Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Former Blackwater firm moves to Washington area

Posted at 11:23 AM ET, 07/26/2011
By Jason Ukman
WP

The private security contractor once known as Blackwater is moving its corporate headquarters to the Washington area.

Xe Services said Tuesday that it would move from North Carolina to Arlington. The firm will retain its training operations elsewhere, including at its largest facility in Moyock, N.C.

“While we remain fully committed to our world-class training facility in North Carolina, having a footprint in Washington will allow us to better interact with our current and future U.S. government and corporate customers,” Xe’s chief executive, Ted Wright, said in a statement.

Xe was acquired by USTC Holdings, an investor consortium, in December 2010, after a string of controversies involving its operations in Iraq and elsewhere. The firm is also facing accusations from a pair of employees that it overbilled the government for work protecting State Department employees in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company has denied such allegations in the past.

Xe still has major contracts with the Pentagon, the State Department and other U.S. agencies. In recent months, USTC has made several prominent hires, including of well-known Washington figures.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft now serves as Xe’s ethics adviser, and Jack Quinn, a top lobbyist and former counsel to President Bill Clinton, is an independent director.

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