Infamous Special Forces Veteran, UFC Star Wounded By African Rebels While Working For Erik Prince

Former UFC fighter and Green Beret Tim Kennedy was shot three times in the leg during an ambush against a private security team working for Blackwater founder Erik Prince in the Democratic Republic of Congo several weeks ago.

The September 17 attack left approximately 20 people dead or wounded, including a former New Zealand special forces soldier who was killed. Kennedy, 47, was evacuated from the conflict zone and is receiving treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, D.C. 

The attack targeted personnel working with Vectus Global, Prince’s private security and consulting company, which has taken on an expanded role supporting the Congolese government in the country’s volatile east. Neither Kennedy nor Vectus Global has publicly provided a detailed account of the ambush.

The attack reportedly killed at least seven Congolese people and Justin Conaglen, a former member of New Zealand’s elite Special Air Service. Conaglen’s remains were returned to New Zealand, where relatives and former military colleagues gathered to receive his body. New Zealand’s military confirmed it was assisting his family with arrangements.

The circumstances of the ambush remain under investigation. Sources familiar with the attack told Reuters that its sophistication suggested possible involvement by Rwandan military forces supporting the M23 rebel movement. Two sources attributed the attack to the Rwandan military, while another said the attackers may have tracked a surveillance drone to the security team’s location. Rwanda denies backing M23, and neither the Rwandan government nor the rebel group immediately responded to requests for comment.

Reuters spoke with at least 10 people with direct knowledge of the attack or who had been briefed on its outcome. A Vectus Global representative declined to comment.

The incident is a major setback for Prince’s operations in the Congo, where his company has been working alongside government forces in a conflict driven in part by control over the country’s enormous wealth of gold, tantalum, lithium, and other minerals. Prince, who founded the now-defunct private military company Blackwater, initially secured a mandate to improve revenue collection from Congo’s mineral reserves. His personnel were subsequently deployed to support the Congolese army in South Kivu, including operations around the strategic city of Uvira.

The U.S. government has said it does not have a contract with Prince’s company in Congo, although American officials have discussed closer cooperation with Vectus Global in Haiti. 

However, Kennedy’s reported injuries are also drawing attention to a different controversy: his increasingly contentious reputation within the veteran community, where former colleagues have challenged numerous accounts of combat in his memoir, “Scars and Stripes.”

Kennedy built a public profile as both a mixed martial arts fighter and a former Army Green Beret, compiling an 18-6 professional fighting record and becoming a prominent voice in veteran-focused media. He earned his Green Beret in 2005, graduated from Ranger School in 2007, and deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Those accomplishments are documented. The controversy centers on specific claims about his combat experiences, awards, and actions during particular missions.

In 2024, veterans appearing on the Antihero Podcast began scrutinizing Kennedy’s memoir, challenging several accounts of a convoy mission associated with the Battle of Firebase Anaconda in Afghanistan. The allegations included claims that Kennedy had fired at people identified through thermal imaging, engaged numerous targets from a tower, and performed other extraordinary actions that former participants said they could not corroborate.

Among the critics was Travis Worlock, the former ground force commander for the mission. Worlock and other veterans who appeared on the podcast disputed key portions of Kennedy’s account, saying they did not remember the events as he described them. They specifically rejected his account of shooting people identified through thermal imaging, arguing that the alleged actions did not occur as described.

Kennedy’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, disputed the accusations, maintaining that Kennedy’s account was true and that the actions described were justified under the circumstances and lawful orders. Kennedy also released responses to some of the criticism, though the dispute over his memoir continued.

David Hookstead of The David Hookstead Show has been among the journalists examining Kennedy’s record. Hookstead’s reporting documented the competing accounts from Kennedy and his former colleagues, including interviews with Worlock and other participants in the mission. 

The controversy intensified in July 2025, when Kennedy acknowledged that he had incorrectly implied he received the Bronze Star Medal with a V device for valor. In a public statement, he said he had “implied directly or indirectly” that he received the award and accepted responsibility for the mistake.

“That is not true, and there is no excuse for it,” Kennedy wrote, describing the misstatement as a serious mistake.

Kennedy did receive a Bronze Star in 2006 for what the Army described as exceptional leadership while helping plan combat operations in Iraq. The award, however, did not include the V device, which designates valor. Military.com reported that Kennedy had explicitly claimed in a 2017 interview that he received a Bronze Star for valor, describing a combat encounter in which he said he shot an enemy combatant.

Kennedy’s admission led the Maryland National Guard to announce an investigation into his public misstatements. The episode also raised questions about his role as a public-facing representative of Army leadership, a position he had occupied through media appearances and social media content.

For now in the Congo, key details remain unclear, including the full circumstances of the ambush, the precise identity of the attackers, and the extent of the injuries suffered by the surviving contractors. Vectus Global has not publicly detailed the incident, and Kennedy has not provided a public account of what happened.

More from this network:
Domains for Sale · GOTPeople.org · TheDSAPlatform · The Truth About Socialism

Donate to GOTPeople.org