Retired military officers cash in as well-paid consultants

[sabra]

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON — Six months after Marine Lt. Gen. Gary McKissock retired in 2002, he did what many other ex-military leaders do: He joined the board of directors of a defense contractor, a company doing business with his former service.

McKissock also had a second job. The Marines brought him back as an adviser, at double the rate of pay he made on active duty. Since 2005, the Marines have awarded McKissock contracts worth $1.2 million, in addition to his military pension of about $119,000 a year.

McKissock is one of at least 158 retired admirals and generals the Pentagon has hired to offer advice under an unusual arrangement. Most of the retired officers, one to four stars in rank, have been paid hundreds of dollars an hour by the military even as they worked for companies seeking Defense Department contracts, a USA TODAY investigation found. That's in addition to pensions of $100,000 to $200,000 a year for officers with 30 or more years of service.

As "senior mentors," as the military calls them, the retired officers help run war games and offer advice to former colleagues. Some mentors make as much as $330 an hour as part-time government advisers, more than triple what their rate of pay was as high-level, active-duty officers. They earn more — far more, several mentors said in interviews — as consultants and board members to defense companies.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-11-17-military-mentors_N.htm

[MidwestRick]

1. So?

???

[mitchum]

4. Maybe because it is your freaking money with which they are being OVERpaid?

[MidwestRick]

6. Says you.

How many other people can fit that role for our military?

[mitchum]

9. Are you disputing that their pay comes from tax $$$$$?

[MidwestRick]

12. Not at all

What I am disputing is that it is money being wasted. Is there some other group out there that can provide the service to our military the way they can? At a lower price?

[mitchum]

14. I imagine that there are plenty of cut-rate grifters who can provide the same "services"...

as these highly-paid brass-covered grifters

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. It's one of the main reasons America is always at war. nt

[unhappycamper]

2. That's a mighty sweet (war is a) racket they have going threre.

Tripple dipping.

[mitchum]

3. War is a racket

[raebrek]

5. no sense

This makes no sense.

Raebrek!!!

[rasputin1952]

7. Double dipping...

it has become the new "norm".

Considering that some of these individuals helped get us into the mess we're in now, makes me wonder how godd their "advice" could be. Generals and Admirals are not exactly open to new ideas or ideologies, they tend to remain stuck in the past.

[SoapBox]

8. I know of someone doing this.

...funny that this should come up at this time.

I know of someone in the Navy that just took retirement after
25+ years, so that they could be hired by the Navy on a
multi-year contract, at higher pay than their Navy pay rate,
while they draw their pension.

It's a sweet, Sweet, SWEET deal for those getting these...but
a complete joke on the American taxpayer.

[bertman]

10. ". . . a complete joke on the American taxpayer." is correct, SoapBox. And welcome

to DU.

:hi:

[bertman]

11. These guys are nothing more than lobbyists. They have the connections and some

knowledge based on their years of service, so they are used to legitimize whatever "product" or service their employer is trying to win a contract for. Plus, their clout as former high-ranking military officers is HUGE with the Congressional staffers and Senators and representatives.

They are doing exactly what our Congresscritters do. This system is broken. It is geared to keeping the existing power structure intact and it is anti-democratic.

I wish I knew how we could reform this practice, but I have no idea how to do that.

[JohnyCanuck]

13. And they say Afghanistan is corrupt. n/t

[Big_Mike]

15. I personally observed a couple of the Generals listed in the article

working at Ft. Irwin, training the Brigade Commanders (Colonels/O-6) on combat operations. They advised and mentored them on how to plan and execute operations. I saw others working at the simulation centers. These guys had been there and done that successfully. You can't go anywhere else in the world to find their expertise. The return on investment here from paying these guys this kind of money is tremendously high. This is GREAT value for the dollar.

No one would complain if an outside counsel (lawyer) charged and received this kind of money. They'd feel it was fairly cheap. There is NO other resource available to do this kind of work. You complain that someone is "triple-dipping" in getting this wage. Would someone complain if a world class doctor with 30 years experience charged a fee of this kind for consultation? I don't think so.

These people train our leaders to perform their duties at a higher level, hopefully keeping more of their soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines alive as a result of this training. I say it is a great value for the U.S. people.

[MidwestRick]

17. +1