One Way Consultants Get a Bad Name...

Retired Officers Rolling in Dough Working for Industry and Military

USA Today reports that it's hardly a secret that retired admirals and generals are highly coveted by defense contractors, who often pay them a pretty penny for their inside expertise and contacts. They might also be paying them for their current inside information.

The Pentagon has hired at least 158 retired admirals and generals to serve as well-paid part-time advisers, or "senior mentors" as they're officially called. They make hundreds of dollars an hour as advisers, which can amount to more than triple the rate of high-level, active-duty officers, while at the same time they get an even bigger paycheck to be consultants and board members at defense companies. The vast majority of "senior mentors" have some sort of financial tie to defense contractors, but since they're hired as independent contractors, government ethics rules don't apply to them. There's nothing illegal about this system but it "invites abuse," as one government-contracting expert said.

And then there are the management consulting firms that are 'in bed' with the former military brass. The 'beltway bandits' all have one big (and rich) happy family at tax payer expense of course. And none show up as 'government employees' either, which helps reduce the official federal government 'headcount'. That in turn, makes the public believe that the federal government is reducing employees, when in fact, they just transfer it over, and define it as 'outside consultant'. Wonderful!