Posted on 05/19/2007 4:58:07 AM PDT by Allegra
Yup, that’s a flat-out mis-statement of the facts. The “peace dividend” meant that congress downsized the military on the one hand while simultaneously increasing deployments - all through the 1990s. I know because I was there.
You're saying both Bush 41 (had he served a 2nd term) and Dole would've downsized our military the same amount as Clinton did.
That's crazy talk.
www.kbrjobs.com
I know some folks who were truck drivers over there in 04. Very dangerous work then - and I’m sure now. The pay then was about $80,000, less than alot of owner/operators who own their own trucks here in the states make.
I agree with the other posts - no one drafted these guys to go over there. I get tired of the whiners and complainers who prance before the media about being mistreated. If you don’t want to go to a war zone unarmed (in the case of the truckers) or risk your butt to an IED, stay home...... They aren’t military and their contracts and benefits are not the same as the military.
The ones I know went to serve, not for the money although that was a factor for some. They are proud of the job they have done.
Contractors have played a very important part in this and other wars and I don’t think the MSM portrays them well at all.
Yeah, OK...I'm listening...
Having been a contractor over there, you get paid VERY well (it’s called hazardous duty pay) and you go over there full well knowing the risks.
REALLY?? I didn't know that. WOW!
Posted the article for general discussion. I've never, ever complained about any of it. I have griped at the whiners over here on occasion, though.
I've even heard people whine about how something isn't cooked quite to their satisfaction at the chow hall, for cryin' out freakin' loud.
That's pretty much the case here.
It isn't about the money to me anymore, though. I tried to stay home after two years of this, was offered two lucrative positions in my hometown, but felt restless and not ready to leave this mission, so I came back.
Can't say when I'll be done with it now...
Once again, GMTA. I just said that in the previous post before reading this. :-)
You gotta come home for good sometime! And we want you back. You can get shot at in H-town just like you can over there, y’know. ;)
The Eritrean bar girls at the Chelsea Hotel are just as bad....
The unarmed contractors are a paramilitary Combat Service Support provider, freeing up the military CSS troops to be shooters, road runners and door kickers. On the other hand, they can’t bear arms and defend themselves, so their Force Protection can become burdensome to the responsible commander. The concept of the Logistics Civiian Augmentation Program goes back to Clinton’s Balkan adventures, when the Army discovered that its tail wasn’t big enough to keep the shooters shooting after the “peace dividend” stripped the Theater Army Area Commands out of the force structure.
The good thing about contractors is, when you don’t need them any more, you cancel their contract and send them home and forget about them.
Armies have core competencies, like killing people and breaking things. There are a lot of tasks that need to be done to keep an army fed, clothed, sheltered, healthy, moving, shooting, and communicating, comparatively few of which must be accomplished by a soldier. Contracting ancilliary tasks to private military companies that specialize in expeditionary logistics frees up the Loggy Toads so they can go out and be Killers.
Tax free? I thought US soldiers had to pay taxes while serving in Iraq. What gives civvies such a perk?
“Loggy Toads”?
LOL! Never heard that one.
LOL - true. Especially after the Hurricane Katrina influx.
I'll be home for good one day. Hey, I've got those %$#^%! Texans season tickets I keep paying for. I promise I won't "go native" over here.
Beers and trivia at NICK'S next time I come home!
The military has a different tax structure, but they get tax breaks as well.
Civilians get the tax-free on the first $82,000 if they work anywhere outside the U.S., not just in combat zones. We have to stay out of the U.S. for 335 days in any given 365 day period in order to get that.
It was the peace dividend, stupid!
The cuts were already happening when Saddam went into Kuwait.
So what?
Just because Bush 41 was trimming toenails doesn't mean he'd have done what Clinton did and amputate a leg.
I'm really tired of hearing the stupid claim that GHWB or Dole would've gutted the military to the same extent as Clinton.
You have the right to be tired AND stupid.
You got the fever. Good luck to you.
Did’nt see your post. Maybe it was being transmitted while I was sending mine.
Do you seriously want to give this thread a “flat tire” all because you said something first?
DynCorp spokesman Gregory Lagana said the company is offering $134,100 for a one-year stay, plus a $25,000 signing bonus. The first $90,000 in income is tax free, and housing and food are free.
Border Patrol agents with at least two years' experience make roughly $55,000.
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