Blackwater sets its sights on e-learning businesses

Need to stanch the bleeding from a gunshot wound?

Apply a tourniquet?

Or just respond to a dirty bomb explosion in your city?

Blackwater Worldwide can help.

The North Carolina-based military contractor is introducing a new line of interactive, instructional CDs and DVDs for law enforcement and the military. The first release came late last month with a production titled "Tactical Lifesaver."

It's an extension of the company's original business - teaching weapons and tactics, said Jim Sierawski, vice president of domestic training and operations at Blackwater.

"This is just another training vehicle," he said.

Blackwater has become controversial for its bodyguard work in Iraq and Afghanistan. In July, company President Gary Jackson told The Associated Press he would like to move the company back toward its original training mission.

The company pumps about 30,000 people through weapons and tactics training at its Moyock campus every year, Sierawski said. It has the capacity to train about twice that number. Most are military personnel and law enforcement officers, with some qualified civilians, he said.

But businesses increasingly are moving toward so-called

"e-learning" and away from live trainers, according to a 2006 study by the American Society for Training and Development. The Alexandria -based association tracks workplace training in commercial and government fields. In the 2006 report, researchers said technology-based teaching "has dramatically shaped the field."

That's a market Blackwater wanted to reach when it purchased a video production company, The Backup Training Corp., last year, Sierawski said.

The Idaho-based company had a strategic agreement with Blackwater before the fall 2007 purchase, said Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell. She declined to provide the purchase price or projected revenues for the division, which has about 20 full-time employees.

Backup has produced training videos for about 10 years, with clients ranging from state police to customized, company-specific education. Titles from the Backup library include topics such as escalation of force, sexual harassment, mine safety and ticket-writing for police officers.

The new products are shot, edited and produced by Backup with experts from Blackwater and law enforcement agencies teaching.

Blackwater is targeting the law enforcement audience through a series of new CD-ROMs and DVDs covering domestic terrorism, hostage negotiation, weapons of mass destruction and other crises.

Sierawski said digital training is a cheaper alternative to sending employees to a Blackwater site for training. It also ensures consistent training from experts in the field, he said.

The first production, "Tactical Lifesaver," sells for $50. The four-hour course on surviving a potentially fatal shooting or accident is taught by two doctors and a Blackwater medic.

Several more titles are planned through next year, including courses on crisis negotiation, managing street informants, surveillance and decision-making during pursuits.

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com