Feral Jundi

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Industry Talk: Congressman Announces Plan to Reform U.S. System to Care for Injured Civilian Contractors

Filed under: Industry Talk,Medical — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:10 PM

    Interesting stuff, and I hope Rep. Cummings can produce something that is supported on both sides of the isle. –Matt

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Congressman Announces Plan to Reform U.S. System to Care for Injured Civilian Contractors

by T. Christian Miller, ProPublica – September 9, 2009

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said Wednesday that he will introduce legislation later this year to improve the delivery of medical care to civilian contractors injured while working with the military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cummings declined to provide details about his proposal but said he hoped it would reduce the $300 million a year paid by defense contractors to insurance companies.

“The system is broken, and the insurance companies have reaped the benefits,” said Cummings, who pushed for hearings [1] earlier this year after investigations [2] by ProPublica, ABC News and the Los Angeles Times found that insurance carriers routinely denied claims by injured contractors.

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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Industry Talk: Triple Canopy Contractor Electrocuted in Shower

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 8:10 PM

   This sucks.  I certainly hope some heads roll for not fixing this shower unit, because this is terrible.  My heart goes out to the family and friends. –Matt

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AP NewsBreak: Contractor electrocuted in shower

By KIMBERLY HEFLING

09/09/2009

WASHINGTON — A State Department contractor apparently has been electrocuted while showering in Baghdad even as U.S. authorities in Iraq try to remedy bathhouse wiring problems that have led to the deaths of American troops there.

The contractor, Adam Hermanson, 25, died Sept. 1, his wife, Janine, said Tuesday. She added that a military medical examiner told her that preliminary findings indicate her husband died from low voltage electrocution.

Electrical wiring has been an ongoing problem in Iraq. At least three troops have been electrocuted in the shower since the start of the Iraq War. Inspections and repairs are under way at 90,000 U.S.-maintained facilities there.

Hermanson grew up in San Diego and Las Vegas. He joined the military at age 17, and did three tours in Iraq with the Air Force before leaving at the rank of staff sergeant. He returned to Iraq as an employee of the Herndon, Va.-based private contractor Triple Canopy.

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Industry Talk: With U.S. Forces in Iraq Beginning to Leave, Need for Private Guards Grows

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 7:15 AM

   Hey, I finally found a story about security contractors that did not mention the Nisour Square deal or the fiasco in Kabul.  In fact, this story only highlight’s the increased use of security contractors in this war. You know, the reality of the situation.

   The two things that interested me, beyond the obvious intent of the article, was the amazing use of security contractors.  Contractors were the ones used to back fill when the Georgian troops had to ditch back in August.  Security contractors will be taking over security at Camp Victory in Iraq as well–which is huge! (it will require 2,600 guards).  This is the story that the MSM refuses to recognize, and I continue to be amazed at how we are used.

   I think the other reason why the Kabul fiasco story wasn’t mentioned here, is because it looks like the military is dealing with alcohol related issues in Afghanistan as well. (if the military does the same jackass thing as contractors, then it kind of loses some oomph…. you would think)  So it looks like General McChrystal tried to get a hold of some folks after the latest tanker bombing incident that resulted in some dead civilians, and his ‘goto guys’ were all hungover from partying the night before. –Matt

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With U.S. Forces in Iraq Beginning to Leave, Need for Private Guards Grows

By Walter PincusTuesday, September 8, 2009

As the United States withdraws its combat forces from Iraq, the government is hiring more private guards to protect U.S. installations at a cost that could near $1 billion, according to the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

On Sept. 1, the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) awarded contracts expected to be worth $485 million over the next two years to five firms to provide security and patrol services to U.S. bases in Iraq.

Under this contract, the firms will bid against one another for individual orders at specific bases or locations. These “task orders” in the past have ranged from supplying one specialist to providing as many as 1,000 people to handle security for a major base.

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Medical: DoD to Require H1N1 Flu Vaccinations for All Active Duty, But What About the 243,735 Contractors?

Filed under: Medical,Military News — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:09 AM

Hachey said he expects DOD to begin administering the vaccine in the first half of October. The department has purchased 2.7 million doses, according to Hachey.

He said the vaccine will also be available to DOD civilians and military family members who want it.

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   Interesting news, but I kind of would like to hear how the DoD plans to vaccinate all the contractors in the war as well?  Because after all, there are now more contractors than troops in places like Afghanistan, and each one of those contractors could easily pick up the flu at home and bring it back to the war zone they are working at and infect others.

   Now the DoD did mention they would offer the vaccine to ‘DoD civilians’, but what does that mean?  Is that all contractors, or just the ones that directly work for DoD at the PX’s and stuff?  I think this needs to be clarified, if H1N1 is truly a concern to the government?  I would like to hear a separate statement about what the DoD plans are for contractors.

   This flu could also impact the war effort, because if a bunch of contractors pick up H1N1 because they were not protected, and then took it back to a war zone and passed it on to the local populations, then that could be bad.  Especially if it got out that the foreigners ‘killed my brother’ by infecting him with H1N1. The Taliban or Al Qaeda could have a field day with this kind of stuff for propaganda purposes.  It is something to think about for the war planners out there, that’s if H1N1 is really a concern to the DoD. –Matt

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DOD to require H1N1 flu vaccinations for all active-duty personnel

By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and StripesFriday, September 4, 2009

Starting this fall, all active-duty personnel will be required to get vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus, Defense Department officials announced this week.

Health care workers, deploying troops, those serving on ships and submarines, and enlistees are among those who will get the vaccination first, said Army Dr. (Lt. Col.) Wayne Hachey, director of preventive medicine for Defense Department health affairs.

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Monday, September 7, 2009

Military News: Samurai Mind Training for Modern American Warriors

Filed under: Industry Talk,Medical,Military News — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 11:34 PM

     I got a kick out of this story, because it does have some application to our industry.  Call it meditation, call it visualization, call it ‘in the zone’, or whatever, guys have had to get into a frame of mind to deal with all sorts of activities.

     One of the things that I have practiced was visualization, both as a smokejumper and for shooting tests for contracts.  You visualize everything you need to do in order to execute the perfect parachuting operation or visualize all the actions for a specific shooting drill, all before you actually do it.  I find a quite place to think about it all, like in a hotel room or whatever, and go through the whole process in my mind.  It takes concentration and focus, and that is the whole point of visualization.  I learned the concept from sports psychology.

     As for the Warrior Mind Training program, I think it would be worth a shot trying it out.  I am for anything that gives you an edge, and if these techniques can help you to shoot better or deal with stress better, that that is great.  Hell, the techniques might actually get you a job, because you were able to calm yourself and get focused before vetting at schools and for shooting tests.

    Better yet, these techniques could help you deal with the stress of convoy and PSD work, and just winding down after ‘one of those days’. And contractors are up against the same deployment realities when they come home.  One day, they are running the roads and surviving as best they can, and the next day they are home and driving down the streets of their city.  We go through the same cultural and situational shock as the military, and anything to help guys continue to work a contract and not turn into walking burn outs, is alright in my book.-Matt

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Samurai Mind Training for Modern American Warriors

By BONNIE ROCHMAN Bonnie Rochman

Sep 7, 2009

Not long ago at Fort Bragg, N.C., the country’s largest military base, seven soldiers sat in a semi-circle, lights dimmed, eyes closed, two fingertips lightly pressed beneath their belly buttons to activate their “core.” Electronic music thumped as the soldiers tried to silence their thoughts, the key to Warrior Mind Training, a form of meditation slowly making inroads on military bases across the country. “This is mental push-ups,” Sarah Ernst told the weekly class she leads for soldiers at Fort Bragg. “There’s a certain burn. It’s a workout.”

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