PMC / Mercenaries in Iraq (catch all)

[Uboat509]

There is also the issue of pure numbers. As of a couple of years ago the total number of contractors employed for PSD just in the Baghdad area was around 4,000. That's just Baghdad. Now, is it better to pay a few organizations to recruit, train and equip all of those contractors or is it better to have 4,000 individual contracts and then create or contract a whole other organization to do all of that? You are going to have to pay someone to do it. The existing systems would be overwhelmed with those types of numbers. Why not just pay one organization to take care of its own?

SFC W

[120mm]

The biggest issue, though, is the "government service as a great big welfare program" mentality that pervades full time gov't employees.

The Contractors, you can fire. Unfortunately the great majority of gov't employees are there because you are overpaid, underworked and cannot be fired for incompetence.

The real problem isn't contractors or contract companies, it is that the supervision of contracts is accomplished by the same lazy, incompetent gov't full-time employees you are trying to avoid in the first place.

Until gov't service becomes "at will" and performance based, you will see more of the same. Except you can fire a contractor.

[Ken White]

well, a former, now retired one but I agree with you.

I would suggest one consider the WG employees of DoD working in Afghanistan and Iraq on tech support and equipment rebuild...

As for most other Government employees, I don't take umbrage at your remarks because because there's a lot of truth in them. After 18 years as a DAC, the first seven as a TRADOC School Instructional Branch Chief, the last 11 at increasingly senior levels, I agree that ""government service as a great big welfare program" mentality that pervades full time gov't employees."exists. In my observation, it affects about one third or slightly less of the employees nationwide with pools of large percentages here and smaller ones there. The cities generally have larger pools, the boonies have smaller ones. In any event, that 30% in my observation is, thanks to Congress, only slightly above the 20% or so level that I have noticed for incompetents and drones in every single category of human endeavor to which I've been exposed -- and that includes soldiers of all ranks, academic, doctors and hamburger flippers.

Another 50% of Guvmint employees are not really that way but can give that impression to the really unobservant because they are severely constrained by an overwhelming bureaucracy and an environment that literally punishes those who take ANY risks. That is more true in DoD than in most of government due to the DoD 'zero defects' and dress right and cover down mentality.

Most of those employees in all Federal agencies really want to do a good job but they are in a system that precludes them from doing so in far too many cases. Fortunately, most of them most of the time can do at least a fair and sometimes even a really good job. Incompetent Supervisors and over nervous, untrusting bosses, officers and commanders contribute to all that but thank your Congress for most of that problem.

The remaining 20% or so of government employees do most of the work that gets done, routinely circumvent their bosses (and Commanders...), make hard decisions, try to eliminate the unproductive and do things that are literally illegal to get things done. It's amazing the system works as well as it does. That 20% again tracks with my observation over many years of all fields of human effort; 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people regardless of rank, status and work type. I think that old Commie, Bertrand Russell also noted that...

Your comment about firing incompetents is correct. We had one employee that required over 18 months of effort and several hearings to fire after said employee had accrued a record of about 30% of work time as unexcused absences in the course of a year. There were others almost as bad, it generally takes three letters, at least one hearing and about a year to fire someone -- thus, the marginal employee gets to slide. If the employee is a female or a minority group member, that process is more difficult. Again, thank your Congress for, among other things, their respect for the AFGE and allied unions for that problem.

I will take issue with these two statements:

"The real problem isn't contractors or contract companies, it is that the supervision of contracts is accomplished by the same lazy, incompetent gov't full-time employees you are trying to avoid in the first place."

Mixed bag -- there are some sorry companies out there and a fair number of the contract supervisors you disparage are Commissioned officers of the US armed services and their reserve components. The Companies are provided with possibly too many protective clause and safeguards...

The fact that sorry companies are allowed to bid and are not required to adequately police their employees is due to -- guess who -- your Congress who insists that anyone be allowed to bid, the lowest bid be taken and who also ties the hands of contract supervisors because those companies can --and DO -- contribute to Congressional campaigns.

Until gov't service becomes "at will" and performance based, you will see more of the same. Except you can fire a contractor.

I agree on the government service being at will and performance based. Strongly. I will point out that the NSPS in 2005 was an attempt to get just that and it was gutted by Congress 'to protect the employees' (voters plus unions...).

I disagree on the firing of a contractor -- it is not at all easy to fire a contractor (the Contractor can fire his employees; some are better than others but most don't want the hassle and are reluctant to fire -- overseas employment is different), there are a lot of steps required to do that; all favor the contractor -- and all are at the behest of Congress.

[Surferbeetle]

The biggest issue, though, is the "government service as a great big welfare program" mentality that pervades full time gov't employees.

Wouldn't it be great if the margins on both sides (contractor & govt) decided to work together for the win instead of just the majorities.

From wikipedia Stuart Bowen

Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., is an American lawyer who serves as the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), a position he has held since October 2004. He previously served as the Inspector General for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA-IG), a position to which he was appointed in January 2004. Bowen's mission includes ensuring effective oversight of the $50 billion appropriated for Iraq's relief and reconstruction.[1]

And from Merriam-Webster:

Diplomacy: 2 : skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility : tact

A useful skill for when one works with others on a team (such as a mixed govt'/contractor situation)...