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Reflex Responses

Reflex Responses, established in 2010 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is a private military company created to bolster the Emirati military by providing specialized mercenary support. Funded by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the organization initially employed Colombian military veterans and was trained by experienced personnel from the US, UK, France, and South Africa. The company emerged under the oversight of Erik Prince, a well-known figure in the private security sector, who previously founded Blackwater, a controversial contractor during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

The primary role of Reflex Responses was to defend the UAE from external threats, particularly from Iran, as well as to manage potential internal unrest. The existence of the company drew attention in 2011 when its operations were publicly acknowledged by the UAE government, which claimed the firm’s activities complied with international law. Reflex Responses aimed to fill a gap in the UAE's military capabilities, particularly in areas requiring rapid response and advanced tactical expertise. However, early reports indicated challenges in meeting operational expectations, leading to the recruitment of additional skilled personnel from various backgrounds. Over time, Erik Prince’s ventures evolved, leading to significant developments in the realm of private military services.

Full Article

Summary: Reflex Responses, or R2, is a company formed to provide a battalion of foreign mercenaries designed to supplement the military of the United Arab Emirates. At its founding, the company was reportedly staffed by Colombian military veterans and trained by retired American military officers and former commandos from Britain, Germany, and South Africa. Erik Prince, the founder and former CEO of Blackwater USA (renamed Xe Services and then Academi), was reportedly overseeing the organization of Reflex Responses. Prince’s involvement in the new enterprise suggested that he was reemerging as a figure in the world of private military forces available to contract to nations like the UAE that lacked their own experienced and highly trained commando-style units. A report from The New York Times suggested that Prince might be rekindling an earlier dream of creating a de facto private army available to go where “official” armies feared to tread. The immediate goal of Reflex Responses, however, was reported to be limited to defending the UAE from both external (notably Iran) and internal foes. (The company predated the popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, and Syria.)

Territory: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Founded: 2010.

Key leaders: Erik Prince, former head of Blackwater USA (renamed Xe Services and Academi).

Activities:

  • Founded in 2010 with funding from the United Arab Emirates as a mercenary army available to help defend the Emirates from attack, either from abroad or from within.
  • Recruited veterans from Colombia and South Africa to serve as troops, trained by veterans of US, British, and French commando units.

Last known status: The existence of Reflex Responses as a mercenary army financed by the United Arab Emirates was disclosed by the New York Times in May 2011. The day after the report appeared, the UAE government confirmed it had hired the company to provide “operational, planning and training support” and said the company’s work was “compliant with international law and relevant conventions.” Reflex Responses did not report any disbandment or closure, but it ceased to exist as a visible, traceable, or distinct force in the early 2010s.

Reflex Responses is the name of a secret mercenary fighting force first organized in 2010 in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, to supplement the existing UAE military in providing protection from possible attacks, both from abroad (e.g., from Iran) and from within the country. Its existence was first disclosed in an exclusive report by the New York Times on May 14, 2011.

According to The Times, the group was organized by Erik Prince, who previously had organized another soldiers-for-hire group, Blackwater USA. That company provided a range of services, including training of soldiers for foreign-government clients and providing security services for the US State Department in both Iraq and Afghanistan during the simultaneous wars in those countries. Blackwater gained notoriety after one event in particular, in Baghdad, when seventeen civilians were allegedly killed by Blackwater employees. One result of that controversy, along with others, was that Prince gave up his interest in Blackwater (which subsequently changed its name to Xe Services and, in 2011, was renamed Academi) and moved to Abu Dhabi.

There, according to The Times, Prince contracted with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi (the capital and largest emirate of the UAE) to establish an 800-member commando force, trained by American, British, and French veterans and staffed initially by Colombian army veterans, to supplement the inexperienced army of the UAE. The initial contract was for $529 million.

Prince, whose structure for Blackwater included training for soldiers from foreign governments, was reported by The Times to be planning to replicate elements of Blackwater, which was incorporated in the United States and operated from a base in Moyock, North Carolina, but this time shielded from interference by American authorities. The newspaper said it was unclear whether Prince might be violating American laws requiring Americans to obtain a license from the State Department before engaging in the training of foreign soldiers. The Times report in May 2011 said that a State Department spokesman would not confirm whether such a license had been issued, but that it was investigating to see whether US laws were being broken by the Americans involved in Reflex Responses.

The recruits of Reflex Responses and their trainers—veterans of American, British, South African, and German commando units and of the French Foreign Legion—were housed in a military base in the Abu Dhabi desert named Zayed Military City.

In its first year of operations, expectations of Reflex Responses fell short. Some of its Colombian recruits, who began arriving in mid-2010, proved to be less experienced and capable than had been expected—so much so that the company recruited South African veterans of another mercenary group, Executive Outcomes, a South African private military company active in African conflicts in the 1990s as a “quick reaction” force. One practice exercise of this subgroup was defending against a simulated attack on the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, the world’s tallest building. In the following years, the UAE expanded its use of foreign personnel and private contractors in regional conflicts, especially in Yemen.

About Erik Prince. The founder of Reflex Responses became a controversial figure as founder and chief executive of Blackwater—so much so that, according to The Times, his name seldom appeared on documents related to the new company, although he was described as having a close personal relationship with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

Prince was born on June 6, 1969, in Holland, Michigan. He was the heir of a politically well-connected auto parts manufacturer and had founded Blackwater using funds from the sale of his late father’s firm, Prince Automotive. The 2003 American invasion of Iraq proved a windfall for Prince and Blackwater, which signed contracts worth several hundred million dollars (some published estimates placed the figure at approximately $1 billion) to provide security services for several countries, most notably the US State Department. A 2006 survey by FastCompany.com ranked Blackwater, categorized as a “private army,” at No. 11 on its list of 50 fastest-growing companies. Fast Company estimated Blackwater’s revenue growth in the period 2002-05 at 600 percent. (No revenue figures were provided; Blackwater was a private company, and its financial statements were not public.)

Prince’s name became synonymous with a new generation of mercenaries during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Employees of his company were hired to guard American diplomatic buildings and diplomats in Afghanistan and Iraq. In one case, Blackwater fighters were captured and executed by insurgents in Baghdad; in another incident, Blackwater mercenaries were accused of killing seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square in September 2007 when they opened fire without provocation. Prince always maintained that his employees had done nothing wrong. Blackwater had received high-dollar military contracts from the US government despite these controversies; however, with the Obama Administration, these began to disappear.

In a swirl of lawsuits against his company and investigations into its activities by US authorities, Prince moved to Abu Dhabi in 2010 (to “make it harder for the jackals to get my money,” he said) and put his renamed company up for sale. There, according to some news reports, he began divesting himself of shares in Xe, while also becoming involved with Saracen International, another mercenary company largely staffed by former South African soldiers, and with plans to become involved in the war against Islamist insurgents in Somalia. The New York Times report on Reflex Responses made no mention of Somalia. However, in the years since that report was published, it had become apparent that Prince, with backing from several Arab countries, was involved in training Somalis in anti-piracy tactics. Following reports of human rights violations, this venture was short-lived, though the subsequent operational status of the force was not publicly confirmed.

After The Times report was released, Prince exited the UAE project and went on to create a new firm, Frontier Services Group, which developed close ties to China through its state-owned investors and has been linked to various Russian interests. Prince also developed close ties with the Trump Administration, which included good friend Steven Bannon and Prince’s sister, Betsy DeVos. During this time, Prince’s activities and close ties to Russia and China continued to add to his growing controversial reputation. Prince stepped down from his position at the Frontier Services Group in 2021.


Bibliography

Arduino, Alessandro. “Chinese Private Security Companies: Neither Blackwater Nor the Wagner Group.” War on the Rocks, 1 Dec. 2023, warontherocks.com/chinese-private-security-companies-neither-blackwater-nor-the-wagner-group. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Cole, M. “The Complete Mercenary.” The Intercept, 3 May 2019, theintercept.com/2019/05/03/erik-prince-trump-uae-project-veritas. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Fenton-Harvey, Jonathon. “How UAE Mercenaries Serve Its Foreign Policy Ambitions.” Al Sharq, 16 Mar. 2020, research.sharqforum.org/2020/03/16/uae-mercenaries/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Hager, Emily, and Mark Mazzetti. “United Arab Emirates Confirms Hiring Blackwater Founder’s Firm.” The New York Times, 15 May 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/middleeast/16prince.html. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Mazzetti, Mark, and Emily Hager. “Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder.” The New York Times, 14 May 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/world/middleeast/15prince.html. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Full Article

Summary: Reflex Responses, or R2, is a company formed to provide a battalion of foreign mercenaries designed to supplement the military of the United Arab Emirates. At its founding, the company was reportedly staffed by Colombian military veterans and trained by retired American military officers and former commandos from Britain, Germany, and South Africa. Erik Prince, the founder and former CEO of Blackwater USA (renamed Xe Services and then Academi), was reportedly overseeing the organization of Reflex Responses. Prince’s involvement in the new enterprise suggested that he was reemerging as a figure in the world of private military forces available to contract to nations like the UAE that lacked their own experienced and highly trained commando-style units. A report from The New York Times suggested that Prince might be rekindling an earlier dream of creating a de facto private army available to go where “official” armies feared to tread. The immediate goal of Reflex Responses, however, was reported to be limited to defending the UAE from both external (notably Iran) and internal foes. (The company predated the popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, and Syria.)

Territory: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Founded: 2010.

Key leaders: Erik Prince, former head of Blackwater USA (renamed Xe Services and Academi).

Activities:

  • Founded in 2010 with funding from the United Arab Emirates as a mercenary army available to help defend the Emirates from attack, either from abroad or from within.
  • Recruited veterans from Colombia and South Africa to serve as troops, trained by veterans of US, British, and French commando units.

Last known status: The existence of Reflex Responses as a mercenary army financed by the United Arab Emirates was disclosed by the New York Times in May 2011. The day after the report appeared, the UAE government confirmed it had hired the company to provide “operational, planning and training support” and said the company’s work was “compliant with international law and relevant conventions.” Reflex Responses did not report any disbandment or closure, but it ceased to exist as a visible, traceable, or distinct force in the early 2010s.

Reflex Responses is the name of a secret mercenary fighting force first organized in 2010 in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, to supplement the existing UAE military in providing protection from possible attacks, both from abroad (e.g., from Iran) and from within the country. Its existence was first disclosed in an exclusive report by the New York Times on May 14, 2011.

According to The Times, the group was organized by Erik Prince, who previously had organized another soldiers-for-hire group, Blackwater USA. That company provided a range of services, including training of soldiers for foreign-government clients and providing security services for the US State Department in both Iraq and Afghanistan during the simultaneous wars in those countries. Blackwater gained notoriety after one event in particular, in Baghdad, when seventeen civilians were allegedly killed by Blackwater employees. One result of that controversy, along with others, was that Prince gave up his interest in Blackwater (which subsequently changed its name to Xe Services and, in 2011, was renamed Academi) and moved to Abu Dhabi.

There, according to The Times, Prince contracted with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi (the capital and largest emirate of the UAE) to establish an 800-member commando force, trained by American, British, and French veterans and staffed initially by Colombian army veterans, to supplement the inexperienced army of the UAE. The initial contract was for $529 million.

Prince, whose structure for Blackwater included training for soldiers from foreign governments, was reported by The Times to be planning to replicate elements of Blackwater, which was incorporated in the United States and operated from a base in Moyock, North Carolina, but this time shielded from interference by American authorities. The newspaper said it was unclear whether Prince might be violating American laws requiring Americans to obtain a license from the State Department before engaging in the training of foreign soldiers. The Times report in May 2011 said that a State Department spokesman would not confirm whether such a license had been issued, but that it was investigating to see whether US laws were being broken by the Americans involved in Reflex Responses.

The recruits of Reflex Responses and their trainers—veterans of American, British, South African, and German commando units and of the French Foreign Legion—were housed in a military base in the Abu Dhabi desert named Zayed Military City.

In its first year of operations, expectations of Reflex Responses fell short. Some of its Colombian recruits, who began arriving in mid-2010, proved to be less experienced and capable than had been expected—so much so that the company recruited South African veterans of another mercenary group, Executive Outcomes, a South African private military company active in African conflicts in the 1990s as a “quick reaction” force. One practice exercise of this subgroup was defending against a simulated attack on the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai, the world’s tallest building. In the following years, the UAE expanded its use of foreign personnel and private contractors in regional conflicts, especially in Yemen.

About Erik Prince. The founder of Reflex Responses became a controversial figure as founder and chief executive of Blackwater—so much so that, according to The Times, his name seldom appeared on documents related to the new company, although he was described as having a close personal relationship with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

Prince was born on June 6, 1969, in Holland, Michigan. He was the heir of a politically well-connected auto parts manufacturer and had founded Blackwater using funds from the sale of his late father’s firm, Prince Automotive. The 2003 American invasion of Iraq proved a windfall for Prince and Blackwater, which signed contracts worth several hundred million dollars (some published estimates placed the figure at approximately $1 billion) to provide security services for several countries, most notably the US State Department. A 2006 survey by FastCompany.com ranked Blackwater, categorized as a “private army,” at No. 11 on its list of 50 fastest-growing companies. Fast Company estimated Blackwater’s revenue growth in the period 2002-05 at 600 percent. (No revenue figures were provided; Blackwater was a private company, and its financial statements were not public.)

Prince’s name became synonymous with a new generation of mercenaries during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Employees of his company were hired to guard American diplomatic buildings and diplomats in Afghanistan and Iraq. In one case, Blackwater fighters were captured and executed by insurgents in Baghdad; in another incident, Blackwater mercenaries were accused of killing seventeen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square in September 2007 when they opened fire without provocation. Prince always maintained that his employees had done nothing wrong. Blackwater had received high-dollar military contracts from the US government despite these controversies; however, with the Obama Administration, these began to disappear.

In a swirl of lawsuits against his company and investigations into its activities by US authorities, Prince moved to Abu Dhabi in 2010 (to “make it harder for the jackals to get my money,” he said) and put his renamed company up for sale. There, according to some news reports, he began divesting himself of shares in Xe, while also becoming involved with Saracen International, another mercenary company largely staffed by former South African soldiers, and with plans to become involved in the war against Islamist insurgents in Somalia. The New York Times report on Reflex Responses made no mention of Somalia. However, in the years since that report was published, it had become apparent that Prince, with backing from several Arab countries, was involved in training Somalis in anti-piracy tactics. Following reports of human rights violations, this venture was short-lived, though the subsequent operational status of the force was not publicly confirmed.

After The Times report was released, Prince exited the UAE project and went on to create a new firm, Frontier Services Group, which developed close ties to China through its state-owned investors and has been linked to various Russian interests. Prince also developed close ties with the Trump Administration, which included good friend Steven Bannon and Prince’s sister, Betsy DeVos. During this time, Prince’s activities and close ties to Russia and China continued to add to his growing controversial reputation. Prince stepped down from his position at the Frontier Services Group in 2021.


Bibliography

Arduino, Alessandro. “Chinese Private Security Companies: Neither Blackwater Nor the Wagner Group.” War on the Rocks, 1 Dec. 2023, warontherocks.com/chinese-private-security-companies-neither-blackwater-nor-the-wagner-group. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Cole, M. “The Complete Mercenary.” The Intercept, 3 May 2019, theintercept.com/2019/05/03/erik-prince-trump-uae-project-veritas. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Fenton-Harvey, Jonathon. “How UAE Mercenaries Serve Its Foreign Policy Ambitions.” Al Sharq, 16 Mar. 2020, research.sharqforum.org/2020/03/16/uae-mercenaries/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Hager, Emily, and Mark Mazzetti. “United Arab Emirates Confirms Hiring Blackwater Founder’s Firm.” The New York Times, 15 May 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/world/middleeast/16prince.html. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Mazzetti, Mark, and Emily Hager. “Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder.” The New York Times, 14 May 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/world/middleeast/15prince.html. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

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