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 …

The sprawling DoD installation in Iraq, which is home to an F-16 squadron and infamous among many contractors, is getting a $134 million facelift and expansion. Reston, Virginia-based Sallyport Global Holdings will do all the work in the next six months. According to a news release, the job entails upgrades and expansions to “base operations support, life support and security …

The Department of Defense hired Arlington-based PAE Government Services to perform “training and mentoring, and contractor logistics support for the Afghanistan National Defense Security Forces,” according to a news release. With Obama-era troop withdrawals still the order of the day, at least for the most part, and the nation facing increasing pressure from both Taliban and Daesh (ISIS) forces, the …

38-year-old senior chief petty officer Kyle Milliken is believed to be the first KIA in Somalia since the infamous “Black Hawk Down” battle in 1993. SCPO Milliken was part of an assist-and-advise mission, supporting a Somali National Army operation against al-Shabaab about 40 miles outside Mogadishu; al-Shabaab is an al-Qaeda affiliated group that is waging a civil war against Somalia’s …

Military contractors once again descended upon Papua New Guinea, a sight which, for many people, stirred unpleasant memories of a 1997 incident. Ostensibly, the LAS contractors were on hand to help the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary prepare for next year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. Connections run deep, as up to 10,000 visitors are expected at the November 2018 …

A $70 difference in an attorney’s maximum hourly rate torpedoed a comprehensive workers’ compensation reform measure making its way through the legislature, as House and Senate lawmakers were unable to compromise further. Both versions extended the benefits period from 104 to 260 weeks, to conform with a Florida Supreme Court decision that declared the current system unconstitutional. In an earlier …

In a move that has no direct effect on injured workers, except to increase the benefits available, the First District Court of Appeal ruled that a 14.5% rate increase, which took effect in December, was legal. The plaintiff claimed that the National Council on Compensation Insurance, which recommends premium payments for workers’ compensation insurance, violated the state’s open meeting law …

The City of Miami Beach says that Zika infection is not a job-related injury and therefore not covered by workers’ compensation. Bobby Jenkins, the head of the police union, says that two officers who lived outside the Zika hot zones but were on patrol inside the zones were recently diagnosed with the disease. In one cases, the City revoked workers’ …

Largely because of two recent court decisions, workers’ compensation premiums in the Sunshine State, which had fallen over 60% since 2003, will go up by 14.5%. Both court decisions involve the 2003 reforms, which had been a boon for businesses while they dramatically affected worker benefits. In Castellanos v. Next Door Company, the Florida Supreme Court invalidated the attorneys’ fee …

Considering that it is a tiny, isolated atoll that is almost exactly in the center of the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia has a rather colorful history and an important role in global security. The 17-square-mile sand and coral atoll is technically part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, but U.S. forces have been there since 1966, and they will probably …