LAT: Army Turns to Private Guards

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-guards12aug12,1,7162232,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Stretched thin by troop deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and security needs at home, the Army has resorted to hiring private security guards to help protect dozens of American military bases.

To date, more than 4,300 private security officers have been put to work at 50 Army installations in the United States, according to Army documents obtained by The Times.

The work was awarded to four firms — two of which got the contracts without having to bid competitively. The contracts are worth as much as $1.24 billion.

The Army says the maneuver lets it free up more soldiers for military duty while quickly putting private guards in place to meet the need for additional security since the Sept. 11 attacks.

<snip>

Two five-year contracts worth as much as $1 billion went to two small Alaska Native firms with little previous security experience. The firms, which operate under special contracting laws enabling them to avoid competitive bidding, subcontracted part of the work to two of the country's largest security firms: Wackenhut Services Inc. and Vance Federal Security Services.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. I wonder how much the private guards make compared to the soldiers.

If it's any where near, or more, it's a travesty. That's one of the things soldiers do! Guard stuff! Hellooooo!

[dArKeR]

3. I wonder if a fact story like this is aired on Whore TV or Whore radio?

[lebkuchen]

5. This article mentions a price

Saigon68 has talked about this several times. I couldn't believe it, but finally found a source.

****************************************************

Private security firms in war zones worry NGOs

In the cities and along the roads of Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of private security contractors are profiting from work that has traditionally belonged to the military -- guarding convoys, patrolling neighbourhoods and even exchanging gunfire with local militia.

<cut>

Between 10,000 and 20,000 former military or security personnel are earning up to $1,500 a day working in Iraq and Afghanistan on a variety of tasks, including the armed protection of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, protecting the United Nation’s cash and supporting the Afghan elections.

http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/reliefresources/109223838271.htm

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

6. The war zone mercs (Iraq etc) are VERY highly paid. I'm talking

about civilian rentaguards guarding U.S. military installations.

[lapfog_1]

2. I worked at a facility located at a Navy Base for 10 years

For the first 6, we had a small marine detachment providing
for perimeter security, base patrol, and vehicle checkpoints.
They were great. Never a hassle with them.

The marines were removed and a private security company was
hired. What a bunch of idiots. They were handing out traffic
tickets right and left, and always hasseling the base civilian
work force. BTW, a traffic ticket on federal property is a
federal crime... no traffic court, no "pay a fine by mail"...
you have to take a day off work, go to court where you are
seated next to hard core drug dealers and the like, all to
have a federal judge admonish you to drive better and then tell
the federal prosecutor that they didn't really want to see any
more of these bullshit traffic tickets anymore (there were about
30 of us "criminals" on the day I went).

Anyway, these rent-a-cops were worse than useless, and they really
liked to behave like bullies and do random searches and shit.
Made working there really unpleasant.

This policy is a mistake.

[lebkuchen]

4. The companies that "won" the no-bid contracts in the above article

don't have any security experience, as mentioned. A bunch of yahoos who don't know what they are doing are given a free reign to roust the people they're meant to protect.

What incompetence.

[AP]

7. They probably got a kickback from the auto insurance company whose

CEO sat on the board of the security company for each traffic ticket issued.

[lapfog_1]

14. I was told

that the contracting company was going to management every
month with "arrest summaries" and "crime statistics" which
they needed to inflate to justify the number of rent-a-cops
needed to "secure the facility". The marines used to do it with
a force of maybe 20 or 30 (allowing for shifts), these idiots
started with 60 and wanted to increase the size to 100.
Assholes.

Anytime you reward the police force for finding crime, they will
find more crime.

[AP]

15. Which is why there are some things better left to the public sector...

...not the private sector.

Capitalism and the free market is great for a lot of things. It does a better job than the public sector when you need competition and innovation.

But there are a lot of things that the public service provides much better than the private sector. Clearly this is one of them.

[tom_paine]

8. Hessians with NO accountability, no ethical soldier's code

They form the backbone of the murderous torturers at Abu Ghrahib and they carried out the Will of the Emperor there.

Eventually, maybe not at first, they will perform the same general functions in Imperial Amerika.

[gratuitous]

9. Another layer to cover the true price

As appalling as the figures thrown around for this stupid invasion, $87 billion, $166 billion, $200 billion, we just don't have any idea what the real costs and the true price are that we're paying for this incredible debacle.

Private security guards to patrol military bases in the U.S.? Wasteful, corrupt, short-sighted. Any other adjectives? I already have appalling.

[realFedUp]

10. A good time to write a letter to the editor

Some of you have some experience with these....
write a letter.

[e-mail]

[Rose Siding]

11. Other than vandalism or traffic violations,

for what would these private guards be able to provide security?

In the horrid instance of current circumstances, would it work to beef up the local PDs? At least there would be standards and some chain of accountability. Mercenaries throwing around the weight of the federal govt amongst private citizens doesn't seem very, um...free or democratic.

[lovuian]

12. Never good to fight Wars with Mercenaries

They have their OWN agendas :bounce:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. Wackenhut, one of the LARGEST private prison contractors is cashing in

on a program INTENDED TO AID MINORITIES????

[saigon68]

16. LINING THE EXECUTIVES POCKETS WITH $$$$$$$$$$$$

WOW said Cheney this is too easy

[wicket]

17. kick!

:kick:

[ksatriyakiller]

18. wtf

wtf