[antimedia] antimedia: When you talk about American contractors....

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Posted by antimedia:
When you talk about American contractors....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1181186961.shtml


   ....in Iraq, everyone thinks of the four Blackwater contractors burned
   and hanged from the bridge in Fallujah. The truth is, security
   personnel make up a small percentage of the contractors in Iraq. The
   vast majority work in other fields such as teaching, trucking,
   construction, trades such as electricians, carpenters and plumbers,
   computer technicians, nurses, doctors, lawyers and many other fields.
   [1]This site can help educate you about American contractors, many of
   whom have unique problems not encountered by the military. There is
   also an [2]American Contractors blog and a [3]website for KBR vets. A
   lot of people don't seem to realize that Halliburton's subsidiary,
   KBR, doesn't provide armed guards but truck drivers, procurement
   professionals and other personnel.
   There is no VA for them to go to if they're injured or [4]suffering
   from PTSD, there is no burial with honors if they are killed in Iraq,
   and they are not held in high regard by many Americans, who gravely
   misunderstand their role. [5]These are the faces of some of these
   forgotten Americans.
   Nearly [6]800 contractors have been killed in Iraq, at least 136 of
   them Americans. They work in every profession you can imagine.

     Employees of defense contractors such as Halliburton, Blackwater
     and Wackenhut cook meals, do laundry, repair infrastruture,
     translate documents, analyze intelligence, guard prisoners, protect
     military convoys, deliver water in the heavily fortified Green Zone
     and stand sentry at buildings - often highly dangerous duties
     almost identical to those performed by many U.S. troops.
     The U.S. has outsourced so many war and reconstruction duties that
     there are almost as many contractors (120,000) as U.S. troops
     (135,000) in the war zone.

   For those who think the use of contractors is some new phenomenon,
   America has been using independent contractors to supplement our
   military forces [7]since the Revolutionary War.

     Since the Revolutionary War, it has relied heavily on contract
     transportation to move troops and supplies. Civilians have played a
     major role in engineering projects, such as the construction of the
     Cam Rahn Bay facilities during the Vietnam War. The military has
     placed heavy emphasis on civilian support of communications, from
     Civil War telegraphs to modern satellite communications. All facets
     of general logistics support have been contracted at one time or
     another during this century, including food, laundry, sanitation,
     shower service, security, recreation, translator service, terminal
     and base camp operations, water and power production, and medical
     service support. Perhaps the most complex and controversial issue
     today is contractor involvement in maintenance. As systems become
     more sophisticated, the need for technicians to be close by has
     never been greater. This puts civilian contractors at far greater
     risk of direct involvement in conflict.
     During World War II and the Vietnam War, one civilian supported
     every six soldiers. According to Katherine Peters, in her article
     "Civilians at War" (Government Executive, July 1996), the ratio
     changed to 1 to 50 for the Persian Gulf War, then fell to 1 to 10
     in Bosnia. While these numbers appear to reflect a reduced civilian
     presence on the battlefield, using them to compute the overall risk
     of danger to civilians in a theater would be misleading. Because of
     the increased range of our adversaries' weapons and the
     disappearance of the linear battlefield, civilians working in
     theater are "on the battlefield" more than ever before.

   Gun-toting Blackwater contractors are perhaps the iconic image that
   most Americans have of contractors in Iraq, but they are far more
   likely to be semi-truck drivers, by far the largest percentage of
   contractors in theatre. (I have a certain affinity for truck drivers,
   having driven professionally for three and one-half years myself.)
   It's time for America to recognize the work of contractors and provide
   them with the same level of support that we do our men and women in
   the military. I am adding a link to the contractors site to my right
   sidebar, in a place of honor, right beside the military links.
   Tags: [8]Iraq [9]contractors [10]truck drivers [11]PTSD

References

   1. http://www.americancontractorsiniraq.com/Home.html
   2. http://americancontractorsiniraq.blogspot.com/
   3. http://unarmedvets.com/
   4. http://www.soldiersperspective.us/2007/06/04/busy-troubled-looking-for-help/
   5. http://www.americancontractorsiniraq.com/Conference2006.html
   6. http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6436602,00.html
   7. http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/NovDec98/MS323.htm
   8. http://technorati.com/tag/Iraq
   9. http://technorati.com/tag/contractors
  10. http://technorati.com/tag/truck%20drivers
  11. http://technorati.com/tag/PTSD