Forced to reveal who’s been paying them and how much, virtually all of the retired military commanders in a Department of Defense mentoring program have quit.

 

The mentors worked as part-time government advisors who were paid as much as $330 an hour (triple their service pay) to offer advice to active duty officers in war games, war fighting courses, operational planning, operational exercises, and decision making exercises.

 

The Pentagon’s inspector general reports that 98%—190 of 194—of the “senior mentors” (one to four stars in rank) left the program after being required under former Defense Secretary Robert Gates to file public financial disclosure documents. The ex-generals and admirals hailed from the Navy, Marines and three special combatant commands.

 

USA Today found that 80% of the mentors had financial ties to defense contractors, and that 29 of them were full-time executives of companies with which the Pentagon deals. Mentor Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, for example, rafter his retirement, became chairman of the board of major defense contractor BAE Systems. In 2008, he also earned $946,000 as vice-president of another large defense contractor, Dyncorp International.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

98 Percent of Former Military Officers Drop Out of Pentagon Program after Financial Disclosure (by Dana Liebelson, Project on Government Oversight)

Retired Military Officers Cash in as Well-Paid Consultants (by Tom Vanden Brook, Ken Dilanian and Ray Locker, USA Today)

Military Mentors Paid Well for Advice (USA Today)