Matt Moyer

Private security contractor, Neil Gary, a former U.S. Marine, orders a driver at gunpoint to move his car while working to provide security for a convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Young Afghan children look on as a private security contractor rides in an SUV while providing security for a convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Private security contractor, Neil Gary, 26, a former US Marine, runs along a sidewalk in Afghanistan drawing stares from locals while providing security for a convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Private security contractors, Neil Gary (L), a former US Marine, and Mike Stocksett (R), a veteran of the US Army, share a laugh while shopping at an Afghan market in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Private security contractor, Neil Gary, a former US Marine, rides in an SUV while providing security for a convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Neil Gary provides security for a DynCorp International official outside a tent camp in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Private security contractor Kyle Kaszynski (R), a police officer on leave from his job at the St. Paul Police Department, waits for his pay in Kabul, Afghanistan. Kaszynski works for the private military company Crucible providing security for U.S. State Department contractors in Afghanistan. Kaszynski's decision to work as a private security contractor was based upon a combination of a feeling of patriotic duty, a desire for action, and the ability to make a lot of money. Kaszynski was able to make more than double his police salary. Kaszynski was killed on December 22, 2005, just a few weeks after this photo was taken, while working for Crucible in Iraq. Kaszynski had been transferred from Afghanistan only a few weeks before his death. The U.S. endeavor in both Afghanistan and Iraq relies heavily on the services these hired guns provide.

John Ferguson, Country Business Manager for DynCorp International, a publicly traded, multi-million dollar private military company contracted by the US State Department to train the Afghan police force, hands out toys to Afghan children while being protected by a private security detail in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Private security contractors (L to R) Pat Scott, Mike Stocksett, 32, Neil Gary, 26, Matt Goss, 24, and Kyle Kaszynski, 39, pose for a photograph while on a break from providing security in Kabul, Afghanistan. These men work for the private military company Crucible providing security for U.S. State Department contractors in Afghanistan.

Private security contractor, Neil Gary, keeps a sharp eye open for potential threats while providing security at Kabul's airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Members of a personal security detail ride in the belly of a Soviet era cargo plane while providing protection for U.S. State Department officials over Kabul, Afghanistan.

Private security contractor, Neil Gary, 26, a former US Marine, hangs out of a moving SUV while providing security for a convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Private security contractor, Neil Gary, 26, a former U.S. Marine, points his weapon while providing security for a convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Private security contractors (L to R) Mike Stocksett, 32, Neil Gary, 26, Kyle Kaszynski, 39, and Pat Scott (Front) pose for a photograph in a tank graveyard in Kabul, Afghanistan. The men who decide to work as private security contractors often base their decision to do so upon a combination of a feeling of patriotic duty, a desire for action, and the ability to make a lot of money.

Private security contractor, Mike Stocksett, keeps a sharp eye open for potential threats while providing security for a convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Stocksett works for the private military company Crucible providing security for U.S. State Department contractors in Afghanistan.

Private security contractor, Mike Stocksett, talks to his wife via internet video connection in his room at a company compound in Kabul, Afghanistan. Stocksett, who has been deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq, says he has watched his young son grow up over the internet. Stocksett works for the private military company Crucible providing security for U.S. State Department contractors in Afghanistan

Kristin Kaszynski, wife of security contractor Kyle Kaszynski, sits in her husband's childhood bedroom while holding a box containing his remains in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. Kaszynski was killed December 22, 2005 while working as a contractor for the private military company Crucible in Iraq.