The biggest co. in that area used to be Halliburton, but they've been downsized in Iraq, or so they claim. The idea of outsourcing vital logistics as a cost saver is insane. The civilians cannot defend themselves (o.k., some can and do, but they do not have Geneva Convention coverage nor are they under a chain of command that eventually reaches back to you and me), so combat troops have to be assigned for protection. In the Army and Marines, every enlisted man and officer, no matter what his specialty, has a second specialty of light weapons infantryman. So, they can cook, well, sort of <g>, or drive cheesecake trucks or whatever, but when they fit hits the shan, they can fight. No, not as well as the guys who go on patrol every day, but they can fire their weapons pretty effectively. So, when civilians are handling logistics, the cost may look cheaper on paper. But if you add in the cost of the military providing housing and security for these folks, it is higher than if you had soldiers and Marines doing the actual logistics jobs.
The negative is that the cheesecake may be made with limburger. <G> |