Dh and I caught a bit of a discussion about this. It was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewert. Did anyone catch it?

I am curious to know your thoughts on having contracted "servicemembers" over there fighting the war on terror....and not having any rules like the military does. Outsourcing in a sense. Here is the segment:

CLICK HERE

**If this doesn't work, go to the daily show's website, scroll down on the left hand side of the screen and click on "RECENT". Look for Jeremy Schahill (he's the author).

This is the first I've heard of it- I'll ask Maria

DH says he heard or read about it a month or two ago-
he says the Iraqi government is doing the hiring with US cooperation or something like that.

I'll try to find out more.

There are a few firms of this nature but Blackwater is the largest & best known.

I worked with two Soldiers who wanted to do this sort of work after their time commitment was up due to the $$ & familiarity of the job. When you have mid-30 yr olds who know nothing but the military, these sort of jobs can be enticing.

It's not the safest of jobs...I don't know why anyone would want to do it.