Reflex Response

Reflex Responses, or R2, is a company that provides a battalion of foreign mercenaries designed to supplement the military of the United Arab Emirates. The company, funded by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, is 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/Xe Services, is 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 mercenary mini-armies 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 new company predated the popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, and Syria.)