People always ask me this and it’s a great question. I usually tell people that I tripped backwards and fell into it. That’s not completely accurate. I do have a background that lent itself to this field, but not the traditional path one might suspect. Starting out in rural North Alabama, I was just an “OK” student and nothing special. I did play all the sports available and enjoyed football, basketball, and baseball. For a boy in Alabama, it’s almost obligatory to play football.
My parents were divorced when I was fifteen. My dad, a hard-working power company employee for forty years, ensured I had a good life. He was a hard man, but his example of work ethic and honesty impacted me more than anything in my life. At the time I thought he was just some hard ass that enjoyed early mornings and a rigorous schedule. Growing up dirt poor with twelve brothers and sisters, he made his way by joining the Air Force, learning a skill, and spending a year in Vietnam. He saved over half of every paycheck he got throughout his life. Dad was always afraid of going back to his dirt-poor beginnings where he would work on people’s farms, not for money, but for food and clothing. It wasn’t until many years later when I was considering opening my own company that he told me, “Don’t be afraid to take the risks I would never take?” I was still on the fence at the time about leaping into entrepreneurship, but this statement solidified my destiny.
After I left high school, I dabbled in community college and was a dismal failure. I had no job and was living with my dad. He gave me an ultimatum and told me I had three days to get out. So, I went to the local recruiting office and signed up for the Marine Corps. I was a nineteen-year-old punk that and threw myself into a world of fitness and discipline. I signed up to be an Infantry Marine so after basic training, I was sent down to Camp Geiger, North Carolina for the School of Infantry. While there, this group of Marines stopped in and gave a short demonstration and a Captain told us what they were all about. They said they were Force Recon. Even during the event, I still had no idea what they were. I just knew they were separate from what I had been seeing. Long hair, weird looking uniforms, and unmatched physical fitness levels. Towards the end of the presentation, this Captain asked if any of us wanted to try out for this program. Three of us raised our hands and they took our names down.
Towards the end of the School of Infantry, one of the Sergeants told me and the other two volunteers to be outside the next day at 0400. All we needed was our uniform on our back. This was completely voluntary, I could quit at any time, including during the walk down to get on the truck. I found that out when only two of us showed up for the ride.
I had no idea what I was getting in to. One of our instructors was part of Force Recon and gave us an idea but he said “it has probably changed since I was there”. I got on the truck, and they drove us to an area on Camp Lejeune called French Creek. After getting off the truck, i found that twenty-five others were waiting on instructions in the dark.
I was a private, brand new to the Marine Corps. The other Marines there were older and had been in the Corps for a while. Nobody spoke as we stood around waiting for more instructions. We quickly got those instructions as several sergeants came out of the building and began arranging us into columns. I spent the next seven hours running, rucking, and swimming in what was called the Recon Indoctrination or “Indoc” for short. I passed along with five others and went on to the Basic Reconnaissance Course, Marine Scout Sniper School, SERE, and many other schools designed to train me on how to infiltrate and collect information on America’s enemies. Little did I know, I was training for a future in this type of business.
I spent nine years and many deployments conducting training and real-world operations overseas in the one of the finest outfits in the history of the US Military. After many operations, I wanted a change, so I left the Marines in 2003 to pursue other goals. After a few years finishing up my bachelor’s degree, I applied to and was hired by Blackwater as a designated defensive marksman.
In this position, I provided over-watch for diplomats in Baghdad as they conducted business around the city. I did this for more than a year, then the company was purchased by Constellis and many of us moved to Afghanistan to conduct similar operations. Eventually, I was promoted into the training manager position and trained Afghanis and other contractors to conduct diplomatic protection operations. This included advance operations. A team was sent out ahead of the main security detail to verify intelligence, conduct surveillance on suspicious activities, coordinate with the host of the meeting, and traffic management. A large part of the advance operations was to the give the main security detail enough information so they could “go” or “no go” a mission.
As the training manager, I began to see US withdrawal from Afghanistan and there were very few leadership positions in other countries. For an entire year, I researched businesses to start that would fit into my expertise. From opening a firearms training center to government consulting, I settled on a business that I could be active in and be with my family most of the time. So, I settled on a private investigation firm.
This was not easy. Leaving a guaranteed six figure salary to no guarantee of a salary created a new stress in my life. Working in combat zones and in high stress situations did not prepare me for the stress of no guaranteed income, dealing with employees, and financial planning. But, armed with a plan of action that is ever evolving, I set out to make my mark on the entrepreneurial world.
What I learned from the Marine Corps and government contracting is that standard operating procedures are essential. I immediately implemented these – from speaking to clients on the phone to executing complex surveillance activities – and they immediately set my firm apart from others. Our system of ensuring that every task and purpose is nested with the client’s goals makes us original as a private investigation firm.
As we walk through the investigative process, my goal is to show you that private investigations are still relevant to winning your case. In today’s Internet age, there is so much information out there saying that private investigators are a waste of money and other comments referring to no-fault states that are inaccurate. My goal with these posts, is to prove to you that evidence is still critical in winning civil cases.
Macky Outlaw