Re: They won't Stop
I feel like Xe's being represented a little too biased here. It's not like they're a bunch of boy scouts helping diplomats to cross the road. Those dudes took the great training the military gave them, and then went to work at Xe (Blackwater at the time) to earn LOADS of money doing dangerous work. It's simply capitalism at its best. Instead of taking resources from overburdened infantry units, the USG hired contractors to protect its assets, and Xe became Oprah-rich doing that job. Without question, I think some of the Xe operators were very professional in conducting that job.
However, painting them with such an enormously broad stroke is a bit disingenuous. There's quite a few Xe workers who love the buzz that combat brings, and without question there are incidents of civilians being killed unnecessarily. While the federal government may be exacting revenge for a lack of fire discipline on the part of Xe, let's not be having a ticker tape parade for these guys. Our tax dollars paid these guys to leave the military (who needs their training and leadership) to go downrange and provide services. Am I grateful to Xe for that work? Not at all. Do I hold it against them? Not at all. To me, it's simply a wash, neither good nor bad. Let's not oversell the role of contractors overseas, the real heroes are the ones still wearing a uniform and trying to rebuild these shit hole countries we love fighting in.
