Contractors in Iraq and soldiers building a putt-putt course?

Question

Alright, this may sound a little old, but I have a question that has been eating at me for years. I was in Iraq for the complete year of 2005. My job was a 92A (logistics). I was the only one when i got there that actually did his MOS in my unit. All others were tasked to build a putt-putt course behind the colonel's office (he wanted to play putt putt). The reason behind this, and the ever growing number of DFAC guards, was because KBR, a private contractor, was doing the jobs of soldiers so soldiers could fight. Why on the news do i hear pentagon officials saying soldiers are stretched thin? And that it costs just as much to pay soldiers as it does a contractor? Over there, i made less than 30k a year (unmarried, no kids). A contractor made 120k a year. Also, i remember many times when we were attacked, soldiers would have to stop guarding their posts and go guard the private contractors workstations/living quarters, while 40 plus soldiers stood guard over the putt-putt course, in the most protected area of camp, in a fenced in area behind the colonels office. They were not allowed to leave the area. Those 40 soldiers could have been doing their MOS and job, and protecting their areas if attacked. They soldiers are getting paid anyways, why bring in more civilians to do the job? Its definately not because the civilians were better at the military job than soldiers, they screwed up so many things. Someone enlighten me please. Why are we waisting so much money on private contractors and not letting soldiers do combat missions, or just letting the soldiers do the job they are supposed to do in the first place? When i went, the camp my main unit was at had more soldiers that didnt have jobs than i had ever seen. Luckily, i was tasked with QRF and my actual MOS. But i felt sorry for the other 92As, cooks, psy-ops, chemicals, and many many more MOS' that would have rather been outside the wire doing something than inside it being bored in the heat.

Answer 1

If you are who you say you are, that's a mighty interesting post and I suspect you will be disciplined for it.

I hope the colonel got his adorable little putt-putt course, and there were no ied's as obstacles.

Answer 2

I doubt what you're saying.  I know no one who has experienced what you are saying and I know a lot of people who have been over there.  So what if there's a put put place.  We had one in Bahrain, it was all sand, so it was pretty ironic to me.  

Answer 3

I have officially gone blind--please use some paragraphs.

Answer 4

Nothing new. The old officer's club at Rycom Plaza in Okinawa was built using cumshaw and scrounging for materials. But, it was the most elegant club on the island for many years. When reversion happened, the Japanese wanted to know how it came to be. The official Army answer was that it was "found on post". The Japanese then said that made it a Japanese facility and civilians could use it. The Army closed the "Top Of The Rock" rather than face that.

What I'm wondering is whether any contractors were involved in the construction of the replica of Fenway Park in Al Anbar Province for the Marines to use as a ball field. It even had a "green monster" and a replica of the Citi Gas sign.