The Bremer Detail (24 page)

This list is in alphabetical order.

Thomas Basile

Maj. Becket, USMC

Dave Bennet

Lt. Col. Pat Carroll, USMC

Scott Carpenter

Jill Copenhaver

Ken Curley

Capt. Liesel Davenport, USAF

Gregg Edgar

Matt Fuller

Robert Goodwin

Don Hamilton

Heather Hopkins

Gordan James

Ambassador Richard Jones

Maj. Kaufman, U.S. Army

Lydia Khalil

Ali Khedery

Sharifah Maston

Julia Nesheiwat

Susan Phelan

Col. Dennis Sabol, USMC

Carrie Schneider

Traci Scott

Scott Sforza

Suzann Shaffrath

Dale Sharagaso, USAF

Jim Steele

Christina Estrada Teczar

Olivia Troy

Kristen Whiting

Molly Wilkinson

Jared Young

Alex Zemek

The guys who volunteered to go over to Iraq and perform this mission are all worthy of great respect. Many guys did one rotation and never came back. Some did not come back because I did not want them back, and some because it was just too stressful for the man or his family. The guys who did a rotation and came back despite the knowledge that they were taking great personal risks are worthy of mention. Below are the guys who did at least 150 days in Iraq. These 150 days meant they made at least five hundred Red Zone motorcade movements while protecting Ambassador Bremer.

The Bremer Detail Hall of Fame:

Phil Abdow

Monti Anderson

Dan Bauscher

Matt Botvinis

Drew Bowman

Hart Brown

Mark Brynick

Faron Burcker

Steve Chilton

Billy Connors

Ken Correll

Dave Diemer

Peter Farrell

Kwame Fisher

Todd Gillis

Jimmy Griffin

John Hall

Ken Herbert

Gavin Horne

Ron Johnson

Steve Just

Carl Magee

Jad Muntasser

Gino Najiola

Stuart Rice

Eric Saxon

Ryan Sharock

Mike Soppelsa

Travis Titus

Russell Todd

Mark Walker

JD Williamson

Jeremy Woelfer

Randy Yonker

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ambassador L. Paul Bremer. He was the hardest-working man in Baghdad. He was also the best protectee I have ever had the privilege of working with. Despite all the risks and challenges, he let us do our job while we made sure that he could do his.

Sue Shea, none of us will ever forget you. Thanks for all your help while we were there.

I must also offer my thanks to Erik Prince for having the guts to take on this mission and having the trust and confidence in us to accomplish it. It was neither easy nor smooth sailing, but we did it. Mr. Prince was a great man to work for. He has my eternal respect. As does Brian Berrey for first calling me, hiring me, and looking out for me. He also offered sage advice and served as a great sounding board when the seas got rough.

Many thanks to the guys who were on the mission with me—we did it. Especially the guys who helped refresh my memory of some events and took the time to review the book to make sure that it is correct. Steve “B-Town” Just, Ken “Harry Potter” Herbert, John “Cowboy” Hall, Steve “Hacksaw” Chilton, Kwame “Q” Fisher, Ryan “Geek” Sharack, Dave “Carmine” Diemer, Jad “Jadicus” Muntasser, Gavin “G-Money” Horne, Eric Saxon, and John “Brutus” Buffin—thanks for the reviews and revisions. Many may (and some will) question the account, but the truth is here.

Special thanks also to my sister-in-law, Jennifer Adnet Gallagher; Tony Scotti, the godfather of security driving; Joe Autera; Geoff Fowler; Mike Marcel; Pete Porrello; Ed Castillo; Matt Marshal; and the many others who kept me on track.

Mary K. Duke—thanks for all the help!

John Del Vecchio—what can I say? Your help in cleaning this up was a lifesaver. Thank you!

And to my daughters, Kelli and Katherine, as they most likely had it the roughest of all as they followed the news and saw what was being reported—though often it was not the truth. Kids who have parents working in a war zone never know when or if their parents will be home. It could not have been easy. But, at least in my case, they knew that the United States of America is our country and as citizens, we do what needs to be done to support our way of life. If the country needs you, you do what you can. Love you both! Thanks.

About the Authors

Frank G. Gallagher has over twenty-five years of international experience providing personal protection, intelligence gathering, counterterrorism operations, surveillance detection, threat analysis, and security training in both the private security sector and the U.S. military.

Mr. Gallagher is a U.S. Marine, having served from 1978 to 1982. During this period he was a member of 2d Reconnaissance Battalion. His experience as a special warfare operator included duties such as intelligence gathering, dive operations, surveillance detection, close quarters battle (CQB), small unit tactics, and training.

After leaving the Corps, he served as the director of security for former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry A. Kissinger. In that role Mr. Gallagher was responsible for the public and private, domestic and international safety and security of Dr. and Mrs. Kissinger. He coordinated the Kissingers’ travel plans in liaison with local, federal, and international law-enforcement officials. He was also responsible for the security of multiple offices and residences, as well as the recruiting and training of members of the PSD.

Following that assignment Frank Gallagher worked for International Business Resources (IBR) where he was responsible for the creation, training, and outfitting of both the CBR (Chemical, Biological, and Radiological) and Hostile Environment Training programs for clients with personnel traveling to high-threat areas. He also conducted international security surveys for multinational clients to ensure adherence to acceptable risk-management standards.

Mr. Gallagher’s most memorable assignment was as the agent-in-charge (AIC) of Ambassador L. Paul Bremer’s security detail in Iraq, where he was responsible for the day-to-day safety and security of the presidential envoy who had been tasked with overseeing the rebuilding of the country. Mr. Gallagher designed and supervised the motorcade operations, CAT operations, foot formations, surveillance detection, and helicopter support procedures that helped make the mission a success.

After The Bremer Detail, Frank served Blackwater Security as the lead instructor for its protective service details (PSD) portion of the State Department’s Worldwide Personal Protective Services (WPPS) High-Threat Protection training program.

Frank Gallagher returned to Iraq in September 2004 and worked for the Counterterrorism Special Operations Forces under DOD as the deputy program manager for the Bureau of Diplomatic Protection responsible for training the Iraqi PSD teams now protecting Iraq’s leadership.

In 2006 he worked for the U.S. Department of State’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) Program where he trained foreign protection agents in VIP protection and taught VIPP-TST (tactical support team) courses. He also helped to rewrite the Protecting National Leaders (PNL) course and is recognized by the U.S. Department of State as an expert on this subject matter.

Frank is currently the executive vice president of Amyntor Group, LLC, an international security services and consulting firm serving government, corporate, and VIP clients.

John M. Del Vecchio is the author of the bestselling
The 13th Valley
, along with other books on the war in Southeast Asia and on the veteran homecoming experience. He was drafted in 1969 shortly after graduating from Lafayette College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. In 1970 he volunteered for Vietnam where he served as a combat correspondent for the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). In 1971 he was awarded a Bronze Star for Heroism in Ground Combat. His books in addition to
The 13th Valley
include
For the Sake of All Living Things
,
Carry Me Home
, and
Darkness Falls
.
The 13th Valley
was a million-plus-copy bestseller about which the
New York Times
book review said, “There have been a number of excellent books about Vietnam, but none has managed to communicate in such detail the day-to-day pain, discomfort, frustration and exhilaration of the American military experience in Vietnam.” Del Vecchio’s books have been translated into four languages and published worldwide.

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