Prince of Darkness: Blackwater is Bad for Service Members

[unhappycamper]

Jen Hogg
Branch of service: Army National Guard of the United States (ARNG)
Unit: 152nd, 42 Inf Div
Rank: E-5
Home: New York, New York
Served in: Buffalo, NY, 9/11 activation

I joined the military in 2000 when I was in high school, two months after I turned 18. I bought into the honor of the military. Maybe I was trying to be tough. Either way there is no real honor in an organization whose history is so tragic to those who have served in its ranks and to multitudes of those that have died, been raped and pillaged in its tracks. I am just now starting to really see the lies of the military that are perpetuated by society. There is no toughness in learning to kill for greed or joining the military because I thought it would be easier than saving money for college. Many of us did not know our new found truths at the time we enlisted and here is where the only honor can be found. The intentions of so many were to give of themselves to their nation. Being willing to give our lives for this country does not mean our government should be willing to give us up so freely.

The problem though is that as long as we glorify service to a destuctive organization serving goals against what we believe this country is all about, people will continue to join its ranks. Yes, this war is NOT what I THOUGHT I was signing up for.

However it is EXACTLY what I did sign up for.

Our government saw it, wanted it, went in and took it, people who live there be damned. This could describe the current situation or the one natives of this land faced. This is our history.

Until we confront it we are bound to repeat it. War is not the disease, it is a symptom.

Freedom has not been gained by fighting another country since the revolutionay war, since then it has only been gained by standing up to our government.



http://www.ivaw.org/node/1847


Prince of Darkness: Blackwater is Bad for Service Members
by Jen Hogg | Fri, 10/05/2007 - 6:58pm

Of course when Erik Prince, top executive at Blackwater, appeared before Congress he stated that Blackwater personnel have acted appropriately even though the truth about that statement is as murky as the name of the company. What you may not know is that the Congress was not allowed to ask any questions about exactly what Blackwater has been doing in Iraq, particularly the string of shootings that prompted Al Maliki to be publicly rebuked by both Bush and Rice when he stated he wanted Blackwater out of the country he is supposedly the leader of. When you are the leader of a country you get to decide if mercenary armies are free to roam your land. When the American government is the ruler of your country and you are a puppet leader you do not get to decide if mercenary armies get to roam your land.

Guess which one Al Maliki has been relegated to.

Not to mention that when Blackwater’s contractors go out and appropriately shoot innocent civilians it will be our service members who bear the brunt of the retaliation from their angry family members who may be driven to attacks or at least silence in the face of attacks on our soldiers. Thanks Blackwater!

When Eric Prince says that everything in Iraq is fine he is referring specifically to his paycheck. The worth of his company depends on the war continuing and it has in fact skyrocketed since 9/11. Trust me, if one guy is doing it there are lots more. It’s like a pile of sugar with a line of ants following up right behind except the sugar is a mix of taxpayer money and the blood of both Americans and Iraqis. Prince also noted that although he personally "made more than $1 million" in 2006, he is "not a financially driven guy."

Blackwater, begun as a training facility in North Carolina in 1997 after Prince left the SEALs, has won about $1 billion in federal government contracts since 2001 -- more than three-quarters of that in the last two years. Not to mention strong Republican ties, being a conservative Christian (Calling “thou shalt not kill”,….. “thou” where are you…. why does “thou” always disappear when you need him?) and coming from a wealthy family. Sorry to burst the bubble but the American Dream comes easier to certain types of people.

That’s right, our brothers and sisters in harms way are directly helping Erik Prince and many more like him get rich. Filthy rich.

Stinking rich to do the job that our military is trained to do. If there is an unpopular war there is no need to worry, we can just hire a shadow army to pick up the slack and keep it out of the publics eyes.

But don’t worry, rather than sweating you ass off in Iraq for the Army’s pay you could be making at LEAST $80,000 for the same work as a contractor in Iraq. Why re-up when you could at least double your money to do the same job AND get more time at home!!

So how do I know this? Phony soldier that I am? Well apparently leaving the military due to opposition to the war in Iraq was not on my resume on Monster.com and I got this jewel.

-----

Overseas Employment

Your resume has been reviewed by our overseas job department. We have openings that fit your job skills, starting at $80,000 or more per year. We offer FULLY PAID benefits including 401K , life insurance, paid housing, paid meals, health, dental, and more. CAES, LLC helps government contractors logistically support the US government. All of our jobs are on civilian bases guarded by the military and are in the safe environments in Iraq.

We would like to extend an offer of employment contingent upon a satisfactory drug testing and completion of pre-employment paperwork.

If you are interested in securing a better paying job, please email or call us using the information below.

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Why be in the Army if you could be a contractor in the “SAFE” parts of Iraq? Guarded by those poor schmoes in the real Army? Remember that job you trained that contractor to do so you could stand guard over them? That’s what Be All You Can Be must really mean. Maybe the contractors are the “real” phony soldiers.

Just take a look at the list of jobs offered over at CEAS,LLC and tell me if we don’t have a shadow Army working in Iraq that is stealing money from soldiers and Marines.

Job Opportunities in Iraq (straight from CEAS.US)

• Administrative Assistant

• Communication Repairer (COMM/EL)

• Chemical Pump Repairer

• DSETS Operator

• Diesel Mechanic 

• Engineer Equipment Mechanic 

• Fuel and Electrical System Repairer

• Generator Mechanic

• Heavy Equipment Diesel Mechanic 

• Heavy Equipment Mechanic

• Heavy-Wheel Equipment Mechanic 

• Inspector - Automotive

• Inspector - Construction Equipment

• Inspector - Electrical Equipment
• 
Inspector - Power Generation Equipment

• Mechanic Wheel Vehicle 

• Mechanic - Instrument Control Senior Repairer 

• Machinist

• Main Battle Tank Repairer

• MIMMS Operator

• Personnel Administration 

• Payroll Clerk (Timekeeper)

• Power Generation Mechanic 

• Property Book Clerk 

• Quality Control Specialist
• Quartermaster Chemical Pump Repairer

• Refrigeration HVAC Mechanic
• SAMS Operator

• SARSS Operator 

• Senior Fire Control Systems

• Small Arms Mechanic 

• Tank Turret Repairer 

• Tool Room Attendant No open positions currently available. Please check back!

• TOW Missile Repairer 

• ULLS-G Operator (Unit Level Logistics System)

• Warehouse Worker No open positions currently available. Please check back!

• Welder No open positions currently available. Please check back!

• Welder/Machinist

• Wheeled Mechanic (Gas and Diesel Engines)

WOW! Look at that list of jobs. By hiring outside people to do all that what is left for the Army and Marines??? Never fear, there are plenty of positions left; like security and infantry.

Just ask Eric, since Blackwater personnel have acted appropriately enough to help our soldiers get shot at there will be enough upheaval to require your presence for at least another 10 years. Talk about job security.

After all, The Washington Post says military reports from the scene of the September 16 shooting show guards with Blackwater USA opened fire without provocation and used excessive force against Iraqi citizens. So is Eric Prince lying, just trying to keep his paycheck or inept? Either way he doesn’t deserve a dime more of money that could be used to give our service members the health care they need or allow Iraqi’s to rebuild their own infrastructure with their own people. They don’t need any contractors and neither do we.


Article at: http://www.ivaw.org/node/1847