GK Sierra Security Contractors in Afghanistan. Wikipedia
Micah Zenko, Foreign Policy: Mercenaries Are the Silent Majority of Obama’s Military
The president’s "light footprint" approach to war has relied on thousands of Americans paid to fight — and die — in the shadows.
Last weekend, the New York Times published one of what will be many takes on President Barack Obama’s legacy as commander in chief. Retroactively shoehorning seven-plus years of varied military operations into one coherent “doctrine” is impossible, but dozens of articles will soon attempt to do so.
There is one significant aspect of this doctrine, however, that is rarely mentioned by the media and never by Obama: the unprecedented use of private contractors to support foreign military operations.
Obama has authorized the continuation or re-emergence of two of the most contractor-dependent wars (or “overseas contingency operations” in Pentagon-speak) in U.S. history. As noted previously, there are roughly three contractors (28,626) for every U.S. troops (9,800) in Afghanistan, far above the contractor per uniformed military personnel average of America’s previous wars. In Iraq today, 7,773 contractors support U.S. government operations — and 4,087 U.S. troops. These numbers do not include contractors supporting CIA or other intelligence community activities, either abroad or in the United States. On April 5, Adm. Michael Rogers, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, declared during a Senate hearing that contractors made up 25 percent of his workforce.
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WNU Editor: Micah Zenko is correct .... this is an under-reported story.
4 comments:
How many of those contractors actually have somthing to do with the fighting though?
Are private contractors for things that could be done by the military more cost effective?
Roughly 24% of the PMC's on contract to NATO, the US and the Afghan Government provide Security, Intelligence or Military functions formerly provided by deployed NATO or US Forces. They number roughly 30,000.
On the Security, Intelligence and Military side, while the contracts vary from $350k to $150k per "person" per year, ( compared to US/NATO average "costs" of $65k per "person", per year), actual costs to the Contractor's vary, with former NATO/US personel averaging $150k per person, per year, Eastern European ex-military average $60k a year, ex Ghurka's, Indians, Pakistani's and Bangladeshi's average $30k a year, Afghans avearge $2.2k a year.
The margin spread and profitability vary greatly by contract, and labour cost. If you get a $350k contract and can fill out your manpower with mostly Afghans, you have a lisence to print money.
The Logistical PMC's provide services previously supplied by Conscript Manpower, that in the day and age of small, all Volenteer Militaries, can no longer be provided internally. Again, they are highly profitable contracts, and in addition, expose untrained Civillians to a "combat zone", and are rife with abuse, corruption and "slavery".
If the business for they is to continue low-intensity wars, these wars continue.
If this business expand, so the wars.
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