A new research center in New Jersey should help Iraq veterans struggling with burn pit-related illnesses get the treatment they need. Professionals at the new Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence will conduct research and also create partnerships to help returning War on Terror veterans who were exposed to burn pit smoke in Southwest Asia. Dr. Anays Sotolongo, …

Recent events suggest that private military contractors bear the brunt of the action in this war-torn country, as two contractors were killed in two separate incidents in June 2017. Retired Chief Warrant Officer Four Christian H. McCoy, a 30-year veteran of the Special Forces, lost his life when his armored vehicle exploded at an undisclosed location inside Afghanistan. At the …

For the first time, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently acknowledged that private military contractors were in-county supporting strongman Bashar al-Assad. However, Putin insisted that these fighters served no official purpose and were only there to support private “oil exploration” efforts. These mercenaries belong to the shadowy Wagner Group, an organization with links to alleged 2016 election meddler Yevgeny Prigozhin. Moreover, …

America has been engaged in these Southwest Asia wars since shortly after 9/11, and contractors have long played a key role in these conflicts. Until now, little has been known about the men and women who fought and died here. Many details are still unavailable, largely due to proprietary and security concerns. So, to get a better idea of who …

After continued government inaction, the United Nations released a report which blamed police and government officials in Haiti for the massacre which killed about two dozen people. About 5,000 people live in the La Saline neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. This sector is known for violent gang activity. In November 2018, according to the U.N. report, the National Police of Haiti (PNH) …

Gunshot wounds, falls, and other sudden trauma injuries make up most of the contractor injuries in places like Iraq. However, some contractor injuries occur slowly over time. These creeping illnesses are just as devastating as sudden trauma injuries. So, injury compensation is available in both cases. The Defense Base Act provides compensation to most contractors who were injured overseas. Even …

Russian mercenaries are reportedly already boots-on-the-ground in the Central African Republic. Can American contractors be far behind? According to sources, Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin agreed to help embattled CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera assert greater control over the country. This assistance included not only mercenaries, but also Valery Zakahrov. The CAR’s national security advisor is supposedly a Russian intelligence agent. Meanwhile, …

The new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification standards take effect in January 2020. How does this program affect contractors in Iraq? These university-developed standards, which are not yet completed, will feature a five-tier security system. The nature of the contract dictates the nature of the compliance, explained Department of Defense Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy. The new system should eliminate the …

Just before the end of the regular session, Republican Governor Greg Abbott approved a measure which would collect burn pit exposure information from Iraq War veterans and share it with the Department of Veterans Affairs. State Rep. Abel Herrero (D-Corpus Christi)  and Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) co-sponsored the bill. It requires the state Department of Human Services to set …

Afghanistan War veteran Jason Kander was once a rising star in the Democrat party. Today, he is trying to control his debilitating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Kander said he had not had a full night’s sleep in about a dozen years. Instead, his heightened awareness woke him up at night and he silently patrolled his house, convinced that someone was …

Private military contractors, specifically BAE and Dyncorp, may see a significant uptick in business after Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said he would use a new “toolkit of coercion” to keep China in check. Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis cited “policy differences” with Trump when he left the White House. Many speculate that these differences include military privatization. The stated …

What role will overseas contractors play in the military’s expanded “persistent engagement” activities against foreign cyber threats? In the runup to the 2018 midterm elections, the U.S. military took steps to protect the integrity of the election process. These steps included shutting down the servers of notorious “troll factory” Internet Research Agency in the hours before the November election. That …