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Counter-terrorism:   High-Ground Corp. team recently returned from Kabul

Less than two years ago, Tom Wiese (left), a veteran of the "Black Hawk Down" incident in Somalia and a former private-security expert in Iraq, formed technology integrator High-Ground Corporation in Nashville.

His partner in the venture is Donald Ashworth Cox III, a 31-year-old consultant on Internet 2 development, who also lives in Nashville.  Wiese says High-Ground has earned $1.5 million, thus far in 2006.Wiese and four subcontractors recently returned from Kabul, Afghanistan, where they installed an advanced intelligent surveillance system to protect a U.S. State Department compound. High-Ground partnered for the job with hardware supplier ioimage US, the subsidiary of an Israeli technology company. High-Ground also provides data-mining expertise, network-linked media, exploitation of telecommunications, and other services.

Wiese, 47, is a retired U.S. Army chief warrant officer who piloted Little Bird light-assault helicopters in Somalia and other posts, during more than 16 years' duty with the "Nightstalkers" of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), based at Fort Campbell, Ky. 

He was awarded the Air Medal for valor, for his role in the now-fabled Battle of Mogadishu, Oct. 3, 1993.  He retired from the Army in 2000, 24 years after enlisting at age 17.  Reared in Omaha, Wiese earned an undergraduate degree at Embry-Riddell Aeronautical University at Daytona, and his master's in technology management at Murray State University, while on duty at Fort Campbell.

Wiese (pronounced WEESE) and Cox currently work out of their Davidson County homes, but are outfitting office space near Vanderbilt. ♦