War is Hell. So sayeth men wiser and more experienced than I. For most of the planet, it is an abhorrent last resort. For a small minority, it is a means to an end. Most Americans believe it is something that should never be entered into lightly, because those we send into that meat grinder need to believe that their sacrifice means something. They will never be the same afterwards, so they deserve our support before, during, and after their service fighting against an enemy we have deemed it necessary to engage.

The military used to be self-sufficient. Sure they needed manufacturers to provide them with supplies and weaponry, but setting up camps, repairing equipment, feeding the troops - everything used to be done by the soldiers. When they left the service, they had training and experience that could be translated into "civilian" employment prospects.

Then came the Republican mindset that "privatizing" was more cost-efficient than government employees doing the same work. Whether it be public parks or sanitation or any other government service, the mantra was that privatizing was the way to go - better results for less money. That always seemed to be true at the outset, but once the realities of corporations always needing to increase revenue and profits began to take over, results suffered and costs increased.

Unfortunately, the privatization fad hit the military as well. President Eisenhower warned us of the military-industrial complex, and boy was he on the money. More than half of our national budget goes to the military, and a large chunk of that goes to private companies, who make planes, bombs, clothing, etc. They also were prepared to provide battlefield logistics and services. All they needed was a war.

In 2001, the new vice-president was sworn in, a man who just happened to be the head of one of the largest military contractors in the country. All they needed was a war, and he was in a prime position to provide one. A year later we were in Afghanistan. The year after that we were in Iraq.

There have been many articles and documentaries written about the war profiteering that went on with those wars, as giddy contractors gorged like pigs at the trough as unbudgeted federal dollars poured down their gaping maws. There was a lot of talk about falsified records, deliberate incompetence (which - due to no-bid contracts - were more profitable), and shoddy products, with the soldiers at the bottom of the rung.

KBR was accused of providing contaminated drinking water to the troops. Soldiers were fed spoiled food by Halliburton. The contractors got more money by burning a perfectly good truck than they did by maintaining it. Our own TriSec has been documenting these and other travesties inflicted on our military since before this blog was started via his "Ask a Vet" weekly blogs (every Tuesday). We all wondered - will there ever be any justice?

The answer at long last is: yes. The federal government is suing KBR for fraud (among other things):

This is what happens when profits take precedence over product. We've all seen it in the marketplace in the regular products we buy - shrinking portions, replacing quality materials with cheaper ones... When it happens in dire circumstances such as a war zone, however, it is particularly disgusting. There is a reason that the epithet "war profiteer" carries such a negative connotation - they are lining their pockets with the blood of our soldiers. It's gratifying to see at least a tiny bit of justice being delivered.