Header
Iraq Contractor Death Toll
 By Tom Shoop | Monday, March 26, 2007  |  04:55 PM

More than 770 contractors have died in Iraq since the beginning of the war in 2003, the Chicago Tribune reports today. The figures on contractor deaths are tabulated by the Labor Department's Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Division, based on workers' compensation claims. But the statistics don't include contractors killed when on off duty status. And the numbers, as always, don't tell the full story of how harrowing it can be for family members to see the bodies of their loved ones shipped home without the same respect and care with which uniformed service members are treated.



Comments


With all due respect felt for anyone who loses a family member to an industrial or work related accident, let's keep in mind that those individuals killed in Iraq are in Iraq primarily to earn money. In most cases they earn much much more in Iraq than they would at home for doing the same jobs. I've worked in the mideast and when I went there it was for the money, and the money only. When you take a job like that, you accept the risk based on the salary. Please don't try to put contractor personnel on the same level as our military. I'm not near as emotional hearing of the loss of a contractor truck driver who was paid over $100K per year in Iraq as I am hearing of the loss of a young Army National Guard member truck driver being killed after his/her 2nd or 3rd tour of forced "stop loss" duty. It's just not the same.

rch101  | Tuesday, March 27, 2007 |  07:35 AM



Post a comment



ABOUT THIS BLOG


Government Executive Editor Tom Shoop takes a look at news and events affecting the federal bureaucracy, from the perspective of a longtime observer of government.

SEARCH THIS BLOG


SUBSCRIBE to this blog's RSS feed

ARCHIVES



CATEGORIES