(TPM) Gates: Military Contractors Luring Away Troops

[mod mom]

SO THE TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING FOR THEIR TRAINING AND THE CONTRACTORS ARE PROFITTING FROM THEIR TRAINING! CONGRESS NEEDS TO PASS ANTI WAR PROFITTEERING LEGISLATION WITH VERY STIFF PENALTIES!

Gates: Military Contractors Luring Away Many Troops

By Spencer Ackerman - September 27, 2007, 10:59AM

During a time of significant military overstretch, private security companies hired by the Defense Department have been actively recruiting U.S. troops. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee that he's considering no-recruit clauses for future contracts in order to ensure retention doesn't suffer.

"My personal concern about some of these security contracts is that I worry that sometimes the salaries they are able to pay in fact lures some of our soldiers out of the service to go to work for them," he said.
Gates said he was seeking legal advice on whether a "non-compete" clause could be put into security contracts that limits this problem.


Hard data measuring the direct effect contractor recruitment has on military retention is difficult, since retention rates don't factor in reasons for leaving. However, says contractor expert P.W. Singer of the Brookings Institution, there's a flurry of anecdotal evidence that contractor recruitment is intense. "Military folks talk about getting business cards handed to them while in Iraq," he says. Additionally, the impact of contractor recruitment can be seen in the recently-raised retention bonuses that the Defense Department has offered re-upping troops: "There are competing offers out there now."

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