Pentagon Projected To Hand $407 Billion to Private Military Contractors In 2022

Because ~55% of military spending goes to contractors, arms companies will likely get more money from Biden’s Pentagon budget than the public got through his $1,400 stimulus checks: https://t.co/Tbh8X4gOIn pic.twitter.com/u7u8kLh6LL

— Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) December 30, 2021

Common Dreams: Pentagon Projected to Hand $407 Billion to Private Military Contractors This Fiscal Year  

"There are over 700 lobbyists representing for-profit military contractors in D.C., and this redistribution of wealth is why they're there." 

President Joe Biden signed a record-shattering military budget earlier this week, and a new analysis published Thursday predicted that if recent contracting trends continue, the Pentagon will funnel $407 billion worth of public funds to private weapons makers this fiscal year—more than the federal government spent when sending $1,400 relief checks to most Americans in 2021. 

Stephen Semler, co-founder of the Security Policy Reform Institute, found that "from fiscal year (FY) 2002 to FY2021, 55% of all Pentagon spending went to private sector military contractors."

"If the privatization of funds rate over the last 20 years holds," Semler noted, "it means [the] military industry will get about $407 billion from Biden's first military budget—$16 billion more than the $391 billion those $1,400 stimulus checks cost the government earlier this year."  

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WNU Editor: Contractors were the big winners in the Afghan war .... Who Won in Afghanistan? Private Contractors (The Portal/WSJ).

The Growth Of Private Contractors To Support Foreign U.S. Military Operations

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.

American Military Contractors In Yemen

Dyncorp will be replacing Academi, formerly known as Blackwater. (AFP/File)

Al Bawaba: New American private military contractors arrive in Yemen

The first batch of mercenaries from the private US military firm DynCorp has arrived in the Yemeni city of Aden to replace paid militants from another American company.

Under a USD-3-billion contract between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and DynCorp, mercenaries from the company are to be deployed to Yemen, where UAE forces are fighting against the Houthi rebels on Saudi orders, Khabar News Agency quoted an official with Yemeni Defense Ministry as saying.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the first group of the mercenaries recently arrived in the port city of Aden to replace those of Academi, a notorious American group formerly known as Blackwater.

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Update: DynCorp mercenaries to replace Blackwater in Yemen (Press TV).

WNU Editor: A $3 billion contract buys a lot of muscle.

What Are 108,000 Private Contractors Doing In Afghanistan?

108000 Private Contractors Are in Afghanistan and We Have No Idea What Theyre Doing

108,000 Private Contractors Are In Afghanistan and We Have No Idea What They're Doing -- Aubrey Bloomfield, PolicyMic

Two recently released reports, one by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and one by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), show that not only is the number of private contractors in Afghanistan increasing, but the Pentagon is also unable to tell what they are even doing there. Citing the reports, David Francis of the Fiscal Times points out that there are now 108,000 private contractors in Afghanistan (over 30,000 of whom are Americans), far more than the 65,700 U.S. troops still there,and the number was counted at 110,404 last month. That amounts to 1.6 contractors, roughly 18,000 of which are private security contractors, for every American soldier.

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Update: What Are 108,000 Military Contractors Still Doing In Afghanistan? -- David Francis, Business Insider/The Fiscal Times

My Comment: It appears that once much of the U.S. military is gone .... military contractors .... i.e. "a de facto army" .... looks set to continue on. Sighhh ....

The Wars May Be Ending, But Military And Security Contractors Are Still Servicing And Sacrificing

Contractors in War Zones: Not Exactly “Contracting” -- Time

U.S. military forces may be out of Iraq, but the unsung and unrecognized part of America’s modern military establishment is still serving and sacrificing — the role played by private military and security contractors.

That their work is dangerous can be seen by looking at the headlines. Just last Thursday a car bomb hit a private security convoy in Baghdad, killing four people and wounding at least nine others.

That is hardly an isolated incident. According to the most recent Department of Labor statistics there were at least 121 civilian contractor deaths filed on in the third quarter of 2012. Of course, these included countries besides Iraq.

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My Comment: The sentence that caught my eye was the following ....

.... there are more contractors than U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Wow .... that about sums it up.

The Return Of U.S. Military Contractors To Iraq

U.S. Hiring Mercenary Air Force for Iraq Rescues -- Danger Room

It’s January 2012. A convoy of SUVs ferrying American diplomats to a meeting with Iraqi politicians runs over a roadside bomb. Several of the passengers inside are seriously injured. They need to be rescued, now.

But the U.S. military left Iraq on Dec. 31. Which means the only call for help has to go to a team of mercenaries employed by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. They’re the only guys left in Iraq who are running medical evacuation operations — or any other complex air op.

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My Comment: After Blackwater and the controversy of using mercs .... I guess the focus has now returned back to getting the best bang for the buck. And with the military now gone (or soon to be) .... that best "bang" can only come from private contractors.

Partying Not Permitted In Afghanistan

The guard who spoke with ABC News said the drunken parties had been held regularly for at least a year and a half. (Courtesy of Project on Government Oversight)

Partying Security Contracting Group Pays $7.5 M Fine -- ABC News

The private contracting company whose employees were accused of sexual hazing and throwing wild, drunken parties in Afghanistan settled a lawsuit with the U.S. government by agreeing to pay a $7.5 million fine, the Department of Justice said today.

Along with its affiliates, ArmorGroup North America, which was contracted in part to guard the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, agreed to pay the fine to "resolve allegations" that the company lied in State Department contracts and allowed its employees, with their managers' knowledge, to frequent brothels in Kabul. The suit against ArmorGroup was originally brought by one of their own -- former ArmorGroup Director of Operations James Gordon -- who will reap $1.35 million of the settlement under the government's False Claims Act.

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More News On Security Contracting Group Must Pay $7.5 M Fine

U.S. security group forced to pay $7.5million fine for partying in Afghanistan -- Daily Mail
US firm pays $7.5 million over Kabul brothel row -- AFP
U.S. contractor ArmorGroup pays feds $7.5 million to resolve false payment allegations -- CBS News
ArmorGroup settles Kabul guard case for $7.5M -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Security Company Paid $7.5 Million After Complaints -- New York Times/AP
101st Tequila Brigade Pays Up in ‘Mercs Gone Wild’ Case -- Danger Room

Contractor Casualties Are Now Out Pacing Military Casualties In U.S. Wars

More Contractors Than Troops Now Dying in U.S. Wars -- Time Magazine

Well, here's something you figured would happen eventually: during the first six months of this year, more U.S. contractors (232) than U.S. troops (195) were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Contractors supporting the war effort today are losing more lives than the U.S. military waging these wars," Steven Schooner, co-director of the Government Procurement Law Program at The George Washington Law School, and Collin Swan, a student there, report.

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Update #1: Contractor deaths outnumber military casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan -- The Cable/Foreign Policy
Update #2: More Contractors than Troops Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan This Year -- All Gov

My Comment: I completely concur with this observation, and is a story that has not been publicized. I get emails once in a while (fortunately very rarely) from readers soliciting information on soldiers who have just been killed in action .... and could I identify who they are.

This pales in comparison to the emails that I am now getting from readers who are trying to find out if I have any information on contractors who have been killed or wounded, and if I could help in directing them on where they can get more information. These emails are (quite often) disheartening, and it is obvious that it is coming from a loved one who has just heard something .... but is unable to verify a claim or a piece of information that they have just received.

Is the military and our government failing on this issue .... I will have to say yes. And with more contractors now being killed than soldiers .... I am expecting more emails and requests from anguished relatives for information on loved ones that may (or may not) have been killed or injured in Afghanistan or any other war zone.

America's Covert War In South America

Private Contractors And Covert Wars In South America -- Al Jazeerah

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) threatened to issue subpoenas against the U.S. Defense and State Departments last month if they continue to refuse to accurately account for billions of dollars spent on private contractors assisting Washington in the ‘war on drugs’ in Latin America. But McCaskill’s concerns raise broader questions about oversight and transparency of a controversial industry and its ever expanding role in Washington’s foreign policy.

“We asked for this information from the State Department and the Defense Department (DoD) more than three months ago. Despite our repeated requests, neither Department has been able to answer our questions yet,” said U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill at a Senate hearing on May 20.

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Hat Tip: GoodShit

My Comment: With few options left .... and too few resources .... contractors are the only alternative left for the U.S. Defense Department to use in their South American anti-drug operations. Does the U.S. Senate want to put this relationship in jeopardy even if it may impact future U.S. Defense Department and contractor arrangements and agreements .... from my vantage point it appears that this is exactly what the U.S. Senate wants to do, and more specifically they are wanting accountability .... something that I am sure that many of these contractors will not/or cannot fulfill.

What Is The Real Casualty Toll In Afghanistan

In this photograph taken Jan. 31, 2007, Afghan men are trained by U.S. military contractors during a exercise in the southern town of Qalat, the capital of Zabul province. A new government report shows the number of contractor deaths in Afghanistan has increased in recent months. (Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

Contractor Deaths Accelerating In Afghanistan As They Outnumber Soldiers -- Propublica

A recent Congressional Research Service analysis [1] obtained by ProPublica looked at the number of civilian contractors killed in Afghanistan in recent months. It's not pretty.

Of the 289 civilians killed since the war began more than eight years ago, 100 have died in just the last six months. That's a reflection of both growing violence and the importance of the civilians flooding into the country along with troops in response to President Obama's decision to boost the American presence in Afghanistan.

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My Comment: The paragraph that caught my eye was the following ....

The latest U.S. Department of Defense numbers show there are actually more civilian contractors on the ground in Afghanistan than there are soldiers. The Pentagon reported [2] 107,292 U.S.-hired civilian workers in Afghanistan as of February 2010, when there were about 78,000 soldiers. This is apparently the first time that contractors have exceeded soldiers by such a large margin.

Wow .... that is a lot of civilian contractors on the ground. In reality .... combining military and civilian .... we probably have a total that is closer to 200,000 men and women serving in Afghanistan, a toatl that is rarely discussed in public. I can also assume that the coalition forces also hire civilian contractors to do a lot of non-military work .... and these stats are probably not even incorporated in the final total.

Hat Tip: Great History

Defence Official Hired Freelance Spies

Image: A US official organized a network of private contractors to kill Islamic militants, The New York Times has said. Photo AFP

Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — Under the cover of a benign government information-gathering program, a Defense Department official set up a network of private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to help track and kill suspected militants, according to military officials and businessmen in Afghanistan and the United States.

The official, Michael D. Furlong, hired contractors from private security companies that employed former C.I.A. and Special Forces operatives. The contractors, in turn, gathered intelligence on the whereabouts of suspected militants and the location of insurgent camps, and the information was then sent to military units and intelligence officials for possible lethal action in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the officials said.

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More News On The Hiring Of Contractors To Conduct Intelligence Against the Taliban

Official: Pentagon probing alleged spy operation -- AP
Pentagon considers Afghanistan spy ring claim -- BBC
Pentagon eyes contractor ties to hunt for militants -- Washington Post/Reuters
Pentagon spy network hired to 'track and kill' -- The Telegraph
Pentagon reviewing report of private spy network -- AFP
Off-the-Books ‘Jason Bournes’ in Afghanistan? -- The Danger Room

My Comment: Sub-contracting out a war .... mankind has been doing that since the beginning of time.

New Rules For U.S. Contractors In War Zones

Jamie Leigh Jones has returned to Washington from Houston. Photo from ABC News

Plight Of Contractor Raped In Iraq Spurs Push In Congress -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — Four years ago, Jamie Leigh Jones, a 20-year old Texas contract employee working in Iraq, was drugged, stripped, beaten and gang-raped by her co-workers on her fourth day in country. She finally managed to get a phone call out from the shipping container where she was being detained — by her employer, KBR, then a Halliburton company.

That call to her father led to a call to her congressman, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, and her rescue after Poe had the State Department locate her. But Jones' attempts at justice — and restitution — were blocked by a little-noticed compulsory arbitration clause in the contracts of private employees working for federal government contractors.

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My Comment: These rule changes are long overdue.

Contractors Outnumber U.S. Troops in Afghanistan

Security forces walk at the site of a suicide attack outside the NATO military headquarters and US embassy in Kabul. Photo AFP

From the New York Times:

Civilian contractors working for the Pentagon in Afghanistan not only outnumber the uniformed troops, according to a report by a Congressional research group, but also form the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel recorded in any war in the history of the United States.

On a superficial level, the shift means that most of those representing the United States in the war will be wearing the scruffy cargo pants, polo shirts, baseball caps and other casual accouterments favored by overseas contractors rather than the fatigues and flight suits of the military.

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My Comment: This is probably not a good thing .... especially when you read stories like this one.

Steroids, Drink And Paranoia: The Murky World Of The Private Security Contractor

An ArmorGroup security officer stands guard. Contractors claim their employers have little regard for their mental health. GETTY

From The Independent:

Paranoid, competitive and fuelled by guns, alcohol and steroids. That is how one senior contractor in Baghdad describes the private security industry operating in the city's Green Zone.

It was the world to which Danny Fitzsimons, a 29-year-old former soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and paranoia, and with an extensive criminal past, returned three weeks ago.

Despite rules against alcohol, his ArmorGroup colleagues welcomed him with a drinking session. A fight broke out and he shot and killed two of them – a Briton, Paul McGuigan, and an Australian, Darren Hoare – then wounded an Iraqi, Arkhan Mahdi. He faces a premeditated murder charge and execution if found guilty.

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My Comment: My father almost walked down this road after the Second World War. He served in the Russian Army during the war, and was part of the occupation force after. He crossed the border into West Germany in 1946, and found work in the coal mines of Belgium .... but he missed the culture and environment of the military and war.

In 1949 he was thinking of joining the French Foreign Legion to fight against the Communists in Indochina. If you served for a number of years, they would pay for your education (which is what he wanted). This and soldiering appealed to him but he changed his mind quickly when he learned that the French Foreign legion was expelling all former German SS officers in their ranks. My father knew that they were best soldiers to be with ..... and he did not confidence in the French soldiers that were replacing them.

With that in mind .... he immigrated to Canada and gave up soldiering.

But even when he was old and retired ..... he still missed the life.

These are the type of men that military contractors prey upon. They are successful because for some men combat is their drug of choice .... and military contractors are more than happy to oblige them.

On a side note .... my father always faulted the French Foreign Legion's decision to expel German SS Officers as the main reason why they lost North Vietnam after the battle of Dien Bien Phu. When the German officers were in command, their constant (and brutal) hit and run tactics were successful in decimating Ho Chi Min's forces on numerous occassions. But as soon as they were expelled from the Foreign Legion and the officer corps replaced by other nationalities .... they lost the moomentum and after a period of time .... they lost the war.

C.I.A. Said To Use Outsiders To Put Bombs On Drones

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington’s most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill Al Qaeda’s leaders, according to government officials and current and former employees.

The division’s operations are carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft, work previously performed by employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. They also provide security at the covert bases, the officials said.

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My Comment: This opens the debate on whether it should be CIA employees working at these bases, or contractors. I can understand the CIA's preference for using contractors, it will insulate them from the politics that are involved in Washington. No one in the CIA will want to be accountable to their political masters if something goes wrong. If problems arise .... it is the contractors fault.

Congress (probably) also finds this relationship ideal. They have a boogeyman to attack .... and not the CIA. This also insulates them from blowback and negative press in the event that something goes wrong. They can properly state that they are doing their oversight function .... but if things go horribly wrong they can blame the contractor and state that they did their job, but someone else screwed up.

GM Collapse Would Be No Big Deal To The Military

From Nukes And Spooks:

Dear readers: It seems that everything these days centers around the ongoing economic crisis, even national security issues. Will the American public have the patience for the inevitable costs of the president’s new strategy in Afghanistan? Will billions of dollars in aid in Iraq suddenly seem intolerable? How much must the Defense Department cut its one-time burgeoning budget in the current climate? And on and on.

As such, we started asking what effect GM and Chrysler potentially filing bankruptcy could have on national security. Those images of Detroit car production halting so that workers could build vehicles for the troops serving in battle was somehow seared in my mind. The auto industry and the military are inevitable linked, I thought.

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Dogs Of War: Blue On White

Photo from ABC News

From The Middle East Times:

WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- If, as most people expect, private military and security contractors are increasingly part of America's military establishment and future battlefields, they will need to improve the coordination of their operations with regular military forces.

In the past, there has been undeniable friction between soldiers and contractors on numerous occasions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

There have been many cases of "blue on white" incidents, in which soldiers have been in conflict with contractors. In one famous case, a 19-man security convoy from Zapata Engineering -- a company hired to destroy enemy ammunition, such as shells and bombs -- was taken into custody for three days on suspicion of shooting at a tower at a Marine base in Iraq. The contractors felt they were unfairly arrested and, once in the military prisons, said they were treated with physical abuse and disrespect.

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My Comment: Afghanistan is now the new "war theater". How contractors will work there will be defined this year.

How U.S. Military Contractors Get The Business

"If they can't characterize what's going on in Iraq in an honest fashion, we can't begin to address the problem," said retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey. Photo Credit: "Meet The Press" Via Getty Images
(Image from the Washington Post)

One Man’s Military-Industrial-Media Complex
-- New York Times

In the spring of 2007 a tiny military contractor with a slender track record went shopping for a precious Beltway commodity.

The company, Defense Solutions, sought the services of a retired general with national stature, someone who could open doors at the highest levels of government and help it win a huge prize: the right to supply Iraq with thousands of armored vehicles.

Access like this does not come cheap, but it was an opportunity potentially worth billions in sales, and Defense Solutions soon found its man. The company signed Barry R. McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general and military analyst for NBC News, to a consulting contract starting June 15, 2007.

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My Comment: When I read stories like this, my head sinks. The problem with a 24/7 media universe is that in depth stories that examine issues extensively are almost always ignored. What we have instead is some spokesperson .... whose credentials are impressive .... present a point of view (in a few minutes) that is neither substantiated or countered against. The impression that is then left is fact .... and that rebuttal will take either too much time (thereby missing the present news cycle) or ignored completely.

Ret. Gen. McCaffrey is a thoughtful and intelligent man .... he should no better. He should also know that his connections with defense contractors cannot be hidden and will be revealed with time .... a 24/7 universe works on this level also.

Contractors Expand As Conscription Fades

Blackwater training Grounds

From Strategy Page:

September 26, 2008: The use of civilian contractors to support combat troops is becoming increasingly popular. Current forecasts see a market $400 billion market for these services over the next ten years. It was not just the U.S. that was using contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, but many other nations around the world have been doing the same thing. It's particularly popular in Europe, but even Russia and China are picking up on this.

This trend is actually a return to the past, when many of the "non-combat" troops were civilians. Way back in the day, these people were called "camp followers," and they took care of supply, support, medical care, maintenance and "entertainment" (that's where the term "camp follower" got a bad name). The majority of these people were men, and some of them were armed, mainly for defending the camp if the combat troops got beat real bad and needed somewhere to retreat to. The military is using a lot more civilians now. In an age when most troops are highly paid volunteers, it's cheaper to hire additional civilians, on short term contracts, than it is to recruit and train more troops.

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My Comment: Throughout history mercenaries were always used. We now call them "contractors", but the work is the same. The main difference from the past is that "contractors" are now used more efficiently.