Blackwater Addresses Questions Concerning San Diego Training Facility

SAN DIEGO, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackwater Worldwide today sought to clarify misinformation and alleviate concerns that have surrounded a planned San Diego training facility. Recent news reports have cited questions from city officials and members of the community to which Blackwater would like to respond.

"We have no doubt that everyone from the Mayor to members of the local community wants what is best for the City of San Diego," said Brian Bonfiglio, a Blackwater vice president who lives in San Diego. "We share that goal, which is why we want to provide San Diego, a city that has always supported its men and women in uniform, with a superior training facility. We have followed the proper procedures throughout the permitting process and look forward to clearing up some of the misunderstandings surrounding the project."

The following points address some of the key issues and questions that have surfaced in recent weeks:

    -- History. Blackwater has been training U.S. Navy sailors ever since the
       tragic attack on the U.S.S. Cole, after which the U.S. Navy identified
       a need to augment its existing training programs to better prepare
       sailors for potential threats they might face abroad. Blackwater has
       been training Navy sailors in rented facilities in San Diego for five
       years.

    -- The new facility. The 61,000-square-foot space is located in an
       industrial warehouse park. The training facility will include a ship
       simulator to train sailors for crisis situations at sea, classrooms,
       and an indoor, soundproofed, state-of-the art target range.

    -- Purpose. The proposed training facility will be used to train military
       and law-enforcement personnel in safety procedures and for real-life
       scenarios so they can be prepared to deal with a variety of potential
       threats.

    -- Precedents.  A privately run, California-certified police academy is
       located in Otay Mesa, less than a quarter of a mile from the Blackwater
       facility.  The county has welcomed other defense contractors into the
       Otay Mesa district and is home to at least 16 ranges.

    -- Permits. Blackwater and its affiliates involved in the San Diego
       facility first applied for permits with the city of San Diego
       Development Services Department at the beginning of the year. Because
       Blackwater's construction affiliate, Raven Development Group, was
       responsible for the initial construction work for the facility, its
       name was one of those included on the permits. The City has
       acknowledged that it is typical for a variety of entities to be
       involved in the permitting process for a project. This is no different
       from three or four developers or contractors being involved with the
       early stages of a project. As contractors come and go, so do business
       relationships. But those changes do not affect the validity of the
       permits, which relate to a location, not an individual.

    -- Initial determination was correct.  The city's Director of Development
       Services took the proper course of approving all permits having to do
       with the facility. San Diego's Director of Development Services, Kelly
       Broughton, told KPBS on May 20th that Blackwater's facility "complied
       with our municipal code and the California Building Code."  It is a
       vocational school, which is clearly permitted, after ministerial
       review, in Otay Mesa.  "Ministerial review" means that city officials,
       including electrical, structural, and fire/safety inspectors have
       checked to see whether the structure meets all relevant San Diego
       Municipal Code provisions.  All such inspectors have approved
       Blackwater's Otay facility.

    -- Transparency. Blackwater has been completely forthcoming in its
       dealings with San Diego officials throughout the permitting process.
       Every planner, every inspector, and every official has known they were
       dealing with Blackwater. Throughout the process, all individuals
       working on the project identified themselves to city staff as
       representing Blackwater.  As a matter of fact, the business permit
       issued to Blackwater in connection with this project makes clear that
       Blackwater is the entity that will do business at the Otay Mesa
       facility, and all city officials inspecting the property were greeted
       by individuals wearing Blackwater "polo" shirts, and providing
       Blackwater business cards.

       Although it had no obligation to do so, Blackwater officials have
       provided facility tours for City auditors, members of the media and
       others.

    -- What it isn't. Critics of the project have used blatant fabrications --
       claiming that the facility will be used for border security or
       immigration purposes -- to build support for their opposition of the
       facility. The proposed facility will be used for training alone and
       this kind of propaganda should be discredited immediately.

Blackwater is committed to working with the people of San Diego and City officials to clarify any questions or misinformation that surround our work in San Diego. In doing so, over the past several days, Blackwater has sent extremely detailed letters to all city officials spelling out all relevant facts and providing exhaustive legal analysis. Copies of those letters will be made available on request.

Blackwater has followed all of the proper rules and processes for a training facility of this type, and City officials publicly have acknowledged that we have complied with the permitting process. Blackwater now hopes that it will be able to move forward with the important work of providing superior training for U.S. military and law enforcement personnel.

Founded in 1997 to support the training needs of the United States military and law enforcement communities, Blackwater has trained more than 100,000 local police officers, SWAT team members, homeland security professionals, and military personnel.