(British) Special Forces Quitting to Cash in on Iraq

[kskiska]

BRITAIN’S elite special forces are facing an imminent crisis because record numbers of men are asking to leave their units early, lured by high wages on offer in a growing security industry in Iraq.

Defence and special forces sources have told The Scotsman that such is the demand from private military companies in Britain and the United States who are operating in Iraq for former Special Air Service and Special Boat Service soldiers that, between May 2003 and December 2004, between 40 and 60 men are expected to have sought premature voluntary release, or PVR, from the army and Royal Marines.

In operational terms, this could mean that this year, the equivalent of one entire special forces squadron out of a total of six in the SAS and SBS is on its way to seek its fortune in the new Iraq.

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, anti-terrorism deployments in Europe, training commitments abroad as well as the need to have one entire SAS squadron of 65 men and one SBS unit of 20 men permanently on anti-terrorism standby in the UK, means that Britain’s special forces are very thinly stretched.

more…
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=205892004

[stepnw1f]

1. Modern Day Mercenaries

So now industries can buy armies?!

[burrowowl]

3. Yes on our tax dollar

and the bastard corporations don't even pay taxes!
When is the poor Amurikan tax-payer going to wake up!

[saigon68]

4. They have neat weapons too.

Hk's the best stuff.
None of this "made by the lowest Bidder", shit, for these modern day Rambos

[DS1]

12. No kidding

The firearms the spec ops use are lightyears ahead of what typical grunts use. None of them are made in the US.

[chasqui]

5. Yeah

And the scary thing is, that these companies arm them better than we do.
A green beret told me that.

[burrowowl]

2. Does the word

mercemnary ring a bell.
And hell, it really isn't a war defending the country, it is empirialism. I guess they think why shouldn't they cash out and get better equipment.
Down with fascist corporatism!

[TacticalPeek]

6. Its happening here, too. Bigtime.

The temptation is just too great. Operators can get $37,500 per quarter, working two months on, one month off (Dyncorp). For most, its probably the only shot they'll ever have at that kind of dough. Tax-free.

Even with Stop Loss, the O's can just resign their commish, and plenty of the E's are so banged up that they can take medical separation whenever they ask for it.

[lebkuchen]

7. US taxpayers are paying Halliburton bug exterminators $125,000/yr

Why be security when you can kill bugs within the confines of a secure (we hope) compound for big bucks?

[TacticalPeek]

8. Guess its in the blood. Adrenaline addicts, its what they're trained for.

Not to be misunderstood, I have tremendous respect for them and their abilities and accomplishments.

It takes several years of some of the best training in the world to become a special operator. It does not bode well for our national security that we are driving them into the arms of the private sector. Actually, the intense duty tempo has as much to do with it as the tempting salaries.

[lebkuchen]

10. A lot of those SF guys end up being cops in Rome, Georgia

or working security at K-Mart. US taxpayers, a la Halliburton, pay more, and, like you said, afford a greater "rush."

On Armed Forces Radio there are ads running daily for "attaches," or special ops jobs, in remote areas of Indonesia, Africa, and so forth. This is the first time in my years of listening to AFR to hear such ads. Usually it's Paul Harvey and "Drug-addled" Rush, Limbaugh.

[SoCalDem]

9. *Cough.."Dyncorp"...cough*.. Don't blame the soldiers, though..

They are just trying to make a buck off of their labors.. They would be doing pretty much the same thing in the "private army" as they did with the government army, except that now they will have all the equipment that they need, better food, great pay, and they can leave whenever they want..

Actually the US Govt will like this kind of thing, because it masks the real war.. If little Susie or Stevie from Middletown,USA is fighting a war for big bucks and gets killed, the outrage is gone..

As soon as a large enough "privatized army" is available, the US can go back to what they do best.. Arming the world and raking in the dough.. and the average citizen does not need to worry thier "pretty little heads off" about some nameless, faceless mercenaries getting killed..

and the US govt does not need to even pay benefits to them..:)

[Kinkistyle]

11. capitalism in action

The capitalism "door" swings both ways. A bitch ain't it? Of course soldiers will opt for getting paid lucratively for putting their lives on the line as opposed to some fuzzy, foggy ideal that is all based on lies and deceit anyway.