3,258 Civilian defense workers in Iraq killed, 90,000 wounded

Iraq War contractor fined $75,000 for failing to file 30 death reports on time
By T. Christian Miller
ProPublica

As of December, 3,258 civilian contract workers had been killed or died in Iraq, and another 90,000 had reported injuries.

The U.S. Department of Labor has fined a private security contractor $75,000 for failing to file timely reports on the deaths of workers in Iraq as required by law. The Sandi Group, based in Washington D.C., delayed telling the Labor department that 30 of its employees had been killed while working for the company between 2003 and 2005, according to the department.

The Sandi Group, a privately held company known for employing large numbers of Iraqis as security guards, did not return requests for comment. Since 2005 the company has won U.S. government contracts worth at least $80.9 million, according to a federal contracting database.

The fine, believed to be the largest ever levied against a single company for failing to report war zone casualties in a timely manner, is part of an enforcement crackdown that began after a ProPublica series highlighted problems with a government program designed to provide health benefits to civilian contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Timely reporting of work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities are vitally important to protect the interests of injured workers and their families,” Gary A. Steinberg, acting director of the Department of Labor office which negotiated the settlement amount with the company, said in a prepared statement.
read more here

Girl Tells Santa She Wants Dad Home From Iraq

Girl Tells Santa She Wants Dad Home From Iraq, Doesn't Know Santa is Dad

Families of contractors killed in Iraq sue feds

Families of contractors killed in Iraq sue feds

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 26, 2010 17:37:43 EDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The families of three private security contractors who were kidnapped, held for ransom and beheaded in Iraq are suing the State Department over their deaths.

Joshua Munns, John Cote and John Young were working for Crescent Security Group in November 2006 when they and two other co-workers were ambushed and abducted while guarding a military convoy near the southern Iraq city of Safwan.

The complaint, which filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, seeks punitive damages and challenges the constitutionality of the U.S. government’s practice of using private military contractors in war but not supporting them when they are injured, killed or kidnapped.

“The primary goal is to peel back the lid on this black box .... to ask the hard question about what this ‘War on Terror’ is about,” Bill Palmer, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told The Associated Press.
read more here
Families of contractors killed in Iraq sue feds

Deployed civilians face hurdles in getting medical treatment

Deployed civilians face hurdles in getting medical treatment
April 30, 2008 - 3:30pm

By ANNE FLAHERTY
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Civilians deployed to war zones often encounter problems receiving medical treatment and are hesitant to seek help for emotional stress caused by their deployment, a new congressional report finds.

Federal policies on the treatment of nonmilitary personnel _ particularly medical screening before and after an individual deploys _ are not clearly articulated or widely understood, prompting cases in which some civilians have had trouble receiving benefits or filing claims, the bipartisan report by the House Armed Services oversight and investigations subcommittee says.

Civilians also seem less likely receive help for post-traumatic stress syndrome. The Labor Department says only 11 mental health claims have been filed by federal personnel serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, despite a recent survey of foreign service officers that found more than 100 officers deployed in hardship posts may have symptoms of the stress syndrome, according to the report.

The findings shed light on the complexities of an emerging new phenomenon in federal government: the reliance on its civilian work force to aid a war effort. In recent months, the Bush administration has pushed hard to expand involvement by such agencies as the Agriculture Department and Health and Human Services in rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan.
go here for more
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=116&sid=1396120

Linked from ICasualties.org

I received a phone call today about a veteran who had worked as a contractor in Iraq. He developed PTSD and sought help for it. The VA turned him away because there was nothing in his service record to show it was caused by his service. He needed help so urgently that my friend feared for his life. He is no unlike so many other humans who go into combat zones and come out forever changed. How is it that no one is forcing the defense contractors to take care of their wounded? This report shows that even the government does not take care of the people they have working for them either. Is anyone doing the right thing for anyone in all of this?