Defense of Freedom Medal

[BlueForce]

Some of you may know this and others not. The Defense of Freedom Medal was authorized by the Secretary of Defense after 11 SEP 2001 to recognize certain contractors supporting the DoD who have been killed or injured in the performance of those duties.

The first recipients of this medal were actually killed during the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center on 9/11, while serving as contractors and civilian employees of the Department of Defense. Here is the official list:

http://www.defenseoffreedom.com/medal_recipients.htm

I worked with some of the gentlemen here who were on board planes that hit both locations. I feel Donald Rumsfeld did a great thing in creating this honor. Many contractors dedicate their lives to making our country and world a safer place to live. Their commitment and sacrifice often goes unnoticed. And sometimes they face risks that can cause them to pay the ultimate price as well.

[Iraqgunz]

Thanks, yes I am aware of its' origins and I happen to know a few recipients. Unfortunately, it would seem as if there is no central database of awardees and many people do not ven know about it.

[Iraq Ninja]

Wanted to bump this important thread with two recent losses. Both I think were Dyncorp WPPS contractors. One was a Designated Defensive Marksman who was killed by small arms fire, and the other incident is being ruled an accident (ND) after duty hours...

Things are starting to heat up again over here due to the warmer weather. The Bad Guys don't like to work in the cold or rain.

[Iraq Ninja]

Some new info for this year...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-..._b_558446.html

The last report released in January, noted "For the quarter ending December 31, 2009, the Department of Labor (DoL) received reports of 13 new deaths of civilian contractors working in Iraq. DoL also received reports that 669 civilian contractors suffered injuries requiring them to miss at least four days of work. Since September 2001, the DoL has received reports of 1,459 deaths of civilian contractors."

Contractor casualties nearly doubled in the latest quarter. SIGIR reports that in the first quarter of 2010, 25 deaths were reported to the Department of Labor (DoL),and 740 injuries were reported to the DOL as causing more than 3 days of lost work. As of March 31, 2010, the number of deaths reported in Iraq is 1,471 since the DOL began compiling this data in March 2003.

As of January 22, 2010, USF-I reported 100,035 DoD contractors working in Iraq:

51,990 third-country nationals
27,843 U.S. citizens
20,202 Iraqi nationals

This represents a significant decline in the absolute number of DoD contractors, from a high of more than 160,000 in September 2008. However, as a ratio of contractors to troops, the projection for August 2010 increases from roughly 1:1 to 3:2.

[Safetyhit]

Some new info for this year...

Thank-you for the update, very interesting but also sobering information. I would act surprised that we don't see more of it in the main stream media, but American contractor casualties or not they just don't seem to care.

Guess it's the ugly little face of the war no one wants to acknowledge. Doesn't fit in with the image of making progress I suppose.

[yrac]

Mods. Can we sticky this thread? Thanks much.

Consider it stuck!

[thopkins22]

It's been damn near a year and a half since there has been a post in this thread. Exact numbers are tough to come by, but there have been quite a few casualties in that time...and they'll continue to be there grinding it out on our behalf for quite some time into the future.

Thanks gentlemen.

[Iraq Ninja]

The Brits now have a medal to honor their contractors killed in Iraq and Afghanistan- The Civilian Service Medal



It was recently awarded to someone from my old company- Nick Crouch

He moved to Iraq in January 2009 and was protecting American troops building a hospital in the city of Mosul when his convoy came under attack on July 19 2010. A suicide bomb in a passing car killed Mr Crouch instantly, and wounded three of his colleagues and five Iraqi civilians. At the time he was the 30th worker for private security firm Aegis to be killed in action in Iraq since 2004.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/first_ne...ouch_1_1226138

[SeriousStudent]

Iraq Ninja, Iam sorry to hear of the loss of your friend.

I am heartened that the British are recognizing those who contribute to their security.