02 October 2007
Trigger-Happy Pickpockets
One reason Americans agreed to change from the draft to all-volunteer armed forces was that it would thereby have the professional, well-trained and motivated manpower to fulfill the country’s emergency and security needs. Much is spent on that training, and salaries and benefits are supposed to be commensurate with the regimentation, risks and responsibilities we ask our soldiers to bear.
According to his OpEd article in the October 1, 2007, Wall Street Journal, Ben Ryan seems to think that pay in the military is not enough, and that he and his colleagues (not to mention their new employers) are free to use for private gain the training and skills received when they were part of it. In effect, because those contracts are more expensive than deploying the military to perform the same tasks, U.S. citizens have been paying twice for the training of security contractor employees.
Military experience has always been a good preparation for civilian pursuits, and this continues to be one of its great recruitment advantages. However, security contractor companies, like Blackwater or Triple Canopy, that have assumed the role of the military in Iraq have been exploiting the veterans they rely on for the services they provide to the U.S. government. As Mr. Ryan says, these employees receive no benefits and are paid only for days they work. The difference between their compensation and the contract value represents a profit margin that these companies probably protect with generous contributions to political lobbying groups.
One reason Americans agreed to change from the draft to all-volunteer armed forces was that it would thereby have the professional, well-trained and motivated manpower to fulfill the country’s emergency and security needs. Much is spent on that training, and salaries and benefits are supposed to be commensurate with the regimentation, risks and responsibilities we ask our soldiers to bear.
According to his OpEd article in the October 1, 2007, Wall Street Journal, Ben Ryan seems to think that pay in the military is not enough, and that he and his colleagues (not to mention their new employers) are free to use for private gain the training and skills received when they were part of it. In effect, because those contracts are more expensive than deploying the military to perform the same tasks, U.S. citizens have been paying twice for the training of security contractor employees.
Military experience has always been a good preparation for civilian pursuits, and this continues to be one of its great recruitment advantages. However, security contractor companies, like Blackwater or Triple Canopy, that have assumed the role of the military in Iraq have been exploiting the veterans they rely on for the services they provide to the U.S. government. As Mr. Ryan says, these employees receive no benefits and are paid only for days they work. The difference between their compensation and the contract value represents a profit margin that these companies probably protect with generous contributions to political lobbying groups.
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