May 15, 2014
Some irresponsible news outlets have recently posted rumors that ACADEMI employees are operating in Ukraine. They are not and any reports to the contrary are completely false.
Many of these reports have also given the impression that ACADEMI and the company Blackwater are the same and this is also completely false.
The basics: Blackwater's owner sold the company's US-based training facility to a group of private investors in 2010. Those owners renamed the facility and the new company created to support it ACADEMI. The former owner of Blackwater retained all rights to the Blackwater name as well as many of the companies that once operated under the umbrella of Blackwater. ACADEMI has no existing relationship with him. The new management of ACADEMI has made tremendous efforts to build a responsible, transparent company ethos, evidenced by the numerous awards ACADEMI has received for being among the most compliant companies in our industry. More information can be found here.
Unfounded statements and accusations such as those in recent news reports, combined with a lack of research about the company, are nothing more than sensationalistic efforts to create hysteria and headlines in times of genuine crisis.
ACADEMI is not Blackwater, and ACADEMI has no personnel in Ukraine.