Contractors from the United States and other countries were wounded in an attack last year in Logar Province, Afghanistan. Umit Bektas/ReutersRisks Of Afghan War Shift From Soldiers To Contractors -- New York Times
KABUL, Afghanistan — Even dying is being outsourced here.
This is a war where traditional military jobs, from mess hall cooks to base guards and convoy drivers, have increasingly been shifted to the private sector. Many American generals and diplomats have private contractors for their personal bodyguards. And along with the risks have come the consequences: More civilian contractors working for American companies than American soldiers died in Afghanistan last year for the first time during the war.
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My Comment: The stats that struck me from this report are the following ....
.... Last year, at least 430 employees of American contractors were reported killed in Afghanistan: 386 working for the Defense Department, 43 for the United States Agency for International Development and one for the State Department, according to data provided by the American Embassy in Kabul and publicly available in part from the United States Department of Labor.
By comparison, 418 American soldiers died in Afghanistan last year, according to Defense Department statistics compiled by icasualties.org, an independent organization that monitors war deaths.
430 contractors .... 418 American soldiers.
Bottom line .... the Afghan war is far more bloodier than what they are telling us.
1 comment:
Bloodier and costlier.
The US Taxpayer is on the hook for the death, disability, and medical benefits for the contractors under the Defense Base Act which is mandated coverage for all US Gov funded contracts overseas.
The companies are under no obligation to provide as safe a workplace as possible, even the military has some safety rules in a war.
Contractor Casualties are the best kept secret of the wars.
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