Is it true that private military contractors make a whole lot more money in places like Iraq and Afghanistan than regular army soldiers? Anyone who has ever worked as an independent contractor as opposed to an employee knows that the answer is both “yes” and “no.” Reliable and detailed statistics are hard to find, mostly because many private military contractors …

Nestled amongst a sea of beach resorts and scuba clubs, the United States Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center in the Bahamas is about as far from Iraq or Afghanistan as one can get, but injured contractors in both locations are entitled to the same benefits. In the late 1940s and 1950s, as early Cold War tensions mounted, the …

Adding onto recent research which indicates that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a physical condition and not a “disorder,” scientists at Stellenbosch University have isolated a gut bacteria linked to development of the disease. On the surface, obscure gastrointestinal microbes seem to have little if anything to do with a brain injury, but researchers are convinced that gut microbiome is …

If the United States is serious about ending its longest war ever, it will use more contractors in Afghanistan, veteran journalist John Stossel opined. Prior to an interview with Blackwater founder Erik Prince, Mr. Stossel was impressed by Mr. Prince’s success in virtually ending Somali piracy. In 2010 the pirates captured more than a thousand hostages, but none in 2014 …

Berry Aviation evacuated U.S. military casualties after ISIS-affiliated militants apparently ambushed a military convoy in Niger in October of 2017. Pursuant to its contract with the U.S. Transportation Command, the Texas-based contractor maintains one helicopter and one propellor-driven plane in Niamey, Niger’s capitol, for “casualty evacuation” and “other things,” according to a U.S. Africa Command spokesperson. Details about the incident …

One combat veteran says that although marijuana is not a cure and not 100% effective, it does alleviate traumatic brain injury symptoms more effectively than the pills that the Veterans Administration prescribes. Sergeant Thomas Brennan sustained a TBI in Afghanistan. Two years later, he received a medical discharge due to severe depression, persistent migraines, vertigo, and other symptoms. He began …

In an August 2017 speech that has major implications for injured contractors, President Donald Trump shared some of his vision for the ongoing Afghanistan War. The strategy is part of a broader approach that the president has used in dealing with other international trouble spots, such as the Islamic State, North Korea, Syria, and Iran. Beginning as a candidate and …

Since 9/11, demand for Military War Dogs (MWDs) has skyrocketed, and these animals now number more than 1,600. They serve in Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other theaters. These animals are highly trained and usually cost in excess of $25,000 each. They are so costly that the Army is buying animatronic MWDs from TraumaFX, an Atlanta-based division of military contractor KForce, …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to partner with local service providers wherever possible may be a “golden goose” for Mumbai-based Larsen & Toubro, according to the firm’s defense business chief Jayant Patil. Emboldened by a $700 million contract award in May of 2017, the firm says it will bid on over $28 billion in contracts over the next several years. …

A federal appeals court ordered the resentencing of three former Blackwater contractors who received long prison sentences on manslaughter charges, and threw out a fourth contractor’s murder conviction altogether. The case goes back to 2007, when a group of Blackwater guards protecting a convoy opened fire in a crowded city square in Iraq. They insisted that they were fighting off …

In the decade that ended in 2016, the Department of Defense spent over $249 billion on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom were injured. While contractor numbers peaked in 2009 (Iraq) and 2012 (Afghanistan), numbers remain high. At the end of 2016, the United States Central Command employed nearly 43,000 private military contractors, and well over half were …

The large contingent of military contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq led many pundits in Congress and the media to briefly call for “insourcing,” or giving these jobs to regular service members, especially after a few high-profile incidents. But such calls overlook the long history of military contractors. According to many, that history really goes back to the 18th century, when …