Posted on 06/30/2014 1:55:57 PM PDT by Nachum
Brandon Webb, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and now Editor-in-Chief of SOFREP.com, posted a sobering article today on the failures of the State Department in regards to our former military contractors working overseas. Brandon tells us the story of a CIA paramilitary and former Navy SEAL, Matthew Wojciechowski, who, while on TDY (temporary duty assignment) in the Middle East, endured severe chest pains while on a mission. Instead of the medical professionals at the U.S. Embassy assisting him, they performed a stress test on him, took his vitals and sent him back to work. They denied him further treatment, leaving him with no other option but to receive care from the locals.
Matthew stated:
As a TDY (which means Temporary Duty Assignment) and not PCS (Permanent Duty Assignment) that employees of the CIA and State Department get, I am left to be treated at a local hospital, no matter how bad the care is. While at the hospital with my team, I finally get seen 10 hours later by a guy who appears to be on medication, who does not speak English, nor should be touching me at all, in my opinion. I get diagnosed with HEART BURN for the massive chest pain I was having – yup – and sent home – and not HOME LIKE USA HOME… home like you will be fine take heartburn medicine and give it a few days.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsninja2012.com ...
Yes. They are operating under contract with the State Dept and part of that contract is medical care.
Besides, if a US citizen arrives at a US Embassy and requests aide, they must see him for life-saving treatment.
Sound very much like the DoS screwed up.
I am appalled the Marines at the Embassy didn’t ensure the Mil Attache knew as the Mil Attache can call in the guns to get this guy care.
The contract is standard. . .you are operating under contract with the DoS and therefore are supposed to receive medical aide. . .you are, after all, helping the DoS. This is a standard Term and Condition of the IDIQ SS contract.
And yes, you are NOT covered by LOAC like soldiers are as you are a civilian and therefore can’t take up arms or engage in combat. . .you would them be an illegal combatant and subject to prosecution under local laws.
State Department: Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Barack Obama.
Need I say anything more?
And...?
It’s a very gray area, with many particulars. “Contractors” may be actively guarding a senior State Dept or CIA official, they may have extensive military backgrounds, but when they get sick it’s “so sorry, beat it.”
OTOH, Blackwater and others have done helo rescues etc on their own dime of all kinds of folks, including locals, active duty U.S. soldiers and Marines, etc, that they never ever got a bit of credit for. Rescues including where US Army chopper pilots were refused permission to fly, leaving the trapped to be rescued by Blackwater, or nobody. And Blackwater (and others) did them.
Sure, they make a ton of money per diem, I get it. But remember Behghazi? The two guys we remember as the heroic SEALs who saved so many, and died, were just nasty mercenary paid gunslingers when seen from the other side of the prism.
But those rescues done by “mercenary” chopper pilots, flown when the U.S. military would NOT fly....they happened.
But when a “mercenary” (last year he was a heroic active duty SEAL, remember?) shows up at the embassy looking for a break....BEAT IT, BUM.
You are making the assertion, I believe that the burden of proof is on you. Good luck.
DOS contracts are not standard, at least not these days, although I was not operating under some DOS contract, just a MOA with DOS, DoD and the White House.
Matthew stated:
As a TDY (which means Temporary Duty Assignment) and not PCS (Permanent Duty Assignment) that employees of the CIA and State Department get, I am left to be treated at a local hospital, no matter how bad the care is.....Checkmate. He states he was TDY. I don’t believe contractors would be TDY, because THEY ARE UNDER CONTRACT. US personnel by his own admission. Spin it some more, pal.
Snake Department... fits....
If one of us got in medical trouble we would go to one of the doctors that Shell Oil had. They would be Dutch or English. As we were not Shell Oil employees we would pay cash, but we did get good care. I vividly remember an expat that had a car wreck. I picked him up and took him to them. They patched him up and took care of him no questions asked. I am sure they billed his company.
If someone was in critical condition the only answer was a medivac back to Europe. Oddly enough the UK was very good if you were a for pay patient.
When working in Nigeria a lot of workers carried medivac insurance to get us back home if we were in bad shape. If you were in bad shape and could not get medivac, you would probably die.
My son is a contractor in Afghanistan and under the Terms and Conditions of the agreement, health care coverage is provided by the USG. Additionally, I worked such contracts when I was in the Pentagon and the standard terms and conditions were, well, standard. To get out of those coverages required the company to decline.
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