1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 This week on Force for Hire we’re taking a step back from the politics and controversy surrounding private military contracting and talking to a man who knows what it’s like to be both a soldier and a private operator. &amp;nbsp;Adam Gonzales was an Army infantryman who served in a long-range surveillance detachment for a brief time in 2003 before deciding to look at other opportunities. One arose in the form of a security job with the then-relatively unknown contracting firm Blackwater. His journey took him from the Army to a Blackwater training facility in North Carolina. There, the one-time Army grunt had to compete against members of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, SEALs, Rangers and force recon Marines for a spot at Blackwater – and a $15,000 a month salary. The job? Protecting U.S. ambassador Paul Bremer, America’s chief representative in Iraq and the man who decided to disband the Iraqi Army. Force for Hire http://www.stripes.com/podcasts/force-for-hire <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/12116597/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/item/12116597