A compassionate corporate neighbor that donates to local schools and charities, and that boosts the local economy.

A company that trains thousands of law enforcement officers to use firearms and protect citizens.

That's how many local residents describe Blackwater USA, the private contractor that provides heavily armed security for U.S. diplomats serving in Baghdad.

It's a characterization that's at odds with one in the national and international media. That characterization is of a company full of shoot-first-ask-questions-later cowboys, unaccountable to no one, that puts profits — a lawsuit against the company claims it's been paid nearly $1 billion for U.S. contracts since 2001 — ahead of everything else, including the safety of its own contract workers.

Most of the recent press scrutiny was prompted by an incident last month in which Blackwater guards were accused of opening fire and killing 17 Iraqi civilians. Another incident, in which an allegedly drunk Blackwater employee shot and killed the bodyguard of a top Iraqi official but hasn't faced any criminal penalties, has also stirred controversy.

Blackwater contends that in the incident in which the 17 Iraqis died, its employees came under fire first. The Iraqi government and witnesses, however, have disputed that, saying the guards opened fire without provocation. In the wake of the incident, the Iraqi government has demanded that the U.S. government sever its ties with Blackwater, and that the company pay the families of each victim millions of dollars.

The shooting incidents, much publicized in recent weeks, are having an effect on the company, whose entrance is in Moyock but has much of its training operations in Camden County. According to The Associated Press, the U.S. State Department is considering phasing out or limiting the use of private security guards in Iraq. That could cost Blackwater some of the lucrative contracts that have helped the company grow over the past six years.

Blackwater officials didn't respond to requests for an interview for this story. But residents in Blackwater's backyard in Moyock believe the company hasn't gotten a fair shake in the media coverage. Many strongly praise Blackwater, saying the national media is unfairly demonizing the company.

William Haggerty, 77 who formerly served in the U.S. Air Force, vented his frustration about the media outside the Moyock post office Thursday. He doesn't believe Blackwater contractors were intentionally trying to kill anyone.

"When there is a war going on, you expect bad things to happen, and it does happen," Haggerty said. "They say, 'War is hell,' and that's what it is."

He also said that in the fog of war "bad things are done — even by good guys. And whenever they are done, you have to sort of overlook things like this. We're at war."

Haggerty said Blackwater contractors could have endangered their lives, or others, by hesitating to fire their weapons.

"Maybe they shoot a little too quickly, but how many of them have had their lives saved (by doing that?)" he asked. "And how many soldiers die because they hesitate (to fire)?"

Pam Hartsell, property manager for Moyock Storage Co., is also upset with the media's characterization of Blackwater as trigger-happy thugs. She said the company pays for drug awareness programs in the local schools, trains police SWAT teams, and even employed her son part time when he was in high school.

"They were very good to him, real kind and considerate," she said.

Blackwater USA also paid high school students for picking up spent shells, which funded their trip in the SkillsUSA program, which helps builds and reinforces self-confidence, she said.

Hartsell said she is so upset with the media's coverage of Blackwater that she's stopped reading it altogether.

"I pretty much figured all the media was liberal and one-sided," she said.

Hartsell said Blackwater has also done a very good job of providing security for the State Department diplomats they are protecting in Iraq.

"If you look at percentages, and all the people they have covered, there's bound to be a foul-up every once in a while," she said. "We're only human. I feel for them, I really do."

But Roxanne Bottum, who lives in Elizabeth City and had stopped at a Camden convenience store on Thursday, doesn't see it that way.

She said her son is serving in Iraq, and his job has not gotten any easier because of Blackwater.

"They (Iraqis) really dislike Americans now," she said. "(My son) says they (Blackwater contractors) are trigger-happy."

But Bottum's opinion appears to be a minority view.

Debbie Evans of RE/MAX Alpha Realty, also thinks Blackwater isn't being treated fairly by the media. She said the company is good for the economy in Moyock, and that its employees and contractors are solid citizens.

"I've never heard anybody around here talk badly of them," she said.

Evans said she's helped a lot of Blackwater employees find homes in the area.

"I feel like it is the liberal news media that has given them (Blackwater) a bum rap," she said.

She has heard firsthand the difficult conditions Blackwater contractors endure in Iraq.

"They are doing the best they can," Evans said. "They are putting their lives on the line, and there are bound to be situations that happen that are unfortunate situations."

The national media continues to identify Blackwater as being "Moyock-based," but that hasn't tarnished the community's image, she said.

"I don't think it hurts," she said. "We're selling property."

Occasionally when Evans walks outside of her Moyock home, she hears the sound of gunfire coming from Blackwater's firing ranges. She said it doesn't bother her.

"It's the sound of freedom," Evans said.

Currituck County Commissioner Gene Gregory also believes the criticism of Blackwater is unfair.

"They're in a war zone," he said. "I think some of the statements coming out against them probably are unwarranted as far as what's happening in Iraq. There are two sides to every story."

Like Hartsell, Gregory pointed out that Blackwater has an excellent record of protecting State Department diplomats in Iraq.

"They haven't lost a single one they have been protecting, yet I think they've had about 30 of their own people killed over there," he said.

Camden County Manager Randell Woodruff was also reluctant to criticize Blackwater.

"Let's face it, they have been protecting people all these years and haven't had a single incident regarding any American diplomat (being killed)," he said. "I think they are doing a great job."