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columnist: Kipper Mathews

Reader Comments:

Posted By: Logical Premise
Date: 2008-02-27 09:21:48

Mercenaries always get paid more, because they're only motivated by money, not pride in their country or causes. When I was in the military defending America,

I wasn't exactly estatic about my salary....but I would have defended this country for free if I had to. I agree the military needs to increase pay for soldiers, sailors, and pilots -- particularly in MOS's or rates that have high civilian overlap. It's hard to retain electronic specialists, welders, computer information systems techs, and pilots at the wages they make against the reality that the private sector pays better.

But as Blackwater shows, sometimes being paid more doesn't equal better performance.

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Posted By: patrick henry
Date: 2008-02-27 09:38:45

First of all the civillian to soldier ratio in Iraq is 1:1. Not all of those contractors are doing "dangerous" jobs. I was a civillian security contractor in Iraq for 05 and 06 and at its peak none of us made $20K a month. As an experienced Team Leader and Medic I made only $15K a month. Out of that we had to buy our own equipment, arms, body armour etc. But security contractors make up a very small amount of the total contractors in theatre. Most fix vehicles, cook chow, serve chow, drive the bus around the FOB, hand out towels at the gym, wash clothes, etc. etc. Of those persons NO ONE is making that kind of money, and a large portion of them are not even Americans. As far as soldier's pay goes I agree they dont get paid near well enough. But $7.50 a day is pure fallicy. A PVT E-2 in the US Army makes a base pay of $1509.90 a month plus hostile fire pay of $225 a month, this does not include BAQ/VHA (housing and substanance pay) seperation pay (if they are married) and/or flight pay/ jump pay/ special duty pay/ dive pay etc. Meaning a Private with no other circumstances makes $1734 a month, equalling approx $57 a day (based on a 7 day work week) with full medical, dental, retirement, TSP (401K),30 days paid vacation a year, education benefits, lodging, food, clothing and transportation. Ok agreed, they dont make a fortune as a private, but General Officers make up to $17K a month with all of the aforementioned benefits. I am willing to bet that the majority of unskilled High School graduates are not as well off, as a Private in the military. Granted you might have to go to war to get those benefits, but you should have known that prior to signing the contract. As far as contractors go, you must remember that most were Sr. NCOCs or officers with specialized skills while in the military. But all we get is pay, no insurance, no life insurance, no million dollar pieces of kit, no helicopters to come bail us out, no armoured vehicles other than what we make, no military funerals, nothin but a pay check. But the deeper reason is that when a contractor gets killed no one cares, the MSM never says anything about it, and when they do most remark "thats what they get paid all that money to do". Because of us contractors, young soldiers didnt have to do all the dangerous jobs. We did almost all of the security for convoys in northern Iraq for over a year, meaning that 19 y/o from OH doesnt have to. The over all thing that should enrage all of us is that we are there to begin with. This whole Iraq gig is driven by money. It is designed to make the financial elite more rich at the price of American Blood and Treasure. End the war and all of these things are mute issues. LIBERTY or DEATH

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