Free Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of theWar on Terror by Erik Prince

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    First published by Portfolio / Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2013
    Copyright © 2013 by BW Productions, LLC
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    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Prince, Erik, 1969–
    Civilian warriors : the inside story of Blackwater and the unsung heroes of the War on Terror / Erik Prince ; with an afterword by Max Boot.
    pages cm
    Includes bibliographical references
    ISBN 978-0-698-15400-1
    1. Blackwater USA—History. 2. War on Terrorism, 2001–2009. 3. United States—Military policy—History—21st century. 4. Civil-military relations—United States—History—21st century. 5. Prince, Erik, 1969- I. Title.
    UB149.P75 2013
    355.3'5—dc23
    2013033302
    Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.
    All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or any other U.S. Government agency. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. Government authentication of information or CIA endorsement of the author’s views. This material (excluding the Afterword and the Publisher’s Note) has been reviewed by the CIA to prevent the disclosure of classified information.
    Version_1

To all the Blackwater team, especially the forty-one men who gave their all and those who were wounded and still inspire us today with their perseverance.
I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished together.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE
    Prior to the publication of
Civilian Warriors
, Erik Prince submitted the manuscript to the Central Intelligence Agency for review, honoring the confidentiality agreement he had signed when hired by the agency. The CIA review resulted in numerous redactions, and Mr. Prince accordingly deleted all material considered classified from the text, including his accounts of several widely publicized events.
    While Mr. Prince’s memoir stands alone despite the cuts, we have asked Max Boot, one of America’s leading military historians, to write an outsider’s account of the experiences Mr. Prince is unable to recount himself. This afterword is based on information drawn from public sources, and Mr. Prince has had no input or involvement in its writing.

CHAPTER 1
MY FATHER’S SON
    1969–1996
    The sound of a boat exploding is exactly what you’d think it would be.
    I was thirteen the first time I heard it, way up in Ontario’s North Channel, where my family was vacationing aboard our forty-three-foot Viking powerboat. My dad had driven my mother, Elsa, one of my three older sisters, and a buddy and me up through Lake Michigan and past the Upper Peninsula. Towed behind us was an aging thirteen-foot Boston Whaler my dad had bought through a newspaper ad, and which I’d subsequently poured my heart into.
    Just before six a.m. one morning during that vacation, my friend and I jumped from the Viking into that Whaler and motored out to a nearby fishing spot. We’d barely cast our first lines when suddenly an orange flash on the horizon jerked my head, followed by a baritone thunderclap that rattled across the water. White smoke billowed from the