Well known think tank RAND Corp has commissioned a study of the health and well-being of contractors who work overseas. It is about time that someone with brains gave some serious thought to what has turned out to be a medical and humanitarian crisis for those contractors and their families.
I encourage all who have been overseas working as private military or security contractors to contact RAND and provide your input on their 10 minute survey. I think it is important for them to recognize the serious problem with contractors who have medical and mental issues that are not only overlooked by the companies and their insurance carriers, but often are worsened by the harsh mistreatment of them toward those who have sacrificed so much.
Here is the rest of their press release to give you information on how you can participate in this important study. Let it be the beginning of comprehensive study and reform of how Congress and the Pentagon and State Department handle this growing epidemic involving more than 100,000 killed and injured contractors in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, as well as the many more people in families this has affected.
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The RAND study is the first comprehensive survey of the health and well-being of individual
contractors who have worked in theaters of conflict, and gives them an opportunity to tell
researchers what it is like to be a contractor in a conflict zone.
“Private contractors provide critical support to both governmental and nongovernmental
entities across the globe,” said Molly Dunigan, project co-leader and a RAND political
scientist. “We hope the data we collect will give a more accurate picture of what contractors
experience.”
The study will include a web-based survey of private military and security contractors.
Anyone who has deployed on contract to a theater of conflict at any point over the past two
years is eligible to complete the survey, regardless of the job he or she performed. The survey
is anonymous, with no information collected about either the survey respondents or their
employers.
Anyone who wants to take part in the survey can access it online at
http://mmic.rand.org/contractor. For questions regarding the study, contact the project at
contractorsurvey@rand.org.
The study is part of RAND’s continuing program of self-initiated independent research.
Support for such research is provided, in part, by donors and by the independent research and
development provisions of RAND’s contracts for the operation of its U.S. Department of
Defense federally funded research and development centers. It is being conducted within the
Forces and Resources Policy Center, a component of the RAND National Security Research
Contact:
Lisa Sodders
lsodders@rand.org
310.451.6913
OFFICE OF
MEDIA RELATIONS
703.413.1100 x5117
and 310.451.6913
media@rand.org
www.rand.org
Division helping to improve policy and decision making governing personnel management
and use of defense resources to enhance readiness and sustain the nation’s all-volunteer force.
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