By Mark Memmott
In an "unusual arrangement," at least 158 retired admirals and generals have been hired as "mentors" at the Pentagon, USA TODAY reports. It adds that:
Most of the retired officers, one to four stars in rank, have been paid hundreds of dollars an hour by the military even as they worked for companies seeking Defense Department contracts, a USA TODAY investigation found. That's in addition to pensions of $100,000 to $200,000 a year for officers with 30 or more years of service.
As "senior mentors," as the military calls them, the retired officers help run war games and offer advice to former colleagues. Some mentors make as much as $330 an hour as part-time government advisers, more than triple what their rate of pay was as high-level, active-duty officers. They earn more -- far more, several mentors said in interviews -- as consultants and board members to defense companies.
Military officials, USA TODAY says, "extol the benefits of the programs, calling them an invaluable way to train leaders and hear from experts who no longer have to worry about career advancement." But, the newspaper adds:
"This setup invites abuse," says Janine Wedel, a George Mason University public policy professor and author of a forthcoming book on government contracting. "Everyone in this story is fat and happy. Everyone, of course, except the public, which has virtually no way of knowing what's going on, much less holding these guys to account."
categories: Government
