When Private Armies Take to the Front Lines

[igor]

Pacific islanders: my brother did peacekeeping in Lebanon (quite a while ago). Their neighboring company was Fijian and from what he told, all of them were huge, entirely raving mad guys. That will do for a very decent footsoldier for most purposes.

As another thing, it would be interesting to hear some attempts at an explanation as to why the job of protecting Bremer is outsourced.

 

[GSB]

So exactly what the hell is the point of this thread?

I think it has something to do with a giant rampaging Cave Troll and Microsoft amassing a private army of robot zombies to take over the world, but I confess I just skimmed.

 

[dwkennedy]

Well, all these SEALS/Delta/Special Forces types have to do something after they retire, right?

And right now we need them. There is only a handful of elite commando types in the US Military and they are spread thin. Constant deployment and sorry pay probably hurts retention too. I'm sure Bremer's guards are recent graduates of the system-- but they're being paid through a contract vehicle that pays a market-based wage, rather than the near poverty level wage of the enlisted military. Supply and demand, if you demand the very best protection you'd better supply a big load of cash.

The way the government works, they (the DOD) have a limited ability to provide bonuses and pay increases to soldiers. But if they contract for services through a third party, they will award the contract to the contractor who provides the best value to the government, and the contractor will pay whatever they deem neccesary to hire talent to fulfill the contract. In their contract proposal the company will sometimes name key individuals to fill the top slots.. People known to the government to be capable performers. If you think contractor personnel are being paid "too much", I suggest you start your own company and underbid your competitors. I'm not sure how you'll attract the attention of the government's contract officer without paying the market rate for some leading talent. Let's say you do win a contract by bidding ex-McDonald's employees. If your minimum wage army can't get the job done, expect to be replaced and your future bids will get laughed at and thrown away.

Karzai's protection in Afghanistan is provided by contractors as well. It's in our best interest to keep him alive. He is is a pro-western intellectual, not another Taliban jerk who will lead the country back to the middle ages. Money well spent, I think. Providing the protection for the heads of state of another country also has the interesting side effect of control. If we withdraw our support from the protected individual he wouldn't last the week.

As far as private guards being chicken-- these aren't mall cops. If the contract company doesn't perform, they lose the contract and will have a hard time competing for future contracts. It's a small community and word gets around. That's plenty of incentive to hire the right kind of people and keep them motivated. High pay, bonuses, that sort of thing. And they may even get the satisfaction of doing a good deed.

 

[cameroneod]

Mercenary? Pfffffft.

I'm getting ready to head over there myself. I've served my country proudly and now I'm ready to make better pay. Whats wrong with that?

 

[JohnBT]

What the heck, here's what my dictionary says. I took the liberty of using some CAPS. JT

mercenary

1. Motivated SOLELY by a desire for monetary or material gain.

2. Hired for service in a FOREIGN army.

______________

re: "What do you want on this board, a bunch of people that only agree with you? "

If I wanted to listen to DU drivel I'd be on the DU board. So...I guess that's a YES to the question.

John

 

[dwkennedy]

One more comment about contracting vs. Federal employees:

Federal employees are almost impossible to fire, or to eliminate their position when it's no longer needed. Federal employees are also restricted from engaging in any lobbying.

On the other hand, the government can generally cancel a contract at the drop of a hat. It's up to the contractor to find new positions for their employees, or let them go. Contractors are held to performance standards (often they are paid bonuses based on how satisfied the government is with their service), so they can and do fire people that aren't getting the job done for the customer (the Government) Contractors and their employees can lobby the Congress all they like.

The practical argument for contracting is that contractors will do the work that Federal employees won't, because you can fire them if they don't, and you can eliminate their position when the job is done. Also, it doesn't hurt that big contracting companies give a lot of campaign contributions, paid for out of the profit from the contracts...

 

[444]

"The practical argument for contracting is that contractors will do the work that Federal employees won't, because you can fire them "

Not to be a jerk, but have you ever been in the military ?
You don't say no.
There is no job out there that is worse than what they are already doing for them to say no to even if they could.

 

[mercedesrules]

(cameroneod)I'm getting ready to head over there myself. I've served my country proudly and now I'm ready to make better pay. Whats wrong with that?

Umm...how about...the money for your paycheck is stolen?

 

[Gewehr98]

Umm, mercedesrules, what are you trying to say?

Umm...how about...the money for your paycheck is stolen?

As somebody who's getting ready to retire after 20 years from the active duty military myself, I've received offers to take the security clearance, training, skills, and degree I received from the Air Force and use them overseas as a contractor. My wife and I have been discussing it in earnest, we both agree it would make a nice tax-deferred nest egg to add to my meager military retirement pension.

The contracts are paid for with appropriated funds as set forth in the yearly budgets, voted on and approved by various committees, like the Senate and House Ways and Means Committees. Those appropriated funds pay for such things as bullets, beans, fighter jets, tanks, destroyers, and yes, contractor labor to produce such items or services. Lockheed, Boeing, General Dynamics, Colt, FN, Beretta, SAIC, Blackwater, and countless others are contractors to Uncle Sam. So where, exactly would my future contractor paycheck be stolen from if it comes from the same pot of money that my current active duty wages come from?

And I can't wait for w4rma to hop in here and tell me that I'm a mercenary for becoming a government contractor overseas. Kinda like the disgusting filth going on over at www.DailyKos.com now.

 

[Frohickey]

Time to grant letters of marque and reprisals again.

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

Frohickey,

Let's do it. We could considerably down-size the military to pay for it. No "low-bid" contractors, though.

New and efficient weapons systems would abound since procurement would be in the free market.

The forces would be elastic: reserves would be on-call and would probably be paid an actual "replacement" wage/salary commensurate with their real life job.

No more leftist harping about "bring our boys home."

No more silly "Rules of Engagement."

No more micro-managing from Washington.

 

[mercedesrules]

(Gewehr98) So where, exactly would my future contractor paycheck be stolen from if it comes from the same pot of money that my current active duty wages come from?

The same place...my wallet.

MR

 

[AZ Jeff]

w4rma wrote: Can someone explain why Bremer et al as well as these folks in Najaf are guarded by Blackwater mercs rather than U.S. military?
_________________________________________________________

That's real simple: the size of our military is so small nowadays that we can no longer afford to assign military personnel to any roles except those MOST CRITICAL to direct combat operations.

If we had a military the size of the one in 1984, we might have Bremer et al being guarded by military personnel.

But, alas, our politicians felt such a force was unnecessary, and this is a by-product of that thinking.

 

[TaurusCIA]

But, alas, our politicians felt such a force was unnecessary

Te "bore them to death with empty threats" strategy didn't need any actual soldiers or equipment.

 

[dwkennedy]

"The practical argument for contracting is that contractors will do the work that Federal employees won't, because you can fire them "

Not to be a jerk, but have you ever been in the military ?
You don't say no.
There is no job out there that is worse than what they are already doing for them to say no to even if they could.

I see your point, I was thinking about the civilian side 'workers'. For every one civi who's self-motivated and works hard, there's 10 with their feet up on their desk. The only improvement over the last 20 years has been the introduction of computers-- now they can play 12 games of solitaire in an hour, instead of two. Take for example the NFA branch of BATFE.

My other management theory of the Federal Government states that the uniformed guys have the chain of command, service obligation, and the UCMJ to keep their slackers in line. Otherwise when the shooting started a number of them would tell Uncle Sam to take his poverty level job and stick it. A number would certainly stay, but you can't lose half your team on game day and still be a coherent fighting force.

 

[Gewehr98]

So you're a member of an exclusive club?

The same place...my wallet.

That would be the taxpayers who pay for government services, to include defense.

Oh, wait, that's right. Military members and contractors pay Federal taxes, too. Now, isn't that a revelation?

It's ok, I think a lot of tax funds are "stolen", too. Secret Service protection for the Clintons is a good example of that.

 

[Gary H]

Using ex-military specially trained in personal protection isn't new. The military has always had a large number of civilians providing goods and services. You couldn't pay some of these guys enough money to go in dangers way. That is also true of many of the military folks on the ground. They are not doing it for the money.

For me, I think that we should turn things over to the U.N., have the French provide personal security, recognize that national boundaries are no longer relevant.. one point of view is as valid as any other and why can't we just get along. Give peace a chance.

 

[mercedesrules]

(Gewehr98) It's ok, I think a lot of tax funds are "stolen", too.