Shocking! Who could have foreseen this? Majority of Retired 4-Star Officers Got Jobs in Defense Industry, New Report Says More than 80% of the highest-ranking military officers who left the service over the past five years moved into jobs working for the defense industry, according to a new think tank report. Twenty-six of the 32 four-star officers who retired after June 2018 were then employed by "the arms industry as board members, advisors, executives, consultants, lobbyists, or members of financial institutions that invest in the defense sector," according to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a defense-focused think tank that advocates for peace and diplomacy. The report argues that the staggering statistic "generates the appearance -- and in some cases the reality -- of conflicts of interest in the making of defense policy and in the shaping of the size and composition of the Pentagon budget." Can you imagine there might be some conflicts of interest in our defense policy? We can only wonder...
This does sound like a clear conflict of interest. Why would the defense industry (which is involved in manufacturing) even want to hire 4-star generals to permanent positions? It just doesn't make sense. Unless it's part of a kick-back scheme to reward these generals for recommending and approving contracts with specific firms in the private sector.
Not surprised. The real currency in DC is who you’re networked in with. Generals, politicians, cabinet secretaries, politicians, and corporate executives all know each other there.
Why shocking? More like common sense. They have been in the military all their lives, so its obvious they'd seek jobs in military related fields.
Unfortunately I have discovered that oftentimes the obvious needs to be pointed out, because there seems to be many people who are a little slow. It's an error to believe others will be able to see the connections that are so instantly obvious to you and me.
And who else are they going to work for? Door greeters at a big box store? The majority are only around 60, and have served in the military their entire life. Other than some colleges and universities, who exactly is in the market for retired Generals? Where else are they going to go with their experience? And that is a pretty damned broad category as well. Everybody from General Motors, IBM, Dell, and Cisco is part of the "Defense Industry". And one could even argue that almost every fast food chain is as well also.
I've not thought of fast food as part of the defense industry, but a job at Hardee's would at least make sense.
Every military base has 1 or more fast food establishment on them. But seriously, what other jobs would their experience be good for? Very few have the kinds of skills that other companies would be interested in. Most are not engineers, or involved in the medical fields. And considering most Generals have Masters degrees with years of experience in a very specialized government system, what use is that to most civilian companies? Very few are like Walter McIlhenny, who could take off his uniform and return to funning the family business.
To me, the natural path for a retired military officer, general or admiral level, is some sort of professorship, teaching, or a military oriented think tank. Being snatched up by defense companies for either the board or more directly as a lobbyist is all about using personal connections to get military contracts. That influences decisions before they retire, which is why I think those career paths should be banned by law.
And exactly how many positions are there like that? Most do also participate in think tanks, but like commentators on news stations, there is not a lot of money in that as it is not a full-time job. Only called in when the issue they are contemplating is in regards to their actual area of expertise and simply on call at other times. That is more occasional consulting than an actual job. The same with teaching. Exactly how many positions do you think is available for them in academia? There are a handful in the service academies, but other than that how many colleges want or need a retired general? And really, banned by law? Don't care much for individual freedom of choice or the Constitution, do you? You want to actually prohibit people in future jobs simply because of their previous career path? Talk about the ultimate in anti-military discrimination. And why all the hate just on officers? A hell of a lot of senior enlisted go into defense related jobs also, as that is what they spent their career doing so are already subject matter experts. Go to any Raytheon site in New Mexico, Texas, or Alabama and you will have a hard time walking without tripping over a retired First Sergeant or Sergeant Major that spent a career in air defense. And it is not like anybody else in the civilian sector is scrambling to hire people with those skills.
This is what people mean when they say 'Military Industrial Complex.' Just as an FYI for those who still adamantly demand that no such thing exists. And btw, precisely this relationship also exists between pharmaceutical regulators and pharmaceutical corporations ...for those of you who still adamantly demand that our medicines are 'safe and effective.'
Ostencibly, its because- 'well who knows better than a general what arms the military wants to buy?' and etc. I mean, there is an argument for private sector hiring from retired public sector to get their expertise... its just not nearly as strong an argument as the obvious and destructive conflicts of interest that doing so creates.
As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of people editing my replies so they can continue to complain even though their complaints were addressed in the part they edited out. That seemed a rather important point. As to your officers/NCO's, the article in this OP was about retired four stars, not First Sergeants or Sergeants Major. They probably are subject matter experts and are probably doing actual work. I don't like General grade officers using their pull as lobbyists, just as I don't like Hill staffers or former Congressmen doing the same thing.
Yadda-yadda-yadda Once again, who else are they experienced and qualified to work for? You seem to simply have a thing against the military, and want to prohibit them from working once they retire. What, Generals were magically created with stars on their shoulders? They did not start as lowly Second Lieutenants and work their way up over years of service? And no, they are not "complaints", they are serious questions about your claims. And you seem to think there is nothing wrong with forbidding people to work simply because they served in the military. And you should know damned well I do not edit crap, I simply see no need to quote an entire post just to respond to a section.
That's called editing, and you edited out part of my answer that was part of my response. Otherwise, I'm sorry you've drawn a lot of incorrect conclusions about my comments on this story. I don't have a thing against the military, I don't want to prohibit them from working when retired, and I don't think Generals are being hired to the board of defense companies because of their experiences as second Lieutenants.
