KBR Contractor, now deaf & incontinent, denied benefits--and dignity

[elehhhhna]

Who Cares?
By Margaret Downing


...Celester Hall, a man who had regularly played basketball and baseball and walked for exercise, a man who drove long distances on his truck routes to help support his wife and their blended family of three teenage children, was now deaf. His eyes weren't opening. He'd lost his balance. He'd had a stroke.

He had to be catheterized and eventually would graduate to wearing adult diapers. His hearing loss appears to be as permanent as it is profound. A cochlear implant did nothing to improve the condition -- it just made him more susceptible to infections, according to his wife.

Before he went overseas, Hall was handed some KBR literature, indicating that he and other contract workers had a special role to play in the Afghanistan theater.

"KBR employees are not contractors, we are Force Multipliers…We are as close to being soldiers as we can get without saluting and carrying a gun," ...

http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/current/news/feature.html

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I may be cynical here, but I cannot help but wonder if he would be

treated this poorly if he were a middle aged white guy.

This is a very sad story.

[leftofthedial]

5. yes he would

[shance]

2. KBR is Halliburton

n/t

[tyedyeto]

3. Excuse me, but KBR contractors are NOT military

Why should they get any benefits other than from their employer?

BTW, what is a Force Multiplier?

Damn straight they aren't military. They are mercenaries.

[Catrina]

4. Yes, that's what I was thinking

I hate this pretending that they are 'contractors'. They are mercenaries. This is Donald Rumsfeld's private army ~ I feel sorry for him, but many of them have killed people in both Iraq and Afghanistan, not for any cause, but for money. I hope his situation will discourage others from going.

I heard that the US has about 20,000 mercenaries in Iraq and are planning on hiring another 20,000. Did the American people know when they supported the money for the troops, that it was going to mercenaries, while the troops are not even getting the armor they need to protect themselves? Who are the yellow ribbons really for? And why is Congress allowing this?

It's very difficult to feel sorry for someone who is willing to go kill people for money. Still, I hope he gets the help he needs. But was it worth the money?

[tyedyeto]

6. Killing people for money........

Isn't that what the government says the 'mafia' and other gang types do? Putting out 'contracts' on other's lives?

Now what's the difference between those 'contracts' and the 'contractors' in Iraq?

[jbnow]

7. But isn't that what soldiers do

for far less money? It's their job and that's why they do it.

It is up to the company to take care of him and if we are going to hire companies like this, it should be required that they do.

I am not a supporter of mercenaries, just saying if people are tempted to join the service because times are so tough and they get that signing bonus...imagine the temptation of real money.

[roguevalley]

8. I'm tired of disposable people no matter who it is. This is awful.

[tyedyeto]

9. Bravo!

Disposable is what our soldiers and the mercenaries are.

I am more tolerant of our country supporting veterans through the VA system than of any mercenary. Many vets did join for benefits other than being sent to a war to be maimed or killed.

[Horse with no Name]

10. It is by law a requirement of any contractor of the US government

that they carry insurance on their employees.
Halliburton broke the law...again...whatcha gonna do about it.:shrug:
Truth is...nobody is willing to enforce laws on these predators.
And it continues unabated.

[jbnow]

13. If bush hadn't repealed

the Clinton era rule that prevented new federal contracts going to companies that had broken federal laws, could Haliburton have even gotten all these war contracts?

[Horse with no Name]

15. LOL--good point.

Of course not. But of course, this is why these were no-bid contracts anyway, that way none of these other pesky companies in a free market even had a chance.

[leetrisck]

14. The companies are supposed to be handling

this part. This guy isn't asking for VA benefits - just for the company to do what it says on the dotted line and most of the companies in Iraq and Afghanistan (& other places) are not doing that. They also have health care - try getting the company to pay for it. Even though there's a contract - it is like the military in lots of ways - they do not fulfill their obligations and they are getting away with it just like the govt is getting away with it with our veterans. They know they can and they are going to.

[Horse with no Name]

12. As a nurse

I have the options of working on staff at healthcare facilities or as an agency nurse.
A staff nurse makes alot less money, but comes with bene's and a level of job security.
A contract agency nurse makes a TON of money, but doesn't have any bene's. None.
Because I needed some flexibility in my schedule and had a new grandbaby in the house and needed the extra money, I chose to do agency nursing. As luck would have it, I hurt my back pretty bad. To the point that I haven't been able to do floor nursing for almost 2 years and still have days that my legs are numb and I can't walk very well or spend the day in bed in pain. But then there are the days that I am perfect.
However, as an agency nurse, I had nothing to fall back on.
That's the way it is when you decide to roll the dice to make the big money. As horrible as it sounds, sometimes you lose and when you do--you lose big. It's a risk that you take.

[anarchy1999]

11. Is anyone surprised? Many more are coming home to a theater near you.

n/t

[elehhhhna]

16. Some of you shoudl READ the linked article. He wasn't a mercenary--

he was a truck driver.

The employees in Iraq are NOT "contractors"--the Companies that employ them ARE. The employees are exactly that--employees. There's NO WAY in hell they'd qualify as independent contractors under DOL/IRS regulations. They are entitled to the same benefits as any empoyee, plus an extra Government fund which pays for people who are disabled in the service of their country, regardless of the nature of the injury (whether sustained in battle or not). Widows for example are entitled to HALF their dead hubby's pay for LIFE but only if they file within one year of the death. This info is NOT being given to potential beneficiaries. We're talking serious money--this man made 80K /yr in Afghanistan and if he dies his wife will get 40K/yr.

The kicker? Because HAL\KBR's based in Texas, these folks are really screwed. Texas does not enforce labor law whatsoever. We'd still have slavery here if y'all hadn't told the black people they're free.