Missouri guardsmen complain about convoy-guarding assignment

. . .

But Curttright said riding shotgun for the contractor was more dangerous than hauling supplies as a military unit. When helping KBR, he said, a half-dozen guards are spread among the contractor's trucks according to the whims of the drivers.

When traveling as the 1221st, each truck has a driver and an assistant driver armed with M-16s, he said. About half of the trucks have additional armor on the doors to stop shrapnel or weapons fire, he said, and the trucks are accompanied by gun trucks mounted with a .50-caliber machine gun.

Some guardsmen also are bitter that they're protecting KBR drivers who make up to $80,000 a year, tax-free - significantly more than what the troops are paid for doing the same job. "I'm proud they're over there and proud they're fighting for our freedom," said Shelly Smith, wife of 1221st member Sgt. Chad Smith. "But they can see how much KBR (employees are) making, and we're making peanuts."

Some lawmakers have criticized the Pentagon's effort to use private contractors to perform critical support services for the military. KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., has about 24,000 workers in Iraq and Kuwait.

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/8740219.htm

We doan need no complainin' from no low-paid happy soldiers, hear?

And support Big Dick's overpaid mercenary force! Besides, the Vice prezetldent has "more important things to do" than care about real soldiers in the field!

...against a country that we should never have been invaded.

Wake up, Shelly...there's a lot more wrong with us being in Iraq than just paying contractors $80,000 per year.

the gov for the increased cost of services. adding 4% of course.