Worried contractors fleeing jobs in Iraq

Worried contractors fleeing jobs in Iraq
By Ariana Eunjung Cha and Jackie Spinner
Washington Post

WASHINGTON - With new violence erupting in many parts of Iraq, it is increasingly challenging for U.S. contractors to continue working on thousands of reconstruction projects.

More than a few have fled their jobs without notice. At the urging of their governments, many citizens of Russia, France, and South Korea are preparing to leave. Some contractors and aid organizations have packed up and moved workers to neighboring countries.

Some who remain say it has been difficult to do their jobs as movement around the country has come to a virtual standstill. For most of the past two weeks, the U.S.-led occupation government has been on "lockdown," meaning that personnel were prohibited from leaving the Green Zone, the fortified area in central Baghdad that is the headquarters of Coalition Provisional Authority.

"We can't work. We can't go outside. We live like in a jail," said Luma Mousawi, director of Nurses-Doctors Care Organization, which is working on the rehabilitation of Iraq's health care system.

Occupation officials and contractors working in the Green Zone this week said there has been no mass evacuation. A dozen U.S. companies providing workers for the reconstruction contacted Wednesday said they were trying to do their best to work around the security problems.

(more)

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/nation/8437314.htm

Welcome to the WAR----- Moran

He said the diplomats were not not going to dinner parties as they are portrayed in movies...they were running ammo up to the front lines.

THIS SITUATION IS SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH WORSE THAN WE KNOW.

after all, they are not bound by the UCMJ and they only work for blood money...

Sorry, that is my attitude regarding them

put the blame squarely where it belongs - on bush. The "mercernaries" seem to be protecting our military supply lines along with a lot of other things. This has been so screwed up by the nut case in the White House that it is unbelievable. Does anyone know how the contractors (if they decide to do so) are going to get out of the country. Has it been turned over to defense, is each company handling its own, etc. Or will they all (including our troops) just be left hanging until hell freezes over.

The bosses have their own planes! Let the little people walk if they still have legs.

that picture, i literally feel sick to my stomach. It brings it home, all of it, the whole ugly mess. Makes me so F*cking mad i want to cry.

SPONSORED BY THE BUSH FAMILY CRIMINALS !!!!!!!!!!!

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

and barbeque

in opposition to mercenaries? And advocating that pilots flying them should die too?

If you are so against people who earn a living and "blood money" what is the moral philosophical high ground in hoping for more death?

n/t

who's gonna serve of soldiers their food? Who's gonna resupply the troops? If the private military can just pick up and leave when they get scared....when the going gets tough the PMCs get the hell out!

to kick up the defense budget by an amount equivalent to half again what we currently pay for private contractors so that we can replace them with active duty troops?

I don't see why people are so surprised and outraged at all the contractors; what did they think would happen when Bush I and Clinton cut the defense budget while kicking up the ops tempo?

started with bush1 and has continued even under the present admin. Rumsfeld is closing bases and cutting back on military people - he's such a little wimpy liar - Clinton did not invade Iraq - the idiot now did and doesn't have the foggiest what he's doing. Civilians are being hired at taxpayer expense so bush, rummy, cheney, etc can look as if they're holding things in check.

but even before Iraq contractors were all over the place. So are we willing to see the defense budget go up to replace those contractors with active duty military personnel and to provide the support structure for them?

I'll answer my own question here; I am, to a degree. It's dangerous how much we depend on non-combatant mechanics and food service people and the like in combat zones. Iraq isn't even a real set-piece furball; what happens if we get involved in a conventional war where theater ballistic missiles, long range arty and air attack really blow the shit out of rear areas and supply lines? We'd be seeing dozens of contractors killed every day and they'd be leaving in droves. Iraq is just a taste of what could happen with the setup we have right now.

But that's the choice people have to make; either increase the budget or quit getting so indignant and insulting about contractors.

what you're saying.

Get out of Germany, Iraq and Korea. also Bosnia et al.

Put the money into health casre and schools.

should call it quits, bring ALL the troops home ALIVE, and admit, surrender, and come out in handcuffs and go directly to jail, IF they have the interests of the people at heart, but they're not men.

Hello? Where did you get that idea?

Military outsourcing is not designed to be cheaper in dollars. The only thing that's cheaper about private military contractors is that it's politically cheaper to use them. In dollar cost, they are much more expensive.

In addition, it sends valuable government contracting money to campaign contributors, who can in turn recycle a portion of that money back to the politicians in the form of political contributions, thus completing the Military-Industrial money cycle.

did we contract out so much over the last ten years?

Contractors don't require health care, housing, training, or administrative overhead.

1) It's politically cheaper to hire private military contracters as opposed to calling up more Reserves or Guard.

2) There is a nasty bit of incest between military contractors and our political class. Money gets recycled between these 'cost plus' no-bid contracts and political campaign contributions.

Just think it out: How the hell could an E4 driving a truck be more expensive than a private military contractor who's costing the government well over and above his own $1,000/day pay? PMCs have to make a profit to keep their shareholders happy, not to mention paying their own fat salaries. How could they POSSIBLY be cheaper, even if they reduce their own costs by hiring 'local help' at slave wages? When they do that, they simply increase their own profit margins, not reduce what they charge the government.

That last statement doesn't make sense:
"Contractors don't require health care, housing, training, or administrative overhead."

No? SOMEBODY pays the costs for these things -- don't even think that the private military contractors don't pass these costs along to the government -- that's cost PLUS their guaranteed profit.

It is a myth that privatizing these services is cheaper. A very expensive myth in many ways.

They can kill as many as they want--- unlike Daumer they can't eat the bodies.

No respectable Mercenary outfit would allow such goulish behavior.

the contractors being slow to arrive on the scene with food and sanitary facilities? Also, didn't they have problems with cleanliness of the food preparation facilities when they did show up?

They have this, which makes it sound like they are trying to win sympathy even though the lesser puppets of bushco have been directing US forces to do the much more nasty of stuff.

This all sounds to me like they are going be getting ready for a slaughter, while in the mean time they are going to being able to say them Iraqies deserved everything they got. This with the attrition rate at 10 to 1 or better

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/17/iraq/main612398.shtml?cmp=EM8707
Fear Campaign Worries Military

(AP) With videos of kidnapped civilians and leaflets threatening violence, one top U.S. military officer said insurgents were operating a brilliant campaign of fear that experts said was meant to drain international workers from Iraq and isolate the U.S. military and its allies.

Guerrilla “masters of intimidation” are also successfully countering the U.S. military's own psychological campaign.

One of the most demoralizing weapons in the campaign has been the release and broadcast of four videotapes of hostages, one of whom was filmed during his execution.

Insurgents have also issued a burst of fliers and statements warning Iraqis against cooperating with the U.S.-led occupation. The U.S. military used similar fliers and warnings to intimidate the Iraqi army during the war.

“There are activities here, people here, insurgents and extremists who are masters of intimidation,” a senior U.S. military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Officials suspect former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party of being behind some of the campaign. Baathist operatives once ruled Iraq under a blanket of fear. Now they are recreating that aura of intimidation, experts say.
(snip)

Jenn Buck/The Dartmouth Staff
Armored sport-utility vehicles sit unused in front of trailers housing employees of Halliburton subsidiary KBR on a military base in Iraq. Each trailer has its own satellite for receiving foreign television stations.

Nonetheless, Halliburton's website continues to recruit employees -- 520 positions are currently listed as open -- to work overseas in Iraq.

The company contracts or subcontracts a vast amount of work supporting U.S. military operations in country, from construction to food service to mechanical engineering.

Among U.S. civilian workers in Iraq, Halliburton or KBR employees are rumored to be the best paid. One source in the city of Kirkuk identified KBR salaries to be between $7,000 and $13,000 per month.

"That fork-lift driver over there," he said, pointing to a man moving supplies by truck. "He makes $10,000 a month."

Many U.S. workers in Iraq are not subject to income tax and may be paid a hazard pay, housing stipend an other incentives on top of their salaries.

Some companies, however, seem to be trying to maximize profits by paying their employees far less.

A courier service worker said he was paid only $3,500 per month.

"It's not enough money for the work I do," he said. "Seven days a week with bombs going off every night."

The man said his base had been shelled 19 out of the past 22 nights.

If it weren't for the incredibly low cost of living in Iraq, he said, he would have left.

Others said their low salaries drove them to skim off the top wherever possible.

Whatever extra supplies they had they sold or traded for commodities like imported beer.

One Halliburton employee said that the high salaries paid to KBR workers may be causing inflation.

"When they see how much we are making, they can't stand it," he said.

"It is kind of ridiculous," he admitted, "how much some people make here."

more
http://www.thedartmouth.com/article.php?aid=2004041901040

I wonder what happens when Halliburton employees like truck drivers cant drive and they have to sit around and wait for things to get better---does it mean they take a pay cut until they return to service --or does the money continue....for that matter this can apply to any employee of a company which is offering what they call big bucks for Iraq service---

Another question----are they armed----it seems to me for 125000 per year to drive a truck and a fuel truck at that, not to be too much money---and if you cant defend yourself from insurgents as they are called, it seems like a piddling amount when you can make 50 grand a year in the states driving a truck-----any you don't have to worry about anything but DOT.

In Iraq, Singer said, there are more than 15,000 such workers, though not all carry guns. Some work in military mess halls or maintain computerized weapon systems.

Thousands are security staff, issued Coalition Provisional Authority permits to carry weapons such as assault rifles.

http://www.newsobserver.com/iraq/iraq_2004/story/3471043p-3084088c.html



UK security guard killed in Iraq

"The other car, which had the power experts in and may also have been armoured, managed to get away unscathed."

Olive, which has had up to 300 staff working in Iraq at times, won a contract to supply security to guard civilian contractors working for Bechtel, one of the main US companies rebuilding the country. Mr Legge-Bourke, a former aide-de-camp to chief of defence staff Sir Charles Guthrie, is the company’s overall security manager and is understood to be based in the UK. He was unavailable for comment last night.

Olive’s services include armed VIP protection and convoy escort, threat and risk analysis and assistance with debugging and security sweeps. It operates in trouble spots across the Middle East and Africa.
For businessmen willing to visit Iraq, the security costs have escalated in recent months. Most security firms looking after them now insist that they travel at all times in a $750 (£413)-a-day armoured car, with a non-armoured vehicle escorting them as back-up.

A security guard armed with machine gun and side arm normally travels in each one.

http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=359432004





"Blackwater USA is comprised of five companies; Blackwater Training Center, Blackwater Target Systems, Blackwater Security Consulting, Blackwater Canine, and Blackwater Air (AWS). We have established a global presence and provide training and tactical solutions for the 21st century."

Our clients include federal law enforcement agencies, the Department of Defense, Department of State, and Department of Transportation, local and state entities from around the country, multi-national corporations, and friendly nations from all over the globe.

We customize and execute solutions for our clients to help keep them at the level of readiness required to meet today's law enforcement, homeland security, and defense challenges.
http://www.blackwaterusa.com/

They dont drive trucks or do the dirty work---Im talking about a guy like Hammill I believe his name was----the farmer from MS---
I just wondered if a company like Halliburton says in the contract that you cant carry a side piece. I guess if you are caught with a piece your going to get your ass shot by insurgents for sure anyway----

Im talking about the little people who are the suckers going over there because they dont have jobs here in this country and still have obligations ---like home payments , car payments and family's---

People who work for Blackwater are trained professional killers and its all about money----they dont care about the family or whatever, they dont have families---they get their thrills by being in dangerous situations---its go where ever the money is------I still didnt get an answer to my question----do the little people get protection or do they just say---to these people, fake it if you get in trouble-????

Private security firms call for more firepower in combat zone

Coalition forces do little to help as bodyguards protecting foreign workers are targeted by deadly insurgents

Jamie Wilson
Saturday April 17, 2004
The Guardian

Private military companies guarding foreign contractors in Iraq are demanding the right to carry more powerful weapons after the deaths of a number of bodyguards during a series of major battles with Iraqi insurgents.
At least six former special forces soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of the month, and there has been mounting concern within the industry that coalition forces have been unable or unwilling to come to their aid when they have been under fire.

The proposed move is likely to add to concerns about the accountability and regulation of private military companies in Iraq as well as illustrating the "grey zone" between their formal role as bodyguards and the realities of operating during an insurgency, when the whole country can become a combat zone.

The Guardian has obtained details of a firefight in the town of Kut, 100 miles south-east of Baghdad, between Iraqi insurgents and five security personnel of the Hart Group, a Bermuda-registered security consultancy run by former SAS and Scots Guards officer Richard Bethell, the son of Lord Westbury.

Gray Branfield, a South African, was killed during the battle after coalition forces from Ukraine failed to respond to repeated pleas for assistance from the small group of besieged guards.

Under an agreement with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) private security guards are only allowed to carry small personal protection weapons. But a source at Hart Group told the Guardian this week that discussions were under way with the authorities governing Iraq to allow bodyguards to increase their firepower.

"All of the security companies assumed that if you got into a tight corner they would come and help you out," the source said. "I cannot really answer for other security companies, but there is a feeling among many that we should be asking some questions and if we are not going to be supported then we need to be able to carry heavier weaponry."

There are an estimated 15,000 private bodyguards operating inside Iraq, of which about 6,000 are armed, making them the second biggest contributor to coalition forces after the Pentagon. The number is set to increase even further after the proposed handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi administration on June 30.

more
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:bQiHC-_pdOsJ:www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1193871,00.html+armed+private+security&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Companies with a smaller presence also are digging in further for the long haul but have significantly curtailed travel and have implemented stiffer security measures. One company, Washington Group International, has hired as many as two "shooters," or private security guards, for each employee.
The engineering, construction and management company said its private security guards are heavily armed subcontractors who are either locals or from countries in the region.

"You might have three people and six shooters," said spokesman Jack Herrmann in Idaho.

http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:wp4YCTxZcYsJ:www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/2501629+armed+private+security+truck+drivers+iraq&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

The impact of violence on reconstruction’s pace could be huge. Take the convoy suspension, for instance. KBR’s Houston-based parent, Halliburton, says the company often has 700 trucks on the road making contract deliveries to the Army. Drivers typically log more than 3.3 million miles monthly.

The work is risky. Many fuel convoys consist of 30 vehicles, with armed Humvees at the front and rear. Assaults usually result in one or two trucks being cut out while the rest drive on for self preservation. More than 300 trucks have been abandoned along the main supply route from Kuwait to Balad, following attacks and breakdowns, according to a company spokesman.

KBR has lost more than 30 employees and subcontractors. Several drivers quit recently, but KBR, with 24,000 employees in Kuwait and Iraq, sends 500 replacements from the U.S. weekly and says there is no shortage of volunteers
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:qE4YlelJYboJ:www.construction.com/NewsCenter/Headlines/ENR/20040419a.asp+armed+private+security+truck+drivers+iraq&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

"He would just hug me and say, 'Mom, I am needed. I have to go there. I can make a difference,' " Danica Zovko said Friday, recalling her unsuccessful efforts to persuade her son from going to Iraq as part of a private security detail. "We need to stay united. We need to support our troops. We started something that needs to be done."

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0403iraq-zovko03.html

"Fred Atkinson, a neighbor of Helvenston's in Oceanside, said he was a devoted father to his children, Kyle and Kelsey, and often took them camping or surfing."

http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=1752469

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Some comments from employees of PMCs and Halliburton history

Edited on Mon Apr-12-04 08:16 AM by seemslikeadream
Just to get to know who these guys are. Maybe some poor souls were duped into working for them, didn't realize what they were getting into. Needed the money, what segment of US population needs financial aid more than senior citizens, are they expected to sign up to so they can pay their medical bills?

"I too spent time in Iraq with Custer Battles. They are a frauduently company. Trust me, they are worried about $$ first and the employee/ bodies last. They will breach anyones contract, then screw them all the way home. Also don't trust there K9 division, there dogs are suppose to be BOMB dogs, I won't bet my life on the dogs finding anything. Also is a liar." (January 8, 2004)
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Custer_Battles

A new monster has emerged from the depths of private security firms
operating in IRaq. Custer Battles LLC, the new company that took over
security at the Baghdad Airport. The on-site management team is made up of
a bunch of former "army ranger" types that must have a real "treat" to work
for in the military. They could care less about the health or safety of
thier own staff never mind that of the innocent civilians working in and
around the airport. They promote a type of security that well crosses the
borders of decent treatment and humanitarian treatment. Constantly yelling
at thier own staff to "take no shit" , point weapons at innocent/unarmed
civilians, and "suck it up" when they have a complaint... they present as no
company that is certainly going to help with the problem of how Americans
are percieved in the area. Pointing weapons and threatening thier own staff
with being "escorted" to the propertly line and forceing those that wish to
quite or be fired to make thier take an "unarmed" ride without
communications through the country to get out.

They have hired 50 or so Ghurkas from Nepal to support the operation... but
pay them less than 1/4 of what most of the other staff gets. Forced to eat
Iraqi food without proper cooking and storing has made many of them sick...
and the management could care less. When faced with questions, they simply
place you in truck and send you unarmed and without communications to
Amman... where you have to find your own way home basically.

They have purchases thier own plane (the management) but still do not
properly equip thier own staff. They are forced to patrol the area in
sub-standard vehicles that creat yet another dangerous situation. These
vehicles are not robust enough to withstand a blowout never mind any other
attacks. With the 4 cylinder P/Us, the officers are not able to get out of
thier own way, never mind escape an attack or dangerous situation.

I encourage you to look into this type of activity and wast of our money in
Iraq.

http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/a-list/2003w33/msg00065.htm

Topic Page: 1 2 of 2
Kevwhite


USA
2 Posts
Posted - 09/22/2003 : 12:36:42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just a warning to anyone considering a contract with Custer Battles LLC, of Fairfax,VA, the company currently awarded the contract to provide security at Baghdad International Airport. I was with them for the first month. The company repeatedly demonstrated signs of serious cash flow problems that effected their ability meet payrolls, both within country and also for all the Americans expecting direct deposits back home. We were all shorted on our first pay, at the end of July, and the promise to make up the difference by Aug 5 was not met. At that time the excuse was that it was easier to pay us the back wages along with our normal pay at the end of Aug. However, at least in my case, the Aug pay was also substantially light. As I had returned to the states due to a death in my family, and being owed nearly $2000, I opted to not return. There are also a number of issues, such as health and welfare concerns and generally poor management, that contributed to my decision. A number of other well qualified professionals have also left them. If you are a true professional you will not like working for them and you will not want your name associated with them.

tthrasher


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 11/13/2003 : 19:40:09
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Could you email me with more info? I was planning on sending them my resume.


togeoff


United Kingdom
46 Posts
Posted - 11/17/2003 : 11:32:24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Kevwhite

Just a warning ..with them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I wouldn't mind more information myself - I too was looking at what they were offering.

Geoff H


RangerinIraq


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 11/25/2003 : 07:27:24
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been with Custer Battles since they started here in Iraq in July. After my time in the Army, this has been the most rewarding experience I've had. Custer Battles has been good to me, and while they have definitely experienced growing pains, they take care of their people more than any company I know. The owners spend most of their time here, and they handle issues fairly and honorably.

I also know the guy who posted this note. He left the company after they paid $3000 up front to fly him home for a family emergency and he repays them by posting crap like this.

All I know is that I enjoy what I do and I'd recommend Custer Battles to anyone. They're definitely hiring and expanding; send em your resume.




t


1 Posts
Posted - 12/22/2003 : 17:34:46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

reference custer battles,please stay clear,they are dangerous,i have just left them,they left us without body armour,ammo and weapons,we had to buy all our own equipment and scrounge it from other good companies and the military,then we were told to arrange our own transport home on leave,it was unbelievable,when these points were brought up we were ignored at all levels,from washinton to bagdad.they had in place teams of psd's from the usa who then left,then they had teams of psd's from france who then left,then they had teams of psd's from the uk who then left,does this not speak volumes.custer battles are only in it to gain as much cash as possable they definetely should not get the contract renewed in march they are dredfull in the way they conduct thier buisness,ps.to the previous "ranger" im glad you are happy mate but they are not anywhere as good as you make out,please do your research to find out whether what i have said is fact or fiction,yours T.


alan_w


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 12/26/2003 : 09:42:55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More info please. Been offered a contract.


divdoc


USA
3 Posts
Posted - 12/28/2003 : 01:14:18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Kevwhite

Just a warning to anyone considering a contract with Custer Battles LLC, of Fairfax,VA, the company currently awarded the contract to provide security at Baghdad International Airport. I was with them for the first month. The company repeatedly demonstrated signs of serious cash flow problems that effected their ability meet payrolls, both within country and also for all the Americans expecting direct deposits back home. We were all shorted on our first pay, at the end of July, and the promise to make up the difference by Aug 5 was not met. At that time the excuse was that it was easier to pay us the back wages along with our normal pay at the end of Aug. However, at least in my case, the Aug pay was also substantially light. As I had returned to the states due to a death in my family, and being owed nearly $2000, I opted to not return. There are also a number of issues, such as health and welfare concerns and generally poor management, that contributed to my decision. A number of other well qualified professionals have also left them. If you are a true professional you will not like working for them and you will not want your name associated with them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Thanks for the heads-up. I work for ITT/Group4 in Bosnia. The same advice and avoidance should be applied.


custerbattlesisajoke


2 Posts
Posted - 01/08/2004 : 19:43:10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I too spent time in Iraq with Custer Battles. They are a frauduently company. Trust me, they are worried about $$ first and the employee/ bodies last. They will breach anyones contract, then screw them all the way home.

Also don't trust there K9 division, there dogs are suppose to be BOMB dogs, I won't bet my life on the dogs finding anything. Also Jerry Johnson is a liar.




lawdoggs86


USA
3 Posts
Posted - 02/06/2004 : 00:56:00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you work for a Defense Contractor in Iraq or elswhere?

Have you been mistreated, abused, injured on the job?

Send your e-mail, (names are not necessary) and a short description of your situation to: lawdoggs86@yahoo.com

We are preparing lists of personnel to mount mass torts, (class action lawsuits) against the various contracting organizations that have abused, mistreated and otherwise maligned security and other contracting professionals in this, our nation's time of crisis.

While our soldiers die in Iraq everyday, these companies only talk about greed, greed, greed.

Information will be sent to you about the various attournies and other legal organizations you can contact to put a stop to these insidious abuses.

lawdoggs86@yahoo.com


csdickey


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 02/09/2004 : 04:36:43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by t

reference custer battles,please stay clear,they are dangerous,i have just left them,they left us without body armour,ammo and weapons,we had to buy all our own equipment and scrounge it from other good companies and the military,then we were told to arrange our own transport home on leave,it was unbelievable,when these points were brought up we were ignored at all levels,from washinton to bagdad.they had in place teams of psd's from the usa who then left,then they had teams of psd's from france who then left,then they had teams of psd's from the uk who then left,does this not speak volumes.custer battles are only in it to gain as much cash as possable they definetely should not get the contract renewed in march they are dredfull in the way they conduct thier buisness,ps.to the previous "ranger" im glad you are happy mate but they are not anywhere as good as you make out,please do your research to find out whether what i have said is fact or fiction,yours T.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Enzo


Germany
5 Posts
Posted - 02/10/2004 : 08:09:53
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by csdickey


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by t

reference custer battles,please stay clear,they are dangerous,i have just left them,they left us without body armour,ammo and weapons,we had to buy all our own equipment and scrounge it from other good companies and the military,then we were told to arrange our own transport home on leave,it was unbelievable,when these points were brought up we were ignored at all levels,from washinton to bagdad.they had in place teams of psd's from the usa who then left,then they had teams of psd's from france who then left,then they had teams of psd's from the uk who then left,does this not speak volumes.custer battles are only in it to gain as much cash as possable they definetely should not get the contract renewed in march they are dredfull in the way they conduct thier buisness,ps.to the previous "ranger" im glad you are happy mate but they are not anywhere as good as you make out,please do your research to find out whether what i have said is fact or fiction,yours T.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Has someone any adresses from serious companies,maybe UXO-related,in the area?
Thank´s,Enzo

SL


lawdoggs86


USA
3 Posts
Posted - 02/12/2004 : 13:05:15
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you work for a Defense Contractor in Iraq or elswhere?

Have you been mistreated, abused, injured on the job?

Send your e-mail, (names are not necessary) and a short description of your situation to: lawdoggs86@yahoo.com

Also, if you know of other message boards, send that information as well. We will band together a network to stop these people from their sick and disgusting practices which are ruining our lives and costing our noble troops their's.

Whether you work for: Brown & Root/Haliburton

DynCorp

Custer Battles

ITT

or other corrupt contracting organization, you need to take a stand.

Don't be fooled. These people have strong lobbies in Washington and deep pockets filled, not only with tax payers fraudulently acquired dollars, but politicians and high ranking military officials as well.

This is not a joke. If we don't start standing up to these filthy thieves, nobody will.

I did not serve my country to let that happen. Nor, I believe, did you.

start here: http://www.alexanderlaw.com /

all information is strictly confidential.

We are preparing lists of personnel to mount mass torts, (class action lawsuits) against the various contracting organizations that have abused, mistreated and otherwise maligned security and other contracting professionals in this, our nation's time of crisis.

While our soldiers die in Iraq everyday, these companies only talk about greed, greed, greed.

Information will be sent to you about the various attornies and other legal organizations you can contact to put a stop to these insidious abuses.

lawdoggs86@yahoo.com


custerbattlesisajoke


2 Posts
Posted - 02/13/2004 : 16:59:42
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At least we weren't the only ones with out body armour. Guns with 2 or 3 bullets. Custer Battles, needs to be investigated for Fraud! At least I am home, I have heard othe horror stories of the way they treat there people.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by csdickey


quote:
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Originally posted by t

reference custer battles,please stay clear,they are dangerous,i have just left them,they left us without body armour,ammo and weapons,we had to buy all our own equipment and scrounge it from other good companies and the military,then we were told to arrange our own transport home on leave,it was unbelievable,when these points were brought up we were ignored at all levels,from washinton to bagdad.they had in place teams of psd's from the usa who then left,then they had teams of psd's from france who then left,then they had teams of psd's from the uk who then left,does this not speak volumes.custer battles are only in it to gain as much cash as possable they definetely should not get the contract renewed in march they are dredfull in the way they conduct thier buisness,ps.to the previous "ranger" im glad you are happy mate but they are not anywhere as good as you make out,please do your research to find out whether what i have said is fact or fiction,yours T.

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Duke


1 Posts
Posted - 03/05/2004 : 18:48:48
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I would like some additional info too - like tthrasher, I am/was considering some work for them...would like to hear more about what they are not doing well...

Thanks

D


ScottK


USA
4 Posts
Posted - 03/13/2004 : 13:44:33
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Any updates on this company? Email me if you don't want to post.


susanskate


USA
1 Posts
Posted - 03/23/2004 : 14:07:09
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Hello,
I am a foreign correspondent for a major U.S. newspaper working on stories about problems with subcontractors in Iraq - if you have specific examples of any problems, or have worked for a subcontractor I would like to hear from you!




Posted - 04/09/2004 : 20:01:12
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I am a journalist for a UK paper reporting a story about a Custer Battles employee killed this week in an ambush near Hit.
Would any Custer employees with relevant information please email me asap.


Temps From Texas
Half a world away, another group of unemployed workers can be found at recruiting sessions in Houston. The company has been posting flyers at truck stops and posting advertisements on the internet. Four out of five of the recruits who are invited to training sessions who worked at a now defunct JC Penny store will be sent to Iraq. Halliburton sends an average of 500 recruits a week.

These men are not skilled. "They are unemployed and underemployed workers with few jobs in a U.S. economy that isn't producing many jobs," writes Russell Gold, a Wall Street Journal reporter. Gold interviewed men lining up for the training sessions, citing the example of one typical applicant whose previous job was transporting chickens for $12 an hour.

But when they arrive in Iraq, their navy blue American passports earn them a tidy sum of money: between $7,000 and $8,000 a month, generous sums, even by American standards. CorpWatch asked company spokesperson Norcross why there is such a huge disparity based on nationality in the wages Halliburton pays in Iraq.

"We will not discuss our specific wage structures. Our compensation packages and the compensation packages provided by our subcontractors are based on a wage scale that was recommended by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and are competitive in terms of the local market," she wrote back.

When I posed the same question to Army spokesperson Dowling, we got a more revealing answer.

"These workers consider themselves fortunate to have jobs even if it means them traveling somewhere else. There is an army of companies that move from conflict to conflict with experience in setting up chow halls from an empty field to a 1,000 army camp in a matter of days. It's not an easy job and these guys are good at it. They bring their own people with them - people with experience in other military locations," Dowling explained.

"The (salary) decision is not based on the value of his life but on the cost of training and equipping the workforce. Nor would it be right for the US Army to enforce US based salaries where no one else could match it. Life sometimes isn't fair," he concluded.

I'm sure Al Rasheed waiters Muzaffar, Shahnawaz and Ali would agree.

http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=9928

Get to know Halliburton


During 2002 the Securities and Exchange Commission undertook an investigation of Halliburton's accounting practices, relating to events in 1998, which has not been completed.

Halliburton's "current contract in Kuwait began in September 2002 when Joyce Taylor of the U.S. Army Materiel Command's Program Management Office, arrived to supervise approximately 1,800 Brown and Root employees to set up tent cities that would provide accommodation for tens of thousands of soldiers and officials."<8>

The Center for Cooperative Research says "Manipulating U.S. foreign policy isn¹t the only strategy in Halliburton¹s repertoire of means to securing profits. Another method that has apparently proven extremely successful is doing business with the government and bidding on contracts financed by U.S. dominated bilateral and multilateral aid agencies. Although Dick Cheney had once lashed out at Joseph I. Lieberman saying that his success at Halliburton 'had absolutely nothing to do with' the government, the real facts have shown otherwise." Cooperative Research calls this practice corporate welfare. The organization gives a detailed listing of Halliburton's business dealings in this regard.


http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Halliburton

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-fifth session
Item 5 of the provisional agenda




THE RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION AND ITS
APPLICATION TO PEOPLES UNDER COLONIAL OR ALIEN
DOMINATION OR FOREIGN OCCUPATION


Report on the question of the use of mercenaries as a means of
violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the
right of peoples to self-determination, submitted by
Mr. Enrique Bernales Ballesteros (Peru), Special Rapporteur
pursuant to Commission resolution 1998/6


http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/%28Symbol%29/E.CN.4.1999.1...


REGULATING THE NEW PRIVATEERS: PRIVATE MILITARY SERVICE CONTRACTING AND THE MODERN MARQUE AND REPRISAL CLAUSE
Matt Gaul
http://faculty.lls.edu/~manheimk/ns/gaul2.htm

INTERNATIONAL -- INT'L COVER STORY

Outsourcing War
An inside look at Brown & Root, the kingpin of America's new military-industrial complex

Early on the morning of Aug. 5, a U.S. mail convoy pulled out of the airport in Baghdad and headed north. A U.S. Army Humvee bristling with weaponry led the way, followed by three heavily loaded trucks, each driven by a civilian employee of Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR). A second military Humvee brought up the rear. Near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, a bomb detonated under one of the trucks. The military police pried its driver, Fred Bryant Jr., from the wreckage and raced him to a military field hospital. Bryant, 39, died en route, the first KBR combat casualty since the Texas contractor was founded in 1919.

Bryant's death underscores the U.S. military's heavy reliance on private military companies, or PMCs, to wage war in Iraq. By most estimates, civilian contractors are handling as much as 20% to 30% of essential military support services in Iraq. Scores of PMCs are active all across the country, but KBR in particular has become indispensable to the global projection of American military might in this unsettled age. "It is no exaggeration to say that wherever the U.S. military goes, so goes Brown & Root," says P.W. Singer, a Brookings Institution fellow and author of Corporate Warriors. Widely known as Brown & Root, KBR is a unit of oil-services giant Halliburton Co. (HAL ) -- Dick Cheney's old company.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_37/b3849012.htm

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People who work for Blackwater are trained professional killers and its all about money----they dont care about the family or whatever, they dont have families---

Yes they do.

Who do you think Hammill worked for Kellogg Root and Brown = Halliburton

"War Iraq = Illegal" + "Working for illegal warmonger=heroic"



*War Iraq =
*Illegal +
*Working for illegal warmonger*=
*heroic

Contractors fleeing, our allies withdrawing in disgust, the US-led Iraqi troops defecting en masse. Our forces surrounded, their raison de guerre kaput. We've lost. They just don't want to admit it. At least not until after November.

> We've lost. They just don't want to admit it.

Exactly what I said to a friend over the weekend. We've already lost this thing, and just haven't realized it, yet.

Is there a word for the lag time between an event and recognition of the event?

Although,I'm sure the Mercenaries will provide us with more "Photo Opportunities"

I think it's that all you can really make out are the hands. So human. And yet not. Seeing that photo during the seige of Fallujah made me write this called:

Regarding Numbers.

Check the president's approval numbers as
Fallujah buries its dead.
What's the death count?
What the hell?
Who knows

How many bodies shattered by munitions.
Or burned away by fire.

Or buried promptly according to custom.
Where ever possible.
At home. In a stadium.
On the side of the road.

Disappearing like targets in a video arcade. 'Pop.' All gone.

"The Marines are good at what they do," said the general.
How fortunate for the coalition of the willing.
Hired guns don’t even count.
Under the table.
No accountability.

No damned numbers.

Not like Enron. We understand loss with numbers.
But the bodies, like the books, are cooked.

No one we knew.
All gone.

Sometimes I think we are screaming into a vacuum.