Feral Jundi

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Industry Talk: NAF Report in the News

Filed under: Industry Talk,Publications — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 1:49 AM

     I wanted to post the first little bits of reaction towards the NAF Report. You can see how the report is starting to be used by the various media outlets. At least the Air Force Times article seemed to be more balanced and gave both sides of the issue. –Head Jundi

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Obama urged to review use of private firms in war 

Reuters, Saturday November 15 2008

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) – The Obama administration should move away from using private contractors in active battle areas in Iraq and Afghanistan and dramatically step up oversight, a Washington think tank urged on Friday.

The U.S. military has long used private contractors in fighting its wars, but Washington’s reliance on non-uniformed civilians has sharply increased over the past five years, the New America Foundation said in a new report.

It said the ratio of military personnel to private contractors is now around one to one, and some experts believed there are more contractors than troops in Iraq, compared to 50 to one during the 1991 Gulf War, according to the report. (more…)

Monday, November 10, 2008

Industry Talk: US Contractors Shouldn’t Face Iraqi Courts, New America Foundation

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 2:22 PM

    Well I am glad these folks are at least on our side when it comes to the SOFA.  This is a little old, but it is good reference for what the New America Foundation is producing.  So their hearts are in the right place, but they still have to make a better effort to connect with the industry they are writing about.  I promise we won’t bite. LOL –Head Jundi  

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U.S. Contractors Shouldn’t Face Iraqi Courts

By Maria Figueroa Küpçü, Michael A. Cohen, New America Foundation

Wall Street Journal | August 22, 2008

 

More must be done to hold security contractors accountable for their actions — but this is not the way to do it.

(more…)

Industry Talk: Changing the Culture of Pentagon Contracting Report

Filed under: Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 1:29 PM

      Boy, where do I start with this thing.  First of all, in their panel of experts and contributors to this report, I didn’t see any security contractors?  What is up with that?  You would think these guys would at least bring in a couple of actual guys that have done the job out there and could give some perspective about the industry.  I was never contacted about this, nor have I seen them advertise on the forums.  The only names I recognized were Robert Young Pelton and David Isenberg.  Pelton is a travel author who writes books about traveling to war zones, that also wrote a book about security contractors. Isenberg has a column about the industry over at UPI, and that is it for input about the industry. The rest of the panel were experts in foreign policy and other related fields. I think they would have produced a better product if they would have actually included us ‘grunts’ that have some ground truth input about the industry.

      The other one that killed me about this report, is they made the suggestion that security contractors should only be used for static security posts in the war.  That PSD and Convoy operations should be done by the military.  Where I disagree on this, is this completely limits operational capability for the companies over there that are operating on their own.  And this also rips away the military to serve civilian supply efforts.  So will these civilian companies pay the military to do these services.  How about for transporting employees for leave or for medical situations?  Will the military provide an on call shuttle service for us civilians operating at these camps?

(more…)

Friday, November 7, 2008

Industry Talk: PSC Urges Contractor Protections in Iraq SOFA

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:08 PM

     Wow, I had no idea the Professional Services Council would get involved with the process, but that is cool.  I didn’t even know they existed, and at least someone cares about us.  Although, seeing how this was sent almost a month ago, the SOFA(Status of Forces Agreement) writers and negotiators have been notified and I really haven’t seen a focus on these issues.  When the final product comes out and the agreement has been signed, then we will see if Condoleezza Rice was really listening.

   Also with the letter, they mentioned how this SOFA could impact a Afghanistan SOFA in the future.  That if you do not protect civilian contractors with a sound agreement in Iraq, that Afghanistan might push for the same type of agreement in that war zone.  It is about precedent and it is about doing the right thing, and that the DoD and DoS both have an opportunity to take a stand about how important we are in the war effort.  Especially as we draw down in Iraq, and build up in such places as Afghanistan and Africa. 

    The other thing that is interesting about the PSC, is that they are another resource you can use to bring up issues in the industry that need attention.  –Head Jundi

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PS Council Logo

 

PSC Urges Contractor Protections in Iraq SOFA

In a letter sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on October 8, PSC outlined its concerns regarding the development of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Iraq that may exclude basic protections for contractor personnel supporting the military and reconstruction efforts in the country. Of particular concern is the fact that a fledgling Iraqi legal system and the general in-country environment may not provide adequate due process procedures for detained contractor personnel.

(more…)

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

News: President Obama and the Future of Security Contracting

Filed under: Industry Talk,News — Tags: , — Matt @ 3:01 AM

    Now that Obama is President, what exactly are his views about about the security contracting industry?  I know Obama wants out of Iraq, and soon, but how would he go about it in January of next year?  Will he implement a 16 month draw down, like he promised during his campaign?  And if he does pull the troops out of Iraq in this fashion, how will he deal with the other non-military programs and reconstruction deals going on in Iraq?(read the SIGIR statement below, second story) 

    With that said, here are some interesting stories that give food for thought as to how Obama might view security contractors.  The way I see it, it will be kind of hard for him not to use us for a withdrawal plan in Iraq, unless he wants things messy.   

   Or let’s say he stays the course in Iraq.  And if the SOFA is agreed upon, then it is all systems go and we do a slow, ‘results’ oriented draw down(out by 2011 I believe).  In this case, we will still need guys for the TWISS, GRD, and CMD programs over there, unless Obama is magically able to produce troops to fill the ranks of all positions over there.  I don’t see it. 

   Then there are the troop numbers.  If Obama wants to get rid of us, then he will have to increase troop numbers some how, and dramatically.  Recruiting has not been easy, just to get the guys and gals we have now.  If he wants to get more recruits, then they will probably have to pay higher salaries to attract those youths that voted for Obama in the first place.  I don’t see it personally, because going to Iraq or Afghanistan is not the popular thing with today’s youth. And seeing how the youth vote was Obama’s bread and butter, I just don’t see him trying to sell the military to them.  Maybe not, and we’ll see.

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