May 26, 2008
Losing potential non-coms: the GI Bill v. Blackwater
Posted by
Mark Kleiman
John McCain's argument against improving the GI Bill is that offering good benefits to servicemembers who leave after one tour will make it harder to develop the cadre of long-service non-coms that is the backbone of any fighting force. Commenter "oddball" on the WaPo politics blog makes a point I hadn't thought of in this regard: if it's a bad idea to tempt potential non-coms away from the service by paying their college tuition, why is it a good idea to let Blackwater and other mercenary companies tempt them away by offering them six-figure salaries, which will eventually be billed through to the taxpayers with overhead added?
"Oddball" also asks a question:
Could that have anything to do with the fact that McCain's campaign is run by uber-lobbyist Charlie Black, who has long represented Blackwater in Washington?
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