Missouri Natl Guard-Cheap Labor in Iraq for KB&R

[mourningdove92]

Complaint by Holden triggers Army inquiries

By KIT WAGAR
The Kansas City Star

JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Bob Holden's complaint that Missouri National Guard soldiers were being used to provide cheap labor for a private contractor in Iraq has sparked two military investigations, the Army said Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Mike Negard, a spokesman for the U.S. Army chief of staff, said his office and the Central Command in Iraq were looking into Holden's complaint to President Bush and similar complaints to military officials by the adjutant general of the MissouriGuard.

Holden wrote to Bush on Tuesday, saying that soldiers from the 1221st Transportation Company from the Missouri National Guard were ordered to work for Kellogg, Brown & Root, a civilian contractor that hauls water, food and other supplies in support of U.S. troops.

Such a situation would put the soldiers at risk because they are trained to respond to an attack as a unit, not while driving or riding with civilians, Holden said.

<snip>

“How can I answer the outcry of loved ones and families of these dedicated soldiers who charge that we have mobilized and deployed a National Guard unit as a cheap source of labor for a rich defense contractor?” Shull wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
more
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/world/8652982.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp



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