E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSScott Dennis, a 42-year-old Air Force veteran, never considered outright retirement after getting out of the military in 2009. Instead he went to work for private military and security firms and soon found himself back in Afghanistan.
"It was an easy decision," he told NBC News, saying he couldn't afford to not work and wasn't ready for a life of leisure. "The only drawback was the extended time away from home."
But as criticism continues to swirl around the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater, civilian contractors serving in combat zones, like Dennis, find themselves caught between the demand for their services and negative perceptions in the public and even the military. Sometimes creative measures must be taken to ensure their own safety.
On Sept 11, Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., called for steeper fines and a potential ban on all future contracts for the private military and security contracting firm formerly known as Blackwater. Now on its third name, Academi (also formerly known as Xe) agreed in August to pay $7.5 million to settle charges for weapons export violations.
“This has been a repeated problem that’s gone on — this isn’t a one-off situation, and it’s not just Blackwater,” Tierney told POLITICO last Tuesday. “We’ve had companies taking millions of dollars from taxpayers, repeatedly making questionable decisions. ... If we don’t hold them accountable, then it’s going to keep happening.”
A day later Alan Estevez, assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness, and Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Craig Crenshaw, the Joint Staff’s vice director of logistics, testified in favor of the use of private firms before the House Armed Services Committee, recommending that the Department of Defense “continue its momentum” in the increasing use and role of civilian contractors.
It’s against this conflicting backdrop that the men and women in the private military and security contracting industry — where many veterans turn for employment after military service — find themselves.
Dennis had been a recruiter and then a loadmaster on special operations forces aircraft serving in Afghanistan before he retired. The unfolding financial crisis had him worried about job security, but there was never really any doubt about seeking employment with a contracting firm, he said.
Though he initially took a pay cut when he worked at firms such as the Virginia-based Dyncorp and Los Angeles-based McNeil Technologies (now AECOM), Dennis eventually found he was making more than three times his previous active-duty salary.
His contracting jobs were nothing like his former aviation career, however. During a one-year stint with McNeil Technologies, Dennis was stationed at a forward operating base in western Afghanistan, driving around the countryside in an armored vehicle with an Afghan liaison.
Dennis said he was concerned about the lack of safety net for contractors in Afghanistan. He worked hard to make sure the Americans in uniform would remember he was essentially one of them.
“There is very little support for contractors if something goes bad outside the wire and you need help,” Dennis said. “I tried to develop strong relationships with (active-duty military members) at my forward operating base; that way they had a face to go with the name if I needed help.”
Perception of civilian contractors took a hit among the military as well as the general public after the 2007 Blackwater shootings in Baghdad. Dennis said he thinks contractors are perhaps over-regulated now partially because of the resulting blowback.
“After the incidents in Iraq they became the poster child of the evil contractors shooting up towns,” he said. “Most contractors are not armed now, and I think (that lack of weapons) may take away what little self defense contractors had.”
And there is little leeway for illicit defensive measures. He recounted the tale of a colleague who’d lost his job for carrying an M4 rifle while out in the field in Afghanistan.
But there are real risks that come along with the job: More than 2,700 American civilian contractors have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, according to numbers published by the Department of Labor.
Despite the fact that many contractors are also veterans, relations between the civilians and military are not always convivial, Dennis said.
“I’ve seen contractors mistreated on a regular basis when it comes to living conditions and other things,” he said. “There is kind of a mindset of ‘They are making lots of money, so screw those guys.’”
More content from NBCNews.com:
- 'Too holy' for sex? The problem of a married Jesus
- Michigan town rallies around teen pranked for homecoming
- 'Armed and dangerous' killer escapes Mississippi prison
- Looking for something to steal, man finds body in trunk
- Video: Good Samaritans tackle alleged gunman in Seattle
- Tree trimmer crushed to death by palm fronds
Leave a Comment:
Along with CIA agents and the like, civilian defense contractors need an overseer. It is asking too much of the Presidency -- Chairman of the Joint Cheifs of Staff -- to also be the nation's intelligence chairman.
How about this? Designate the Vice President as: THE NATION'S CHIEF OPERATIVE. This complements the position of the President as the Nation's Chief Executive.
This would also solidify the Vice Presidency as something not simply a "stand in delegate for the President" -- a role which closely follows the pattern of COO in a corporation being simply seen as a stand-in for the CEO instead of playing any sort of important role in their own right.
As America's Chief Operative, the Vice President, currently Joe Biden, would be someone that these companies, along with CIA Agents, etc., could finally rely on for some sort of true guidance as to how affairs should be conducted.
Nice thought, but that would mean holding someone in power responsible. Ain't gonna happen.
You Know You Are a Conspiracy Theorist If…
You are capable of critical thinking.
You distrust mainstream media.
You like nature.
You think it’s a good idea to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving with your family rather than camping outside Best Buy to get a cheap plasma television made in China.
You think it’s a little strange that WTC building 7 came down at free fall speed on 9/11 yet it was never hit by a plane.
You think that drones in America might not be for Al Qaeda.
You would like to be able to get on a plane without having to engage in a mandatory radiation bath and digital strip search.
You have read a book in the past year.
You think you have the right to protest.
You think the War on Terror is a scam.
You think the War on Drugs is a scam.
You think the anger directed at America from the Middle East could possibly be related to our foreign policy rather than hating how amazingly free we are.
You think the Republicans and Democrats are exactly the same on the important issues affecting our country.
You think believing in The Constitution does not constitute a terrorist act.
You have heard of the Bill of Rights and can even name what some of them are.
You question whether the government loves you.
You think the right to bear arms is not for hunting, rather so citizens can fight back should the government become a bunch of tyrannical thugs.
You don’t own a television, and if you do, all you watch is RT, especially the Keiser Report and Capital Account.
You don’t think the NDAA is the name of Kesha’s latest single.
You think rich, powerful and connected people should be subject to the rule of law and go to jail if they commit crimes. Even if they are bankers and work at JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs.
You think corporations aren’t people.
You think Warren Buffet is a phony and a crony capitalist.
You don’t care that Warren Buffet likes cherry coke, hamburgers and ice cream. He’s still a bad guy.
You know that gold was made illegal by FDR in 1933 and confiscated from the American people. You know that gold bullion remained illegal for Americans to own until 1975.
You think politicians that push for war should be sent to fight on the front lines. If they are unable, their children should go.
You want your food to be labeled GMO so that you can make your own decisions on what you are consuming.
You grow your own food.
You buy raw milk.
You think food and energy should be included in inflation calculations.
You are aware that the Department of Homeland Security has purchased 1.2 billion rounds of ammo in the past year.
You question whether said ammo purchases are in anticipation of a Normandy beach style landing by Al Qaeda.
You think allowing a small group of unelected people (The Federal Reserve) to print unlimited amounts of money and distribute it as they please might not be a good idea.
If you answered yes to more than five of the above, you might be a conspiracy theorist. You also may be on the government’s terror watch list. Be very alarmed and report it to the authorities immediately should you discover your neighbors engaged in such uncivilized thought.
I worked in Iraq as a truck driver and we always had better living conditions than the soldiers, dont know what that joker was flapping his gums about.
Sauve, there are contractors in Afghanistan who count themselves lucky on the days that they have running water in their barracks because the water pumps go out several times a week, there is sewage backflowing into the showers and they are buying mre's by the case because they taste better than what they're getting and at least then they aren't getting food poisoning every other week. You were lucky, that doesn't mean the gentleman in the article is wrong.
If they are getting that then so will the soldiers be, the ones to blame are the civi contractors that are supposed to be taking care of all that just like in Iraq. Sounded to me like he was just trying to lessen the amount of angst against the private security personal. Yes, sometimes the soldiers did show some signs of not liking that we got paid more than they did but thats normal, and yes on convoy I did wish we had regular army rather than reserves doing the escorting as the the weekend warriors did not always stay around to help out when the lead started flying, but they were way better than Iraqi escorts.
There should be NO civilian contractors doing military work. Why do you think the finances of the U.S. are in such horrible shape? The civilian contractors are making a mint off of us, the taxpayers. Enough is enough!
Do you have any idea how much it cost and how long it takes to train one soldier? It is very expensive, and then turn them into cooks or cleaners or any of the other jobs people do to keep a camp running. As a truck driver driving convoy from base to base delivering supplies of all kinds I made $13.40 hr and put in 84 hours a week min(it was all calculated at straight time no over time rates), there was also danger pay added to that so it came out to about $1800 a week. We were not making very much money for the work we were doing. Add to the 84 hrs a week min that we were stuck on bases where there was no drinking, no girl friends, no getting away from everyone and everything for 4 months straight, then you got 2 weeks off and then back at it. I worked for KBR, not a good company to work for.
Good suggestion. Hope someone in the WH reads your post.
Contractors are our 'off book' army. They do all those jobs that that have too much political risk for our regular army. We can not function with out them. In Libya, after the ambassador was assassinated, we ordered all American intelligence personal out. The contractors stayed. They are our eyes.
Yes you can "function" without them. Mercenaries are dispicable.
DOU44.... Every agency of our government that works abroad uses them. They are indispensable to the security of non military personal.
People like DOU44 tried and could not make the cut, which is why he is so hateful. Get over it boy, this is a mans job. Oh, and I get paid very very well....just so you sleep better. Haha!!
"After picking up my food stamps I went to register to vote....."
Well Ricky, our internet machohero, three days ago you were on food stamps and today you make $150k. We want to go with liar or thief?
Careful, DOU44-
Your ignorance might piss off a contractor home on leave or on the sidelines because people like you don't want us 'mercenaries' doing military work. We wouldn't be doing military work if the U.S. Government didn't ask for our help. The term 'Lowest Price Technically Acceptable' is leveraged to get the best bang for the Government's buck. Unless there is a compelling need, a majority of the contracts are bid on by specific companies that meet a NAICS code and possess the specific past performance so the most qualified companies are delivering the best performance for the Government's requirement.
Your ignorance and wanting of us 'mercenaries' out of the combat zone shows you do not comprehend what the actual challenge problem is. If we weren't there doing what needs to be done, the military would have to be five times the size it currently is. Congress would never go for having that size of a standing army. Instead, they opt for a gray army that can stand up and stand down near instantaneously. As a contractor, we accept the stresses of what this country can absorb by doing what you wouldn't dare do. Since you won't do it, we will and we will set the price to do what you refuse to do. SO BE IT. Until you want to do it, shut the @!$%# up and carry on.
PS: You're welcome.
I'm gonna go with both......haha! Just call me the every man's man....
"...shut the @!$%# up and carry on."
Another field warrior with an exceptionally good internet connection.
I know you have never been deployed cheetah....I can just tell. I spent 3 years in Iraq, I gave you your freedom sir.....you owe me big time! HA!
No, our ancestors gave us our freedom during the Revolution and even the Civil War. You were trying to bring freedom to an ass-backwards country that does not understand or want freedom. In fact you were paid by our tax dollars, so you owe us big time since you probably can't make it in the private sector considering you were spouting off about getting food stamps.
You're welcome
The food stamps was a terrible thing called sarcasm...but it was obviously too much for you and cheetah to handle, not surprisingly. And NO! Both of you owe me big time for your freedom....dumb dumb....freedom is not free, so pay up now, I SAID NOW!!! Stop being little girls and pay up before I make your mom's pay up.....OBAMA 2012!!!!! Man I can't wait to break your little hearts when he wins...and he will win...and you will still owe me big time....
Yeah, I was a"slimy" contractor for three years after retiring from a 28 year career in the Air Force. That's about all I could stand. And boy do the uniformed personnel treat you with total disdain for many reasons. First, you make a lot of money doing what they do for about half the pay. You have no decision authority to direct personnel or spend funds so when the shi'ite hits the fan, the higher ups don't come looking for you...they look for the uniformed personnel to explain why their pet program burped. You don't have to worry about physical fitness tests, deployments, exercises...and on and on. And I'll be damned if I will ever join the Government Service (GS) workers. The lower level GS workers make slave wages, are tossed the most unappetizing projects and they still are looked down upon.
A family member of mine works side by side with government personnel,some who have 43 years of service.They wouldn't know a hard days work if it came up and bit them in the behind.They make more money than she,who is a government contract worker,have benefits and a pension.She'd give anything to have one of their jobs.
Here's a solution.Train the service men and women and stop contracting the work out.
Remember the overnight millionaires in the biz sections of Sunday papers 2002-3 from the security orgy that Bush-Cheney opened up through Pentagon Dept of State bidding for Iraq? Privitization is the GOP axiom: Mercenaries.
LMAO
Good PR for mercenaries!
Yeah.
Right.
These people are mercenaries. Killing for money. End of story.
And to be outside the Geneva Convention laws. US loves that.
DOU44-
Again you are ignorant. We are bound by the Geneva Convention; we are lawful non-combatants but we are authorized to defend ourselves and our comrades up to and including deadly force. Do some research and get a clue otherwise, you sound uneducated and jealous.
Whatever, douche.
The contractors do the work that nobody wants the military to do. They generally do a good job. Even the incident in Iraq with Blackwater that people talk about is very much open to question as to what happened. They were reporting before they fired that they were being fired upon. We are losing American lives because we don't want to offend the enemy. The contractors are there because we, as a nation, do not want to pay the costs involved with having the military providing all those functions, and it allows the politicians to report that we have many fewer people in the war zones than we actually do. Technically, I suppose you could call them mercenaries, but in reality, they are doing what we will not fund or ask our troops to do. I recognize that they make the same, and sometimes more, sacrifices than the military does. Yes, in many circumstances, they get paid more, but then, they do not have the support structure that the military does. Those who condemn them fail to understand their role, and the demands placed on them.
Um...
...they are mercenaries. I suppose that if you decide that killing the citizens of occupied lands, forcing military law on civilians, ignoring international laws and killing anyone who even twitches in the direction of those you're "protecting", then I guess that yes, they generally do a good job.
And of course, get well-paid for it. And that's what its really all about - paying beaucoup bucks to massive corporations for enormous profits, instead of using american soldiers at an enormous discount. American troops do what they are ordered to do, so "work that nobody wants the military to do" really doesn't cut it.
Or perhaps, it IS a truth. nobody wants the military to do it because so MANY corporations and rich-bitches can get way, way richer by making american taxpayers pay through the nose for paid mercenaries to do their dirty work.
My my, I stand corrected.
The US Military turned to the contractors, due to the personnel cuts that Clinton & Bush Sr made. Because the Cold War had ended and the extra money was needed for the social 'Give Away' programs...
I joined the US Marines when the take home pay was around $160+USD every two weeks. I retired after 26+years and have been retired for 14+years. I turned down a Commission & E-9 and my retirement & now early SS gives me more than the average US citizen makes working, plus almost FREE medical for the wife & me for LIFE...
These Mercenaries as you call them, make less than a US Military person when you factor in the LIFE-TIME expenses. The people that get to carry the guns and protect the visiting Politicians are the minority, the majority are unarmed and preforming jobs in very hazardous areas...
They do the jobs the military does not want and/or can not do due to ACCOUNTABILITY. Facilities maintenance/construction, food service, and logistics are not the jobs, people join the military for...
Also many armament systems are supported by the manufactures techs. Another cost-saving idea, making highly trained techs became too expensive for the Military and the test equipment for this equipment to support. Maintenance contracts are built into the systems, when they were purchased...
Did I joint for the great pay & travel??? NO, but after 14+years, the lifetime benefits were a definite factor...
Well said and thank you for your service, AC...And thanks for sticking up for us...
At ANY GIVEN TIME, we can have our contracts cancelled for convenience to the U.S. Government...When that happens we are the ones landing on our ass wondering what we are going to do next. I did ten on the inside and now have done ten on the outside. It isn't easy wondering what you are going to do when your contract is going to end in a couple of months. It's like musical chairs and when the music stops playing you wonder if you will have a seat on the new contract or did the COR remove your requirement from the follow-on contract.
Being a military member supporting SO/LIC activities it was a different world in the 1990s. Now with the turn of the 21st century, there are not enough uniformed members to do what needs to be done. Bush Jr. and Obama can not put their troops EVERYWHERE on the globe. They needed the ability to reachback into a pool of seasoned professionals to sprinkle in @!$%#holes that the ignorant has never even heard of. We do what we do to keep an eye of the enemy while we wrap up Iraq and Afghanistan and give NCA the ability to make sound, strategic decisions while engaging the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also gives the U.S. Military the ability to go home on their rotations and take a moment or two with their families.
A lot of us contractors are not allowed to legally carry a weapon and we put our neck out on the line. We are professionals and no one put a gun to our heads to go to those @!$%#holes. We do what we do not just for the pay but also for the mission and the honor of serving our country one more time in our own capacity.
I am truly sorry that some of you cannot grasp it- There is a bell curve and you will have some on one end that make it look bad for the rest of us, but never forget- we know what the mission is, we do it well, and 99% of us are professionals that want to make a difference.
Most of us are still veterans and will lay our lives down to protect our brothers and sisters that are still in uniform.
There are some strong passages in the bible that a lot of us draw upon for inspiration:
"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."
-Isaiah 6:8
The other one is:
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
-John 15:13
Those of you that have not served: Can you honestly say you would do the same?
o.o "Find A LIFE"
AC Robertson, [0.o],
Well said gentlemen. Many don't realize that contractors do the jobs that USED to be accomplished by uniformed forces. Yes, there are some that engage in specific "missions" with the active forces deployed, but they are the minority.
The majority of contractors build the billets, place the HESCO, clean and cook for the troops, maintain the vehicles and so many other tasks that combatants don't have the time or training to do.
Most don't realize that contractors wounded are actually responsible for their own evac to stateside care. Too many contracting companies failed to mention that to the workers until after the fact.
Contracting in war zones is NOT in any way glamorous. It's long hard hours in often times barely livable conditions making life better for the combat troops to relax and regroup after a patrol. It's months away from family and home, doing a job the vast majority of people would never consider doing.
I personally slaute all troops and contractors doing the job.
Or as you would see plastered in various places in the Army, Fun Travel Adventure (FTA).
ranknfile is jealous because his girl left him for a veteran serving as a defense contractor...
On behalf of all of us defense contractors, I'm sorry that you have a small penis and can't get it up anymore; I believe Obamacare covers Cialis and Viagra now...Why don't you go and take up a hobby- like water color painting?
>:-)
Those overseas are in a dangerous assisgnment, but the distain for contractors goes on inside the beltway just as it does in the sandbox.
Only we see it more from GSers than from the military members.
After being cursed out by a GS12 while in front of a group of GSers (because I hadn't done HIS work in addition to my assignment), .........He was called on it by another GS12.
His response (and I quote) "He's a G.D. Contractor, and I'll talk to him any way I want to."
His work ethic and attitude has continued to deteriorate, and he has since been promoted........... figures.
STANDARD.
They send us contractors forward because they refuse to go forward themselves.
"The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private property." -KARL MARX
Listen you guys, she will be out on bail and after November might be apponted to the new Cabinet position of Wealth Redistribution or maybe head of the Injustice Department. Definitely a Donkey Head and part of the pro-BO 47%.
The problems with these contracts is not the folks performing the work, it is with the mismanagement and greed of the heads of the companies. The companies were nearly all selected without competition by the Bush administration, and they donate enormous sums of money to the Republican Party. They were selected specifically because of their politics, not because they were the best firms for the work.
You do know that Bush has been the President for like ....... FOUR YEARS !
Obama has gladly continued the policy of hiring contractors.
If you had even bothered to read the article and comprehend it alot if not the vast majority of contractors are involved in rather mundane non mil tasks like contracting, running water and power plants, housing, logistics etc etc and most aren't even allowed to be armed to defend themselves.
No contract is performed and no invoices paid without a contracting officer's representative signing off on the invoice saying services have been performed as per what the performance work statement calls for. If you want to talk about mismanagement, blame the COR and KO for not doing their jobs then.
In case you are clueless, the COR and KO are govvies or military members that are charged as agents of the U.S. Government- NOT A CONTRACTOR.
There are several points made by the subject of the article [Scott Dennis] that deserve to be examined much more carefully than the "journalist" was willing to do.
First of all the Blackwater/Xe/Academi [or whatever they call the company now after a corporate "shell game"] employees are not military personnel and they are being paid three times the rate of active duty soldiers. Why should our military personnel put themselves in harm's way to protect these mercenaries? If our service personnel get injured attempting to rescue these employees, will the company pick up the tab for all medical care, lost time and benefits the military incurs? Of course not. If the company can afford to pay three times the wages, it can afford to provide "security" support personnel so the US military does not need to be involved.
Second, more people are critical of Blackwater because of the multitude of examples of fraud, exploitative price gouging, bid rigging and over-billing that the company engaged in and got away with because of corruption running all the way to the Secretary of Defense and the Office of the Vice President. The shooting was a terrible example of the failure to regulate and control these "contractor" mercenaries. But it pales in comparison to the level of fraud perpetrated upon taxpayers. Any criticism and extra scrutiny that these folks get is earned and well deserved. Highly placed military personnel testifying in support of greater use of these contractors should have their bank accounts and equity holdings [and those of close relatives] thoroughly examined. Easy bet that they are receiving money from teh contractors as a kickback for supporting this abuse of taxpayer funds.
How did you manage to pull all that BS out of your .....
I'll say it, tangeant2:
How did you manage to pull that bull@!$%# out of your ass? You are so out of your depth, pal. Get a grip.
I'll do ya 1 better, your smoking ass would have been better served by swinging in a tangent from a bridge in iraq instead of real Americans and that goes for the rest of you ignorant selfserving loudmouth couch potatoes
Assignments given to these 'contractors' are military in nature, just not subjected to what is and isn't politically correct. The reason they are paid more is because of the separation from the regular military, little or no backup other than what you bring with you. What we should be asking is what is the real reason we're there(the middle east) in the first place?
I have made an obscene amount of money since 2005......I could care less what anybody thinks of me.....living the dream.....
Then why are you so quick to tell everyone?
Because you owe me big time....enough said!
I helped design the Cost Control program for the Pentagon. No contractor EVER finishes a job at the bid price, and they have to be warned off when the increases get too high. The article tries to be even-handed about a group of outright banditos, and where is criticism of this ENORMOUS expense from the right and left..?..no where. To many campaign contributions come in this way.
FreddyDatabaseDude-
YOU ARE A FRAUD... Evidently you have no idea what contracting is do you? There are various types of contracts out there. Have you EVER heard of a firm, fixed price contract? ALL THE RISK IS ON THE CONTRACTOR AND WE CANNOT EXCEED THE DOLLAR THRESHOLD ON THE CONTRACT.
You know NOTHING of contracting...You stink on ice and I can smell it through my wireless router.
Maybe if the Government actually KNEW what they wanted when they put the bid out they wouldn't see increases.
I can't count the number of contracts I've seen where the requirements were TBD.
So the contractor bids the known and the TBD comes back as a change order. What else can they do?
For you sanctimonious, ignorant wastes of space going on about the evils of the contractors, let me explain to you how they are made. My husband was in the military for ten years, he returned home from a year deployment, was handed a fistful of medals, told what an amazing job he had done and due to government cutbacks his reenlistment was being denied. He had six weeks from when his boots hit U.S. soil until he was filing for unemployment.
I had been cut back to fifteen hours a week at work, we didn't know how we were going to pay the next month's rent because you don't build up a savings living in California on an enlisted paycheck and a just over minimum wage job that I have a college degree to get.
The first job that said "We'd be happy to take you, how soon can you be on a plane for training?" was as a contractor.
He works fourteen hour days six or seven days a week as security in a fixed location in conditions you would at best consider unlivable eating food that you wouldn't feed to your dog, for months at a time. During his time in he lived in barracks that had been condemned that were in better condition. Is he being paid well? Yes, he better be, it's not like there are benefits and you'd expect a paycheck too if you had a job where you knew that someone would, not might, but would, be shooting at you.
I want you to know that a lot of our service members are being put in the same position, coming home to find themselves unemployed and discarded, with families to support and no time to wait a year or more for rejection letters for jobs you would approve of. So they are standing in support positions, training positions and security for places you wouldn't have the guts to go. A lot of you say you are in support of our military and our veterans but apparently you haven't caught on yet that these contractors are our veterans so if you are going to be supportive, quit picking and choosing, shut the hell up or tell them that you stand behind them and appreciate the work they do and the sacrifices they make in you name.
You and your husband have made your own lifestyle choices. Now you come here berating people for not forming some sort of collectivized pity party in honor of you and your obviously less than optimal choices. You got alot of nerve.
No, I am berating people for making false assumptions about the men and women who are putting their lives on the line as civilian contractors. Who do you think is putting in power lines, building hospitals and schools and working as defense at the embassies? It's just like when one police officer does something questionable that gets on tv people love to demonize all police as megalomaniacal monsters who get off on hurting people, right up until they need them.
As for my lifestyle and choices, I don't regret a damn thing. I love what I do, I worked my butt off with a full time job and full course load with a two hour commute each way because it was what was important to me, I don't expect you to care, I figure it gives you a better idea of the kind of person I am. My husband comes from a military family, served with pride and is good at what he does.
There is nothing for anyone to pity, we are honest, hardworking people, and that is what I want people to understand rather than trying to cast these contractors as villains in their made up conspiracy worlds.
You say I've got nerve, damn straight, show me a strong woman out there who doesn't, have fun finding one.
Very well put Peter!
Tamsin time for a fresh Sanitary Napkin!
No worries Tamsin, ranknfile and Peter will be first in line for your help when they have a need.
DemocRAT, explains a lot.
RepubliCAN, explains even more.
Bunch of Overpaid Vets without a Life. The American Tax Payer Funded these Clowns and all the rest of Bush's Contractor Buddies this Occupation was the Biggest Waste Of Tax Payers Monies Ever. And George is Living High On the Hog and Jim Beam.
Very few, if any contractors are "evil". They are portrayed as evil by the leftists media to portray a stereotype and to push an agenda.
Most of them are ex-military, the military is despised by the leftists, democrats and the media. When they spit, "thank you for your service" at you they are really thinking, "F-you I hope you die soon".
They are unwilling to expand the size of the military to fill every role and complete every task needed in war zone, they are unwilling to serve themselves and they are spiteful of those who have the balls to serve a nation they love.
Being a contractor pays decent enough, as long as you remember you have no safety net and no support when you return home.
The reward should be greater given the risk involved, democrats do not understand this since they are bred to be dependant on others and avoid risking their own lives or property for the things they believe.
There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who run to the sound of danger and are willing to help in time of need and democrats.
A democrat stands there watching, filming for Youtube and screaming for someone to help, feed, rescue, assist or aid the person in need and does nothing. Then the democrat takes credit for the assistance given by others since the democrat noticed the problem as well.
Bizarre Rambling Thoughts. "Therapies are Available"
I sense some frustration arising from the fact that you can't tell other people how and what to think. One solution might be to stop trying.
OMG a socialist called me names,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,boohoo.
@ ranknfile-
You are so concerned about taxpayer's dollars going to the defense contractors: What- you think we don't pay taxes? While you are back stateside enjoying the fruits of the men and women in uniform (ie: bitching and complaining) we are out there working side-by-side with those men and women in uniform in the combat zone and stateside trying to make a difference so that they can all come home. All the while, yes- we DO pay our taxes and contribute to the effort.
Get over it- We didn't create the requirement, the U.S. Government did. Every dollar we get for performing services, we earned. If you think it is easy, I challenge you to sign up with a defense contractor, goto the CRC, and load up on that bird and make the trek over to the warzone. Most of us that are former military are used to the hurry up and wait, the sleeping on a cot, and wonder if there will be running water this week. We are used to brushing our teeth with a bottle of water and cherish an MRE when times are tough and the supply run didn't make it through because insurgents intercepted the convoy. Those that are fortunate to be stationed at a camp or base usually have AC and perhaps satellite TV but there are some of us that support at the FOB and hope we can get by with what little we have until the next rotation.
You can't fathom what it is we do; you are too ignorant and narrow-minded to comprehend the entire challenge problem set. We didn't create the challenge problem set but we are here to support those that need our help.
I know trying to sway your thoughts is futile, but the beauty of the United States is that both sides can be heard...Walk a mile in my boots and then another mile in my shoes...Until then, go @!$%# yourself...
PS: You're welcome too.
Yah the Rotten Left did a pretty good smear job on all these veterans working in Iraq and Afghanistan as security.
Blackwater was a bunch of ex-Seals, Marines and other veterans mostly, trying to keep bloodthirsty Islamic maniacs from doing what they did to Ambassador Stevens, to our other US civilian workers overseas...but they were turned into the villain by the rotten Left.
Why didn't they just stay in? THERE IS NO SUCH THING as a patriotic contractor they are mercenaries who care only about money. They have no ethics or values.
@Tiffany1-
You apparently missed that part of current events regarding a military drawdown, huh? If the military is drawing down and does a reduction in force (RIF) activity, sometimes it's just your turn to receive a shake of the hand from Uncle Sam when he tells you, "Thank you for your interest in National Security; on your way now"...Then all of a sudden there are two major regional contingencies to tend to and since we are an all-volunteer force, you can thank God that there were seasoned professionals willing to stand up on the 25- and 5-meter readylines.
Otherwise, wait until the lottery ball drops with your number on it to go and sign up for service. Then you too can be just as patriotic as we once were. Oh and by the way, I have been to Iraq five times; three in uniform and two out of uniform...I have been to other places too. When that balloon goes up either you or your children will have to deal with that @!$%#...Don't forget to have them register for Selective Service when they turn 18...Until then, don't challenge my integrity, ethics, or values; they have been tested in a lot harder and dire situations that will give you nightmares just thinking about it. Until then, @!$%# you very much.
>:-\
These firms should not exist period end of story. There jobs can be done better and cheaper by MILITARY personnel security contractors are nothing but greedy mercenaries who will betray this country the first time someone offers them enough money to do so.
You are a dirt bag piece of crap for even putting that out there. 90% of all civilian contractors are prior military. These firms have been around since this country was founded to supplement the force. Sometimes its the peace corp that goes to countries and provides food, clean water and things like that. Some times its civilian contractors tasked with driving supplies to villages that support our cause and FOBs. The poitacal arm has cut the military down so far that the military needs those contractors because they simply dont have the man power. So before you say that we are "greedy mercearies who will betray this country...." You might want to look at who are are talking about. Enjoy your freedoms Tiffany because those same prior military contractors and our military keep you safe at home.
Well said, Southernman76... She's the little girl in my default pic...So innocent and does not know...She must have been brainwashed by some liberal professor in college. She needs to take a course on current events and in economics to learn how this entire system works and why it was created. She just might learn that we are filling a niche requirement that very few can do. Most of the time it does make things easier if a veteran steps in to help out as a contractor because we 'know the lingo' and have dealt with similar situations in our professional pasts. Since she won't do it, we will.
@Tiffany-
You seriously need to learn what it is we do. Take a couple of classes in U.S. History and you will see defense contracting has been going on a lot longer than you will want to believe. Greed? You have not grasped the nature of what we do and the risks associated with what we do. All contracts are based on what the market can absorb and with a relative/modest level of profit associated with the services performed. All contracts are bid upon and agreed by the U.S. Government. You want to go after someone for the pricetags associated with what we do, go after the U.S. Government for accepting the pricetags they agreed upon. They set the requirements and agree to the work based on the proposals we submit. So there is another course you need to take: Contracting. You will learn what it is the Government does to get us to do anything.
Seek knowledge; your ignorance coupled with your posts make you look like a dumbass.
Though he initially took a pay cut when he worked at firms such as the Virginia-based Dyncorp and Los Angeles-based McNeil Technologies (now AECOM), Dennis eventually found he was making more than three times his previous active-duty salary.
His contracting jobs were nothing like his former aviation career, however. During a one-year stint with McNeil Technologies, Dennis was stationed at a forward operating base in western Afghanistan, driving around the countryside in an armored vehicle with an Afghan liaison.
This article discusses my old Company I worked for in Europe. I just wanted to share it.
It isn't just Blackwater. Many other contractors suffer from negative image problems, and rightfully so. Eight years of the Bush administration provided a unique opportunity for companies like Halliburton to get contracts because they were connected to Cheney. How many other contractors got over on no-bid contracts because they had connections to government officials in Washington, DC? No-bid contracts and complete lack of government oversight do nothing but promote greed and corruption on a grand scale. No-bid contracts do not level the playing field and do make it almost impossible for others to get a far shot at a lucrative government contract.