The report said more than 250 civilians working under U.S. contracts
died in the war zones between January and June 2010. During the same period,
235 American soldiers died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"It's extremely likely that a generation ago, each one of these
contractors deaths would have been a military death," Steven Schooner, a
professor at George Washington University, said. "As troop deaths have
fallen, contractor deaths have risen. It's not a pretty picture."
The role of contractors was said to have increased in Iraq amid the U.S.
withdrawal of combat troops. Private contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq
have been providing food and protective services to U.S. military outposts.
Schooner, who conducted a study on the issue, said American
civilian employees comprised more than 25 percent of total deaths in
Afghanistan and Iraq. He said many of the fatalities were Afghans and Iraqis
hired as translators or cleaners. As of March 2010, the report said, the
U.S. military employed more than 200,000 private contractors in those two
Asian countries.
"Companies employing such workers often fail to report their deaths and
injuries to the Labor Department, as required by law." the report said.
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