BORELLI CONSULTING: Recreational Equipment Reviews

"Outsourced" by RJ Hillhouse
17 September 2007

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I can’t begin to adequately explain my mixed emotions about this particular book. While it was fairly enjoyable as an adventure read, it was apparently written from the perspective that contracted security work has some underlying curses… and a few blessings. Given that my reviews are published through Blackwater’s Tactical Weekly and given Blackwater’s heavy involvement in such contracting work, I wasn’t sure if it was sent to be as a joke or for a serious review. If it was a joke, then the joke’s on them: Here is a serious review.

Because of some of the observations I'm going to make about this book, I need to start out by stating that I have NEVER been a contracted operative overseas. Whether you choose to call such personnel "mercenary", "security", "operator" or whatever doesn't really matter. "A Rose by any other name..." and all that. When a man or woman performs a service in any environment for pay, they are a professional. They have a set of skills that they use to perform a job. If everyone had those skills, then such people couldn't demand the pay that they do. The reality of our contemporary world is that there are a select few - as compared to the overall population - who can perform such work under austere conditions and do so successfully every day. No matter how YOU view such individuals, my perception is that they are merely professionals providing a service for a fee - just like lawyers and doctors, except with greater integrity in a lot of cases.

That said, I have to start out my review of Ms. Hillhouse's book by saying that it was quite a roller-coaster ride. Not that the action was stop and go, but there was an underlying romantic story that just drove me half-nuts. While most other folks who review the book (from what I can find) tend to focus on the action, how realistic it was or wasn't, hidden politics and more, I was almost constantly distracted by the idiocy of two adults who couldn't seem to either accept or deny their love for each other. Added to that was their inability to simply tell each other the truth because of their various positions as employer, employee, prior CIA secret agent, wanna-be mother, etc. There was always something that was in their way. You would think that in an active war zone, with both of them either acting as independent contractors or the President of a company who hired independent contractors, they'd have bigger things to worry about.

Therein lies my first issue. While the book was an enjoyable action adventure read, I simply didn't enjoy what was to me an unnecessary focus on a disfunctional romance.

Setting that aside there were a list of company names in the book that most of you would recognize either from recent news headlines or from past personal experience. Names such as L3, Dynacorp, Halliburton, Armor Group, Blackwater, Triple Canopy and others are salted throughout the book. The main characters in the book are a female president in charge of such a company, and a male contractor working for a competitor of hers.

Having said up front that I've never been an independent contractor overseas I must now say that I truly hope it's no where near like what Ms. Hillhouse describes. As I read through the book I identified a few characters that, were they real people, I'd be proud and honored to call them friend. I also identified some people that obviously had a few mental problems and I'd be avoiding them like the plague. Add to those slightly off people a few criminal acts and an almost total disregard for international politics and you get the setting for one person with honor and courage to rage against a contracted military machine.

That is where Ms. Hillhouse walks a fine line. She never comes out and says that there's anything wrong with the contractors serving specialized duties in a war zone, but there is an on-going constant implication that such a profession just isn't right and that there is far too little control over what they do and how they do it. After I finished the book I still couldn't decide whether or not Ms. Hillhouse felt contracted security personnel in a war zone was good or bad. Then again, I had a hard time figuring out Hamlet too, so this may not be a negative comment on the book.

Now, setting aside the romantic substory and the implication that all contracted security work is inherently criminal to at least a small degree, this was a good read. The two main characters are people of honor and courage who do genuinely love each other and want to share a future together. The conflicts that exist are not only fanatical Muslim terrorists and insurgents, but also competitor contracting companies trying to get an edge. Thrown in are a few shady government employees trying to pad their retirement income. With all of that mixed together and supporting a strong plot / story line, it's an enjoyable read.

Definitely worth the price when it comes out in paperback.

BE SAFE!

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