul.”
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Tony Schiena, of MOSAIC, a private security firm, demonstrates how to subdue an enemy during a training session in Afghanistan. (MOSAIC)
Hanan Richter, president and CEO of Houston-based Instinctive Shooting International, agrees that the need for private militaries companies is on the rise. Founded in 1999, his company offers full service tactical and anti-terrorism training, largely to the U.S. military, government agencies, Department of Defense contractors and law enforcement.
Richter is originally from Israel, and his company has specialized in pre-deployment training for U.S. forces going to the Middle East. His instructors, veterans of the U.S. military and an array of elite Israeli forces, are experienced in a variety of special-ops training, including anti-terrorism, tactical response, urban-based policing, intelligence, asymmetric warfare, explosives and aviation security. In past years, a big focus of ISI has been on training American soldiers about cultural issues and how to avoid causing unnecessary friction so casualties are minimized.”
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