{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Soldier turned contractor explains Blackwater training, security detail in Iraq","description":"This week on Force for Hire we\u2019re taking a step back from the politics and controversy surrounding private military contracting and talking to a man who knows what it\u2019s 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 \u2013 and a $15,000 a month salary. The job? Protecting U.S. ambassador Paul Bremer, America\u2019s chief representative in Iraq and the man who decided to disband the Iraqi Army.  ","author_name":"Force for Hire","author_url":"http:\/\/www.stripes.com\/podcasts\/force-for-hire","html":"<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>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/item\/12116597"}