...some apparently sanity prevailing somewhere in the government. Rewarding our men and women in uniform is only the right thing to do. That it keeps them within more accepted channels of procedure and prevents the enrichment of private enterprise at the expense of public war is only a happy bonus.
It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.
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Re: It's Good To See
Sat Oct 13, 2007 at 01:54:45 PM EST
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prevents the enrichment of private enterprise at the expense of public war is only a happy bonus.
I know active military with Iraq/Afghanistan experience would likely be the #1 targets for recruitment by these companies but there are likely other sources they will hire from whose vacancies could hurt society on a more day to day basis.
I wouldn't be surprised if a large percentage of new BlackWater et al recruits come from police services. I worked with a woman whose boyfriend was a cop in town and also the SWAT Team Sniper. He was apparently recruited quite heavily and was seriously considering going over. Never sure what happened to him though, since I moved away before I heard how it turned out. But I was told the 6 figure tax free salary was a big reason a few of his fellow officers quit and went over so I have to imagine it happens quite a lot.
Spread it on!
The armed services have always had reenlistment bonuses which ranged in amount based upon what skills the military needs. I must admit that they never had a six figure reup bonus when I was in, but that was back when a dollar was worth a dime, I guess.
But Gates might not have to worry about non-compete clauses to keep Blackwater from draining off talent. A group of Iraqis are planning on getting even with it the American way -- suing it for every penny it's worth.
Illegitimi non carborundum.
A good side to this that I didn't see mentioned so far is how efficient these payments are, compared to, say, a weapon development program, or even renovation projects. Cost overruns aren't going to be a concern (no $200 hammers!), and no one district or state will have a vested political interest (read: re-election) in keeping these payments going longer than needed. When it comes to the actual cost, too, $43 million is fairly trivial given the scope of the entire military budget. The cynic in me wonders how long it will take before this becomes a slush fund for the officer corps, but then the cynics aren't always right :)
I also have to wonder whether this will really make a difference in the long run. Money isn't the only reason folks leave the military, and I can see that someone sick of the military bureaucracy and/or culture would even take a pay cut to get out. And if you actually like life in uniform, the extra money will just be frosting on the cake, so to speak.
Ex ignorantia ad sapientiam; e luce ad tenebras
