Stay safe, guys...
I lost my best technical manager to General Dynamics....
They went trolling through his Marine Reserve Squadron with $150K per year salaries and $30K signing bonuses....
We sent him off with one of my companies VoIP “soft phones” so he could stay in touch. We spoke to him for the first time last week after he had been there for about three weeks.
Won’t say where he is at but he is based at a Marine camp. He did not complain but the working conditions are horrendous. 12 hour days at a minimum, flies and mosquitoes in large swarms and annoying numbers of gnats....
He’s tough, he can handle it....He’s a Gunny....
The numbers, which have not been previously reported, disclose the extent to which contractors — Americans, Iraqis and workers from more than three dozen other countries — are largely hidden casualties of the war, and now are facing increased risks alongside American soldiers and marines as President Bush’s plan to increase troop levels in Baghdad takes hold.
The folks back home don't have a clue about all the Filipinos, Indians, Nepalis, Ugandans, and other Third Country Nationals out here getting rocketed and mortared and doing jobs soldiers have become too precious to do, for what an American would consider chump change.
We DO have allies in this war, but you are not suppose to know that, and if it leaks out, well, then, they are just "mercenaries" unworthy of your consideration.