Blackwater Question

[Serenity]

Figured this would go 90 degrees sideways pretty quickly.

 

I can see that the REALLY-REALLY smart people have slithered out of their holes. Hey pc313, that's a real super neato series of photos you've posted to your profile. GOOD WORK GUY!!! CC.com is a better place because of your good work.

 

Please refer to my posting entitled "Hey Spray Forum" for further information on my views.

 

 

[pc313]

Damm i was kiding about the re-up bonus,what did i hit the nail on the head! It happen to guys i know,some thing about paper work fuck-ups,but you look so spun in your picture it had to be about the money! GOOD LUCK with your new boss!!

Edited November 7, 2008 by pc313

[pc313]

Figured this would go 90 degrees sideways pretty quickly.

 

I can see that the REALLY-REALLY smart people have slithered out of their holes. Hey pc313, that's a real super neato series of photos you've posted to your profile. GOOD WORK GUY!!! CC.com is a better place because of your good work.

 

Please refer to my posting entitled "Hey Spray Forum" for further information on my views.

 

Hay i seen that post,but hears a movie you should check out,you remind me of the kid who bites holes in beer cans (Bunnie),kinda a section 8! hope your dealing with your P.T.S.D.

 

[Serenity]

Thanks, I guess the root of my question is this idea of thousands of highly efficient security(+) professionals treading water, or seeking greener pastures. I mean these don't strike me as the kind of guys that are going to go sell girl scout cookies if/when the current conflict(s) settle down. I suppose I'll just have to trust that they'll all know how to keep themselves out of trouble.

 

If anything, I would worry about the guys on the ground being underpaid, considering the risks and commitments involved. Private industries in general aren't exactly designed to shower their profits onto the worker bees, and as the contract money dries up, I would guess it would get even harder to earn a wage that befits the work.

 

Hey Justin,

 

I think like all situations involving people thrown into turbulent and violent situations there will be those who have trouble readjusting to 'regular life'. In general, and for the majority, of not just contractors, but also regular military the adjustment will be gradual but accomplished without incident.

 

The true 'tier 1' guys will remain employed for a long time to come, as it was prior to the big blow up in 2004. Salaries will be commensurate with what the market will bear, and also will reflect the skills the IC brings to the table.

 

For the rest they'll have to find their niche in life. For everyone that will be different. Some will return to the military or police system that provided the skill set they parlayed into an IC lifestyle, while others will return to college, and still others will fall into careers that suit their skill sets.

 

There have been a few guys I would characterize as crackpots, but overall most of the people I have met, known, or worked for or with were good people. You could say the same about almost any work group you are around.

 

*********************

 

PC313....WOW! 2/10 points.

[tvashtarkatena]

Figured this would go 90 degrees sideways pretty quickly.

 

I can see that the REALLY-REALLY smart people have slithered out of their holes. Hey pc313, that's a real super neato series of photos you've posted to your profile. GOOD WORK GUY!!! CC.com is a better place because of your good work.

 

Please refer to my posting entitled "Hey Spray Forum" for further information on my views.

 

 

Yeah, we'll get right on that one, Mike!

 

When we want a dumbshit's opinion, don't worry: you'll be the first one we come to.

 

BTW, LOVE the feaux gansta/boarder motif. ITS DA BIG BAD WOOF!

Edited November 7, 2008 by tvashtarkatena

[prole]

For the rest they'll have to find their niche in life. For everyone that will be different. Some will return to the military or police system that provided the skill set they parlayed into an IC lifestyle, while others will return to college, and still others will fall into careers that suit their skill sets.

 

Huh, well that sounds pretty rosy (Elevated rates for alcoholism, drug use, domestic abuse, post-traumatic stress, homelessness, disability, etc. notwithstanding).

[ashw_justin]

I suppose on multiple levels, including probably the one we are talking about now, it is still better to have employed western soldiers of fortune instead of say mujahideen to fight significant parts of the government's war.

 

I have to say, it is really hard to post in this thread without letting my moral views about Iraq bleed into the discussion.

[prole]

Yeah, you're going to want to bury your moral views really, really deep if you want to have a "serious" discussion about this. Either that or turn off the critical thinking centers in your brain, limit your exposure to the news, and pretend you're this guy:

 

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLJx2vJdlJQ

 

[tvashtarkatena]

For the rest they'll have to find their niche in life. For everyone that will be different. Some will return to the military or police system that provided the skill set they parlayed into an IC lifestyle, while others will return to college, and still others will fall into careers that suit their skill sets.

 

Huh, well that sounds pretty rosy (Elevated rates for alcoholism, drug use, domestic abuse, post-traumatic stress, homelessness, disability, etc. notwithstanding).

 

My friend has worked many years for Northwest Mental Health, and she relates that the levels of drug abuse, homelessness, traumatic brain injury, and neurosis/psychosis among the returning troops is astounding. She also relates the difficulty the have in wresting any benefits from our government.

[Jim]

The Blackwater issue is related to the whole Haliburton mess. Cheney and Rummy wanted to decrease standing forece strength and use contractors, their old buddies.

 

So now we have contractors running supply lines, cooking, cleaning, security, transportation, etc. These are postions that used to be done effectively and much cheaper than by contractors.

 

The big bottom line of course is that you do not have to have a draft to fill all the military needs for fighting a war. Just pour money at the "problem" and pay the soldiers of fortune 10 times what the common grunt earns. And everyone back home can still go shopping and kinda forget about the messy end of things. No need to sacrifice

[tvashtarkatena]

To add insult to injury, many of these private contractors provide shitty service. Halliburton charges an incredible $100 for a load of laundry in Iraq, and soldiers stationed near major facilities HAVE TO USE THEM; a local Iraqi will do a better job of it faster for under $1.

 

Just one more reason why they fuckin' hate us.

Edited November 7, 2008 by tvashtarkatena

[ashw_justin]

Yeah, you're going to want to bury your moral views really, really deep if you want to have a "serious" discussion about this.

I thought the discussion was a fairly narrow one about employment prospects in private military contracting. Seems fair enough to try to have an actual discussion about it with people who might have more to draw upon besides nothing more than their imaginations.

 

On the broader issue I still wish we had been more willing or able to deal with international terrorism as a crime among small numbers of nationless radicals. From the beginning I have thought that the Bush et al. reasons for occupying Iraq were dangerous and blatantly misleading propaganda. I'm not willing to concede that there are no advantages to having invaded Iraq, but the advantages don't seem to be the ones that Bush wanted us to believe, and the jury is still out on whether or not this will be good for the Iraqi people in the long run. On the contrary it seems pretty grim for them so far. Above all there is the issue of whether or not it was our right to take the fate of the Iraqi people completely into our own hands (I think it most certainly wasn't), although one could argue that we already did that a long time ago.

 

Some private contractors may be interested in instigating further violence for the right price. But it is not hard to accept that there may be just as many who can claim a more defensible position of being involved in helping to pick up the pieces of a humanitarian and political disaster for which "we" are responsible.

[pc313]

 

There have been a few guys I would characterize as crackpots, but overall most of the people I have met, known, or worked for or with were good people. You could say the same about almost any work group you are around.

 

*********************

 

PC313....WOW! 2/10 points.

 

 

 

 

They say that 1 out of 3 who return home have P.T.S.D. and are not being treated do to a over load on V.A. System,lack of planning,lack of fundind,and the out and out denial from the asshats in charge... thats the facks jack!! If a cop is involved in a shooting he is put on paid leave and given counseling,it should be the same for VETs!! AS for my points,can i use them to buy climbing gear???? I am for the VETs 100%,but they should only be used as a last resort and not for profit!!!!!LETS GET THE 911 ASSHOLES AND STOP FUCKING AROUND....WTF!! I hope your getting Counseling,GOOD LUCK.

Edited November 7, 2008 by pc313

[akhalteke]

1 out of three is a vast vast exaggeration. I work in the medical community in the military and this number is far far less. Like Justin said. Try listening to people that were there and are here dealing with these issues rather than listening to your immagination or some statistics rattled off by a psychologist whose sole aim is to validate his contract with the US government.

[pc313]

There are diffront levels of P.T.S.D. from mild to totally disfunctional,the people who cleaned up after 911 and recoverd the remains showed high levels P.T.S.D.,BTW i got the 1 in 3 off Frontline on PBS,they said it could be as high as 1 in 3,and was not a priority at the V.A. or the Bush gang! And the fact that your cosidered weak if you speak up. SO you being in the know at the V.A. whats their number 1 in ???

 

LIKE I SAID BEFORE I SUPPORT THE TROOPS 100%...AND WISH THEM GOD SPEED DOING THEIR JOB AND COMING HOME SAFE!!!!!

 

Hay Mike: can i use my bonus points to buy climbing gear,or are they like the crappy bonus points i get at AT@T?

Edited November 8, 2008 by pc313

[Off_White]

I think Scott's job position in the past has generally been such that there is no "post" yet to the traumatic distress.

 

 

[akhalteke]

I think Scott's job position in the past has generally been such that there is no "post" yet to the traumatic distress.

 

 

To put it in perspective. The 1:3 ratio was devised by the same people who thought that those watching 9/11 on the tv in LA had PTSD. PTSD is real and TBI's are a very real cause. Over diagnosing will just lead to those suffering looking like malingerers.

[Off_White]

What's a TBI?

[tvashtarkatena]

Traumatic Brain Injury. In addition to direct head trauma, there is some evidence now that helmets actually create reverberating shock waves through the brain immediately following explosions, including firing artillery. The effects, apparently, are not good.

Edited November 8, 2008 by tvashtarkatena

[pc313]

I think Scott's job position in the past has generally been such that there is no "post" yet to the traumatic distress.

 

 

To put it in perspective. The 1:3 ratio was devised by the same people who thought that those watching 9/11 on the tv in LA had PTSD. PTSD is real and TBI's are a very real cause. Over diagnosing will just lead to those suffering looking like malingerers.

 

So what is the Ratio according to the V.A. ?????

[pc313]

Traumatic Brain Injury. In addition to direct head trauma, there is some evidence now that helmets actually create reverberating shock waves through the brain immediately following explosions, including firing artillery. The effects, apparently, are not good.

 

 

 

Damm Tvash are you like the guy in GOOD WILL HUNTING ,shit what don't you know?

[tvashtarkatena]

How a woman works.

 

Serendipity. I just ran into my friend at Northwest Mental Health on Thu and she filled me in about the returning soldiers. It's pretty bad.

[pc313]

Thats good,hell i was starting to think you were the second comming of CHRIST??

[Off_White]

Please don't feed the ego, he can forage for himself.

[pc313]

I think Scott's job position in the past has generally been such that there is no "post" yet to the traumatic distress.

 

 

To put it in perspective. The 1:3 ratio was devised by the same people who thought that those watching 9/11 on the tv in LA had PTSD. PTSD is real and TBI's are a very real cause. Over diagnosing will just lead to those suffering looking like malingerers.

 

So what is the Ratio according to the V.A. ?????

 

 

HELLO, V.A. worker are you still fudging, ah, i mean crunching the ratio numbers??