[MRF54]

I am going to try and summarize some info:

The word "contractor" is very ambiguous. It would be similar to saying someone is in the Army.

A contractor could be an electrician, an analyst, a truck driver, a PSD member, an election observer, etc... So, please be cautious before making generalizations and finite statements about 'those contractors.' Some are just seeking the very best employment they can find while others are just lowly profiteers.

No, I am not a contractor but I spoke with one in the lobby of the HoLiDaY iNn ExPrEsS this morning.

There is a plethora of contract types, levels of employment, and contractors. This can be shown through the various prerequisites for a specific job, equipment, train-ups, duration of work, pay (day rates, per diem, etc.), in-theatre living conditions, and travel arrangements.

If a PMC is in the Govt Service Provider (GSP) realm they are regulated. There is normally a system (how well it works is a topic in itself) of specific requirements and prerequisites that must be met to deploy their people down range and stay on the contract and sometimes even eligibility to bid. Who is hired, what they are paid, length of deployment, individual equipment, contract specific equipment, and training, etc. are all monitored by the office issuing the contract. Most (emphasis on most!) GSP contracts are competitively put out for bid and watched for compliance. I do think there were some hiccups early on but a lot of that ignorance and friction has been significantly reduced.

What cannot be Federally regulated is the individuals attitude, morality, responsibility, and integrity. That has to be done prior to being hired and sent out to work a contract by either the PM or a team leader. However the sh!t filter for this has huge holes in it and sometimes getting the bodies to stay on the contract can override a sound decision. A contract candidate can have the background and all the technical skills but have the personality of a rattlesnake and still make it because they pass. A lot of these guys get sorted out down range, jump contracts, or sent home. A few companies did a great job back around OIF1 in picking up really competent great dudes. Unfortunately (I am making a generalization here) as the conflict(s) has continued the duds have managed to work their way into the system. And duds always protect duds...

Part of the problem is the psyche of some of these individuals and their employers. Contracting is not the 5.11 army. It is not some HSLD equivalent that pays big bucks. IT IS only security. PMC is not Delta Force but more like Delta Airlines... or as I like to say (back me up here TR) "Tip of the spoon!" Providing a service is providing a service, period. The corporate culture must drive this service mentality from the top down. If a company is solely about making money then it's people will only be interested in money. If the corporate culture is having commando fantasies then guess what? One bad apple and the whole bushel can be ruined.

Every company PMC-GSP out there, regardless of their culture, has patriots and privateers working in the field. At the end of the day the executives of those companies have to be able to look in the mirror and know w/o question that they provided the best service(s) they could for an honest and reasonable profit.

The economy of supply and demand - If there wasn't a need for them there wouldn't be so many PMC's, employing so many people, in so many different realms of services. How did this industry get so large so quick? Clinton's down sizing was a great start. How else could the Bush administration appropriately respond to the immediate demands/needs of the GWOT following 9/11? Plus we luckily have a VP who's intimate with the industry.

Do I think there are unpatriotic dishonorable PMC's out there? Absolutely!! I also think there will be a day of reckoning for some of them in the not to distant future.

Could the standards be higher? Yes, but that is difficult to change this late in the game. It is up to the PMC's to take individual responsibility and put the mission before business development. Unfortunately, I'm not an idealist and I know this is ludicrous. Money drives the train in most for profit business'. Things to watch for are corporate ego, predatory economics, hiring influence, and 'empire' building.

Oversight and accountability are key when spending those hard earned tax payer dollars with ANY vendor. I want my money's worth! I also want those that break and/or bend laws held accountable.

"Tip of the spoon" - you can't any more high speed than that!