AMY GOODMAN: Were also joined by Katy Helvenston. [includes rush transcript]. The fact that [McQuown]was being exposed infuriated him. Scotts mother believes, based on Scotts e-mails and conversations with contractors who served with her son, that McQuown feared that Scott might replace him at the company. KATY HELVENSTON: I was told that its unheard of. And so, in that whole pyramid scheme, what you saw was Blackwater had a subcontract with this Kuwaiti company, and the Kuwaiti company had the contract with E.S.S., so the contract with E.S.S., the company that provides the catering services, said explicitly because there is a very serious security situation in Fallujah it actually names Fallujah as one of the cities these men need to be traveling in armored vehicles. AMY GOODMAN: An excerpt from _Frontline_s program Private Warriors, documentary on the role of private military contractors working in Iraq. It will be precise, and it will be overwhelming. Within days of the ambush, US forces laid siege to Falluja, beginning what would be one of the most brutal and sustained US operations of the occupation. The other guys were Army Rangers, and they were all very, very experienced combat soldiers. And whats important here is that the lawsuit alleges that because of Justin McQuowns personal animosity toward Scott Helvenston, he intervened to have only four men sent, that only four were sent on Justin McQuowns order that day, instead of six, and the other two were held back to perform clerical duties in the Blackwater facility in Baghdad. All four guards were shot and killed. Now, back in the United States, these killings were taken as a threat or a challenge to Americas resolve in the White House and immediately became a sort of turning point in the war. One team member, former Army Ranger Wes Batalona, complained to a friend that the team had never worked together before. But it just shows sort of the breakdown. The suit alleges that Blackwater trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown resented Helvenston and deliberately reassigned Helvenston to the team that was ambushed. They say Blackwater refused to redraft the contract. Were also joined by Katy Helvenston, the mother of Scott Helvenston, who was killed that day, March 31, 2004 in Fallujah. Thats not what I was hired to do. And at that point McQuown apparently told him that if he didnt do it, he would be fired immediately. Helvenston began training at Blackwater USA's facilities in March 2004, and developed a personal conflict with head trainer Justin "Shrek" McQuown. Its Departing Leader Recalls the Battle. This is life and death were talking about here, and as Marc Miles says, the commodity that Blackwater deals in is human beings. This is a billion-dollar industry, Jackson said in October 2004. Not so, say the families of the four men and their lawyers. Helvenston et al. v. Blackwater Security | Military Wiki | Fandom In one, Man vs. A Blackwater official later boasted, the suit says, that they saved two lives by not sending all six men. He was an incredible athlete his whole life. And Erik had a check for the Zovkos. Justin McQuowns nickname, according to documents weve gotten and to other people who were in Kuwait and Iraq at the time, was Shrek, after the green ogre character, and it doesnt sound like he was too popular of a guy and really sort of targeted Scott Helvenston. In fact, Blackwaters then-general counsel, Steve Capace, gave a workshop last May on the subject to an International Super-Conference for contractors. has denied any relationship to this and wont talk about it anymore. And Scott wrote in this email to Blackwater, that I think [that my team leader] felt that there was a hidden agenda. You dont just stick a Navy Seal on a brand new team with guys and send them into a combat zone. An analysis of Princes contributions prepared for The Nation by the Center for Responsive Politics reveals that since 1989, Prince and his wife have given some $275,550 to Republican campaigns. Helvenston's great-great-uncle was Secretary of War Elihu Root. Since the team was driving without a rear-gunner and did not have armored vehicles, the insurgents were able to literally walk up behind the vehicles and shoot all four men with small arms at close range, the suit alleges. AMY GOODMAN: But you did meet at the memorial service. The other two were kept behind at Blackwaters Baghdad facility to perform clerical duties. While the Iraq war has helped the company Blackwater USA see its profits soar, the company is facing a major battle here at homethis time in court. According to Callahan, there was a safer alternative route that went around the city, which the men were unaware of because of Blackwaters failure to conduct a risk assessment before the trip, as mandated by the contract. And each family was assigned a guard, literally, and it was to me, it was just so bizarre, because we were being watched 24/7. And so, I called a really good friend of mine, and they were godparents to both my children. In the presentation, called Managing Contracting Risks in Battlefield Conditions, Capace laid out a legal strategy for deflecting the kind of lawsuit Blackwater now faces. These four guys were sent out without armor, without the adequate guns, without adequate personnel, and Blackwater takes it as a moment to say, 'Hey, we're famous now. The real problem here is that we have corporate America involved. In this email, Scott talked about Justin McQuown, who he refers to as "Justin Shrek." Scott apparently thought his actual name was "Shrek" because that's what everyone called him. JEREMY SCAHILL: I was very diligent in trying to get Blackwater to make any comment. Blackwater and this lawsuit is going to be the first of its kind, and its going to go forward, and were going to go into trial and prove all of the allegations that weve set forward. They were vulnerable and obvious. Blackwater has fought to have the case dismissed by claiming that all liability lies not with the company but the U.S. government. But then, theres something else that all too often gets left out of the mix here, and that is that tens of thousands of Iraqis have died in this war, and they dont have a voice in the legal system here. Before Helvenston, Teague, Zovko and Batalona were ever sent into Falluja, the omission of the word armored was brought to the attention of Blackwater management by John Potter, according to the families lawyers. Now, thats not unusual for, you know, a lifelong Republican to give that kind of money. Iraqis physically did it, and it doesnt get any more horrible than what they did to my son, does it? Blackwater had told all of us that none of us wanted to communicate with each other. Justin's ethnicity is Caucasian, whose political affiliation is unknown; and religious views are listed as Christian. The families of four private security contractors killed in Fallujah in March 2004 have filed a ground-breaking lawsuit charging Blackwater USA with fraud and wrongful death. And so, literally, the people that killed them were able to walk up and open fire on them. It mostly was, Mom, please dont worry, Im OK. Im gonna be home soon and Im gonna see ya. KATY HELVENSTON: I was appalled at first that he would joke about such a serious issue. He was taken out of that team and put in with men that were wonderful, good people, but he had never met them, he had never worked with them. MARC MILES: Thats correct. Jane movie, and he ended up playing a small role on the film, because the guy that was supposed to play the Navy Seal instructor was terrified of the ocean. And thats the type of conduct at Blackwater that were dealing with. The families of the four men, led by Scott Helvenston's mother Katy Helvenston-Wettengel and Donna Zovko, Jerry Zovko's mother, filed suit against Blackwater with lawyer Daniel .

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