Orland Marshal

[Hawk-64]

Whats up with the Orland Marshal comments in the recent article? I have the utmost respect for those that are in the fight against terrorism but from the article, I do not understand Mr. Smiths comments towards the people.

Maybe I understand this thing wrong and someone on here can set it straight. Mr. Smith "contracted" with the governement to continue to work oversea to fight terror. He was not ordered or in active military duty any longer according to that article. With this information I do not understand how he can expect the town of Orland to keep his job for years while he is away and contracts himself out. In this article he expresses disgust for the lack of support by the people of Orland.

Topping it off, the arrogant comments that the people of Orland or anyone from this area does not support the troops or the war on terror because they can't afford to keep his position open for him does not sit well with me. To send his letter of resignation to the news paper so that they get it before his employer, is the behavior of a child. It appears that Mr. Smith wants recognition for his efforts and slams anyone who dare to disagree with him.

I have immediate family and friends serving in this war on terror and when I talk with them they do not seek recognition in any form. They only want support. From this Smith article, it appears that he wants recognition rather than support.

The entire comments by Smith made me feel very sad. Sad for those that fight every day for our freedom and ask of nothing in return. My prayers go out for our troops and their families!!

[Copycatted]

As an 2X disabled/2X wartime Vet I can relate to BOTH sides of the issue. Whether a Vet or active duty when making an statement like Charlies staying on top of that so called fence that divides such issues is one of the hardest things to do. Git knocked off it to either side from something gitting miscontrued and you will have met the so called man eater…and whether as Vets who either enlisted or were drafted or currently active,we did not subscribe to gitting knocked off our so called perch…CERT'S there. Had? to toss in an preventative measures factor…

[LuciusBeebe]

Can you gimme a link to this letter?

[Night Fire]

I can clearly see this issue from both sides
One of which has become real common among Vets coming home. There is no job waiting.
I can also see the Employers point with only a few employee's it is hard to keep a job open, even worse when it is a position of public safety.
This is an issue that is even further complicated by US use of contractors.
Do people that volunteer to work for these contractors deserve the same rights as soldiers who were called up?
To further complicate issues, there is no draft, it is an all volunteer military. When these men and women signed up, they knew the risks.

What is everyones elses point of view on this?

[LuciusBeebe]

What is everyones elses point of view on this?

If he chose to go then they're not obligated to keep his seat warm.

[Night Fire]

If he chose to go then they're not obligated to keep his seat warm.

But then all the soldiers that have gone are volunteer, what about them?

[james_t]

Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I believe most of the military personnel who go over to Iraq or Afghanistan are paid far less than make in their civilian jobs. (I guess this would just be the reserves - the full-time military are just low-paid in general.) It's part of their duty as a soldier and their desire to protect the country.

While their may be some sense of patriotism on the part of some of the independent contractors, from what I've heard they are also getting paid quite handsomely. (Think Halliburton.) And while I know there have been some of the independent contractors who have been killed in Iraq - although I haven't heard as much about this since the earlier days of the war - my sense of it is they are not in nearly as much danger as the military personnel.

[troublesome one]

jamest is correct. The contractor jobs are well paid in order to incentivize those willing to work in an environment more hazardous than Wal-Mart. They know the deal. They are foregoing stateside employment for potentially large economic gain.

I chose the term "stateside employment" because it includes government jobs. The town should be under no obligation to hold his job while he goes off to make more money. Harry Nix is a completely different situation. He was actually called to active duty.

[Night Fire]

Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I believe most of the military personnel who go over to Iraq or Afghanistan are paid far less than make in their civilian jobs.

I think you are wrong. I was reading this morning that the average compensation for an E-4 is over 70 K a year, with 40 K in direct compensation :ie; Cash.
Very few civilian jobs are paying that now.

[james_t]

A CBS article I pulled up said independent contractors in Iraq make about double their civilian salaries - and it's tax-free if they stay there at least 330 days.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/...58_page2.shtml

A CNN article says the military special forces are being depleted because their personnel can earn more than $100K per year as contractors.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/...aq.contractor/

Another article says the base salary for a liaison officer for Zapata is $350K.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11843

This is from http://usmilitary.about.com/:

First the good news: Military pay is not really all that bad. Now, the bad news: It also ain't all that great, either. What I mean by that is that for a brand new high school recruit, with little or not work experience, it would be hard to find a better starting wage. However, for an enlisted member with years of experience, trained in a critical technical specialty, it's not all that great when compared to wages for a similar civilian job.

After four months in the military, the brand new E-1 will be receiving about $29,959.80 per year in annual salary (Note: This figure includes the value of free housing, free food, and income-tax advantage). On the other hand, the E-6 with four kids, who has 10 years experience in the military will only be making about $54,952,86.

[ebbieday]

I think you are wrong. I was reading this morning that the average compensation for an E-4 is over 70 K a year, with 40 K in direct compensation :ie; Cash.
Very few civilian jobs are paying that now.

Are you referring to an E-4 active duty Marine/Soldier pay or is this contractor pay?

[Deyfus]

It appears to me after reading all of the discussions as to what Mr. Smith is doing. I read the the letter that he sent to the Town Council which was received before the article was seen in the paper. The Town Council chose not to make the letter public and still has not mentioned it dueing a council meeting. I the letter Smith said he enjoyed his time spent as the Marshal and thanked the people of Orland for giving him the opportunity to work for them.
Did you ever think that Smith was called out of retirement and placed back on active duty. The set of orders he presented to the council indicate that he is on duty with the military. Not as a contractor for a private company. How long ago did Mr Nix retire? Several years ago. Is he a contractor also. But why let the facts get in the way.
There are sheep dogs and there are the sheep, the sheep dogs keep the wolves away from the sheep. In my opinion both Smith and Nix are the sheep dogs. They have both been in public service their entire lives between the military and the police and they are both still serving, without complaining.

[james_t]

Actually, from what I had heard, the Herald-Republican got the letter before the town council did, though it may be that the H-R is just better about checking their email. And if he was called back to active duty, I believe the town would have been required to hold his position for him.

[Hawk-64]

Deyfus - You are missing the point in your defense of Smith. No one is attacking him for his service to this country or his community. It was the snide comments and manner in which Smith went about resignining and then hiding behind the terror issue that was what I believed to be poor. Maybe he was called out of retirement to serve in the military but he obviously satisified that and went on to contract himself and services to a private conmpany (contractor) to continue. Common sense would say that for a person to choose this option, the pay would have to be pretty sweet. Bottom line is that it is private and not government and therefore the individual does not have the same protections pertaining to their employment back home. It was Smith's CHOICE to do this and from my understanding he lashed out at people in that town of Orland for not keeping his job open to him and accused them of not supporting the war on terror. If he truley cared about that town and its people then why make comments like that? It was his choice not anyone elses and it appears that he wants to lash out when they do not do as he wishes.

I can't see any town holding a position or business for that matter while someone contracts out with another. They left the government service and went into the private industry.