Generals for Hire

 The media has drawn attention to ex-RAF personnel accepting contracts to work for China.

Yet in the USA  at least 15 retired American generals and admirals have worked as paid consultants for Saudi Arabia's ministry of defense since 2016.

"Saudi Arabia's paid advisers have included retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, a national security adviser to President Barack Obama, and retired Army Gen. Keith Alexander, who led the National Security Agency under Obama and President George W. Bush," the Post reported. Other ex-servicemembers named in the Post story as paid consultants to the Saudi defense ministry include retired Air Force Brig. Gen. John Doucette and retired Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry. Some clearly support military operations, such as “battle trainer,” while others are far more general, including descriptions like 'consultant' or 'advisor.'"

"Congress permits retired troops as well as reservists to work for foreign governments if they first obtain approval from their branch of the armed forces and the State Department," the newspaper pointed out. "But the U.S. government has fought to keep the hirings secret. For years, it withheld virtually all information about the practice, including which countries employ the most retired U.S. service members and how much money is at stake."

"More than 500 retired U.S. military personnel—including scores of generals and admirals—have taken lucrative jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments" such as Saudi Arabia, Libya, Turkey, and Kuwait, mostly with the official approval of U.S. military branches. "Records show they rarely reject a job request," the Post found.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a Trump loyalist raked in nearly $450,000 in payments from Turkey and Russia in 2015 without receiving clearance from U.S. officials.

"Saudi planes literally couldn't fly if it weren't for American technicians," U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna said in an interview last week. 

Defying Pentagon Secrecy, Reporting Exposes Retired US Generals on Saudi Payroll (commondreams.org)