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This turned out to be better than I thought. With the increased use of contractors for everything from guarding the embassy to peeling potatoes I thought the numbers would be higher. This was a pleasant surprise.
The final convoy of U.S. troops in Iraq — soldiers from Fort Hood — drove over the border to Kuwait last week, whooping and cheering, as the United States declared an end to the war.
But remaining behind are thousands of civilian contractors — about half of them armed.
State Department officials have said they expect that 5,000 security contractors will be needed in Iraq next year to protect U.S. diplomats.
A “life support” team of an additional 4,500 contractors will cook, clean and provide transportation and other services.
Their continued presence in Iraq — as well as in Afghanistan, where there is almost one contractor for every service member — demonstrates how much the U.S. government has come to rely on private companies to provide “war services” abroad.
In Afghanistan, 105,000 U.S. troops are supported by about 101,000 civilian contractors.
Only 23,000 of those contractors are U.S. citizens. About 50,000 are Afghans, and 27,900 come from other countries.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Soldiers-gone-but-contractors-remain-in-Iraq-2426228.php#ixzz25tvaoQLV
The final convoy of U.S. troops in Iraq — soldiers from Fort Hood — drove over the border to Kuwait last week, whooping and cheering, as the United States declared an end to the war.
But remaining behind are thousands of civilian contractors — about half of them armed.
State Department officials have said they expect that 5,000 security contractors will be needed in Iraq next year to protect U.S. diplomats.
A “life support” team of an additional 4,500 contractors will cook, clean and provide transportation and other services.
Their continued presence in Iraq — as well as in Afghanistan, where there is almost one contractor for every service member — demonstrates how much the U.S. government has come to rely on private companies to provide “war services” abroad.
In Afghanistan, 105,000 U.S. troops are supported by about 101,000 civilian contractors.
Only 23,000 of those contractors are U.S. citizens. About 50,000 are Afghans, and 27,900 come from other countries.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Soldiers-gone-but-contractors-remain-in-Iraq-2426228.php#ixzz25tvaoQLV