Gentry's family had a closed-coffin ceremony. "There is no closure that way. It's like a bad dream," said his wife, Vicki Gentry.
DynCorp spokesman Mike Dickerson said the company tries to repatriate contractors' bodies as quickly as possible. "It's been my understanding that the policies on the government side have been evolving over a period time [to conform with] real world requirements," he said.
Vincent Foster, a former Marine employed by Cochise Consultancy, was in Iraq to guard Iraqi weapons that were being destroyed. He was killed by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq and died on the way to the hospital.
(Family Photo)
|
|
The Pentagon is attempting to streamline the process, said Maj. Thomas Booker of the Theater Mortuary Affairs Office in Kuwait. The goal is to have contractors' bodies returned quickly, like those of soldiers, he said. "That's something that we have been battling on this end to try to get the process speeded up," Booker said.
Yet some changes the Pentagon is proposing could complicate -- not streamline -- the process, contractors say. Under a Pentagon proposal that would shift the job to contractors, the military would no longer ship contractors' remains from Iraq to Kuwait.
Stan Soloway, president of the Professional Services Council, an industry group, said given the lack of commercial flights and the problems with ground transportation, it is unrealistic to assume a contractor can quickly move a body out of Iraq. "If a contract employee is deep in theater, it may not be possible for the contractor to evacuate the body," he said. "It's important that the rules reflect the realities on the ground and contain the necessary flexibility."
The Pentagon is also proposing that contractors be required to notify families of killed employees in person -- as the military does for soldiers. That could require companies to dispatch representatives across the country, delaying notification, Soloway said. "You can't assume they have the same structure as the military, with representation" across the country, Soloway said. "They need the flexibility to do what's best for the company" and the families.
Many of the hundreds of police recruited by DynCorp to help train Iraq's new police have requested their home police departments make the notifications, DynCorp's Dickerson said. "Because of the long standing and community ties, that has sometimes been done out of respect," he said.
There are also questions about how contractors who distinguish themselves during the war should be honored. The Army says a "handful" of Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts, for which only soldiers are eligible, have been improperly awarded to civilian contractors. Titan Corp. officials said its employees have received more than 100 commendations for their actions during the conflict. That includes Todd Drobnick, 35, who was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star after he died in a vehicle crash on his way to a military base. The Army has said the medals awarded to contractors will be revoked.
Contractors are eligible for the Defense of Freedom Medal, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to honor civilian Pentagon employees killed in the attacks. None have been awarded to contractors working in Iraq, although one award is under consideration, according to the Pentagon.
Even small gestures to honor contractors can be difficult. After Scott Helvenston, a Blackwater Security Consulting employee and former Navy Seal, was killed while guarding a military convoy delivering food to troops, his high school friends set up a scholarship fund in his honor. His friends wanted to publicize the scholarship during a May event organized by Florida state Rep. Baxter G. Troutman (R) and being held in Helvenston's hometown, Leesburg, Fla.
