Foibles of the Reconstruction III
NPR aired a story today about the problems presented by outsourcing of military support functions to contractors. The problem goes beyond my concerns in a previous post that outsourcing contracts are merely political largess for Republican party faithful. Evidently, the outsourced jobs just aren’t getting done. Private contractors, as it turns out, don’t perform as well in combat operations as uniformed personnel. What a surprise.
The NPR story noted that there has been a serious problem with “no-shows” — contract employees who don’t show up because of concerns about personal security. A Post article yesterday made a similar point:
“At the end of the day, neither these companies nor their employees are bound by military justice, and it is up to them whether to show up or not.” Singer said. “The result is that there have been delays in setting up showers for soldiers, getting them cooked meals and so on.”
NPR reported that it’s gotten so bad that the mother of one soldier bought an air conditioner for her son’s tent because the outsourced supply system had broken down and couldn’t provide one. It had gotten so hot the kid’s soap had melted!
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