Despite the light that Memorial Day will shine, briefly, on the U.S. death tolls in Iraq and Afghanistan, don’t expect an accurate accounting of the real human cost of our military actions abroad. The numbers you’ll see — mostly likely just under 5,000 fatalities — won’t tell the whole story.
As of June 2008 (the most recent reliable numbers available publicly), more than 1,350 civilian contractor personnel had died in Iraq and Afghanistan supporting our efforts. About 29,000 contractors had been injured, more than 8,300 seriously.
But don’t expect President Obama to remember or thank the contractor personnel who died supporting our troops or diplomatic missions. Instead, expect to see contractor personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be portrayed as expendable profiteers, adventure seekers or marginalized members of society who are not entitled to the same respect or value given to members of the military.
A good friend of mine works for a civilian contractor as a technical representative/instructor, and is being sent to Iraq for ninety days. He is a retired Army National Guard NCO, and is being sent in harm’s way, and he knows what to expect. As far as I’m concerned, our contractors…..most of them, anyway, DO deserve our respect and support. Yes, they do make money, but they also do the work that the Armed Services don’t have the time nor the resources with which to do that work.
In a previous life I worked in defense contracting. Techs have to go on many military missions to maintain the sophisticated hardware and software that is part and parcle of modern weapon systems. Sometimes they make less money than the officers they are working with/for (when you throw in benefits, retention bonuses, etc). That and they get no respect from the political class although the military folks know they are keeping their butts protected.
I was always touched by the scrolling casualty list at the end of Battle of Britain . There were so many pilots from an amazing array of countries that went to stand up for freedom.
In San Pedro, CA (L.A.’s harbor), there is a Merchant Marine memorial, honoring another non-military group that took plenty of casualties, esp. in WWII.
[b]I couldn’t post this on the Washington Times website, because this discussion was apparently already closed. I’m glad, I found this blog. Because, It seems there are “some” people who need to see things from another perspective.
My husband is a contrator working in Iraq. He’s been there now for 4 years. Some people say he’s a “money hungry thrill seeker”??? Well, those who say that, or think that, are completely off base!! He served in the military, and retired. Couldn’t find work on the outside, and went to work for KBR. He went back to where he just came from, 5 years ago. My husband is a great patriot, whether serving directly or in-directly. So, for those shallow folks with other agenda’s, who say that contractors who have lost their lives, are not important…. I say.. Not everything is black and white.