Aegis Defence Services Aegis Defence Services is a British private military company with overseas offices in Afghanistan , Bahrain , Iraq , Kenya , Nepal and the United States . It was founded in 2002 by Tim Spicer , who was previously director of the controversial private military company Sandline International . In 2004 the International Peace Operations Association , an industry body , asked Aegis to apply for membership , but the application was rejected by a British competitor . It is a founding member of the British Association of Private Security Companies ( BAPSC ) , a body lobbying for the regulation of the British PSC sector . It is also a member of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq . Since 27 July 2010 AEGIS Group Holdings AG in Basel , Switzerland is holding 1 , 125 , 000 ordinary shares of Aegis Defence Services Limited , London . Aegis in Iraq . In Iraq , Aegis is under contract ( worth $ 293 million over three years ) to the U . S . Department of Defense to provide security support services to the Project and Contracting Office ( PCO ) , responsible for managing the reconstruction program . These services include : Through its charitable foundation Aegis conducts a self - funded civil affairs programme to facilitate reconstruction in areas where there are gaps in mainstream projects . It also provides expatriate – led and Iraqi – manned " Reconstruction Liaison Teams " to monitor the progress of reconstruction work subcontracted to Iraqi building companies . In separate contracts , Aegis is engaged in providing security protection to the inquiry into alleged corruption in the Oil for Food program . It provided security support to the UN Electoral Assistance Division ( UNEAD ) and the Independent High Electoral Commission ( IECI ) facilitating both the constitutional referendum to proceed in October 2005 and the general election in December 2005 . In May 2011 , it was announced that U . S . Military is to pull out of Baghdad , in the air and ground , and to be replaced by eight companies including Aegis and DynCorp International to take over in the air . Trophy videos . On 27 October 2005 a number of " trophy " videos showing private military contractor s in Baghdad firing upon civilian vehicles with no clear reason discernible from the footage itself sparked two investigations after they were posted on the internet . The videos were linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services . Both the US Army and Aegis conducted investigations into the video ; while the Aegis report is closed for client confidentiality reasons , the US Army enquiry concluded that the contractors involved were operating within the rules for the use of force . More 4 News broadcast extracts of the videos in March 2006 . The video showed Matthew Elkin ( former U . S . Army Ranger and lead security contractor ) denouncing the contractors and ordering a cease fire . On 6 April 2006 More4 News , reporter Nima Elbagir , identified disaffected former Aegis contractor , Rod Stoner , as responsible for posting the videos on the website . Aegis would not confirm that its contractors were involved in the incidents shown in the videos , but obtained a High Court injunction to have Stoner ' s website closed down . In the same More4 program , Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn insisted that the Pentagon ' s contract with Aegis Defence Services should be suspended until the matter had been properly investigated and fully reported upon . Acquisition . On 28 October 2005 Aegis acquired Rubicon International Services Ltd , a longstanding provider of corporate and otherwise executive private security services . The public announcement was made on 4 November 2005 . John Davidson , managing director of Rubicon , joined the Aegis board and became director of operations . Aegis chief executive is former Major General Graham Binns , who served in the Prince of Wales ' s Own Regiment of Yorkshire , which became the 1st battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment , in 2006 , and is currently the Colonel of the Yorkshire Regiment . The chairman of the Aegis board of directors is former Defence minister , Nicholas Soames MP .