Sources say the Biden administration is moving toward lifting a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine to help the country’s military maintain and repair weapons systems shipped from America.
“We have not made any decisions, and any discussion of this is premature,” said one administration official. “The president is absolutely firm that he will not be sending U.S. troops to Ukraine.”
Once approved, the change would likely be enacted this year, officials said, and would allow the Pentagon to provide contracts to American companies for work inside Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded in 2022. Officials said they hope it will speed up the maintenance and repairs of weapons systems being used by the Ukrainian military.
Since that invasion, Biden has firmly insisted that all Americans, and particularly U.S. troops, stay far away from the Ukrainian frontlines. As a result, U.S.-provided military equipment that has sustained significant damage in combat has had to be transported out of the country to Poland, Romania, or other NATO countries for repairs, a process that takes time.
So, administration officials began to seriously reconsider those restrictions over the last several months, officials said, as Russia continued to make gains on the battlefield and U.S. funding for Ukraine stalled in Congress. Allowing experienced, U.S. government-funded American contractors to maintain a presence in Ukraine means they will be able to help fix damaged, high-value equipment much faster, officials said.
Retired Army officer Alex Vindman, who served on the National Security Council under former President Trump, has been pushing the Biden administration to lift the restrictions for nearly two years. “Ukraine is an ally,” he remarked. “The U.S. has keen, critical national security interests in supporting Ukraine, and there are plenty of risk mitigation measures.”
Contractors or Troops?
Sending troops to troubled areas is a difficult decision that has considerable fallout, both in the United States and in the country of deployment. At home, there’s pressure to “bring the boys home.” Abroad, many foreign countries believe U.S. troops are tools of imperialism, and let’s face it, that assessment is often true.
Sending contractors to troubled areas is a much easier decision that has much less fallout, both here and abroad.
Contractors, unlike mercenaries, are not front-line soldiers. Frequently, that is what is needed in places like Ukraine. The regular army needs men and women to verify IDs at checkpoints, search suspicious vehicles, and escort supply convoys. Such duties are often punishment to regular servicemembers, but contractors embrace these responsibilities.
Contractors also serve in pure support areas, such as weapons maintenance. The battle of Agincourt in 1415 proved how vital this function is. English troops used longbows (the smart missiles of the 15th century) to inflict terrible losses on a much larger French force and usher in a period of long-term English dominance in the back-and-forth Hundred Years War.
Modern smart missiles and other such weapons require much more maintenance than longbows. Contractors are well-suited to fit this role. In many cases, they worked for the company that designed and/or built the weapons.
Furthermore, contractors better blend in. Many contractors are former law enforcement officers. They know how to deter the enemy without being overbearing. Furthermore, these contractors know how to build relationships and collect valuable intelligence. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, contractors don’t count in the official troop calculations. They’re basically invisible.
Contractor Duties
We covered many combat contractor duties above. But many overseas private military contractors don’t carry guns.
In many places, construction contractors outnumber combat contractors. History has taught us that battlefield success quickly becomes yesterday’s news. The French undid the smashing English success at Agincourt a mere fourteen years later at the siege of Orleans. But when people look around and see bridges, schools, and hospitals, success is permanent.
Usually, rebuilding efforts focus on such capital projects. Most refugees will not return home until such basic services are in place. From there, rebuilding moves onto smaller projects. Volunteer organizations often lend a hand as well. Usually, all these people are eligible for Defense Base Act benefits. More on that below.
Training is another important non-combat duty. That’s especially true in countries struggling against insurgents. Contractors have fought these fights before. They know what works and more importantly, what does not work. A well-trained government security force enables everyone to go home. That’s the ultimate goal of any foreign intervention.
Injury Compensation Available
Foreign governments count on contractors to battle insurgents. Families count on contractors to provide the income they need to survive. When an on-the-job injury strikes a contractor, financial disaster usually strikes a family. Most families live from hand to mouth.
So, the lost wage replacement benefit of the Defense Base Act might be the most important injury benefit. Several levels of lost wage replacement are available, as follows:
- Temporary Total Disability: TTD victims cannot work at all until their injuries heal. The injury could be a trauma injury, like a fall, or an occupational disease, like repetitive stress disorder. Most TTD victims receive two-thirds of their AWW until their doctors, whom they have a right to choose under the DBA, fully clear them to return to work.
- Temporary Partial Disability: In the latter stages of physical therapy and injury recovery, some victims can accept light-duty assignments or work part-time. The bad news is the light duty assignment could be a “make work” assignment, like a parking lot attendant. The good news is that TPD victims receive two-thirds of the difference between their previous and current incomes.
- Permanent Total Disability: PTD victims cannot work primarily because of their medical conditions but also due to their vocational and educational backgrounds. Not all permanent injuries are permanently disabling for all workers. Most PTD victims receive payments based on their likely future AWW. Roughly the same calculation applies to fatal injury victims.
- Permanent Partial Disability: Frequently, insurance companies use boilerplate tables to determine compensation in these situations. For example, a loss of X limb means Y dollars of compensation. But as mentioned above, some disabilities disproportionately affect some victims. Their DBA benefits should reflect these differences.
The AWW, or average weekly wage, is at the center of all these lost wage replacement calculations. This figure is more than the average of the last few net pay amounts.
Many victims receive non-cash compensation, like housing allowances. Additionally, the AWW must reflect future losses. For example, if a job injury forces John to miss a performance bonus milestone, he deserves compensation for that loss.
For more information about other DBA benefits, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A.