Over 500 US Military Retirees Worked for Foreign Governments Since 2015, Report Suggests

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – More than 500 retired US military personnel have worked for foreign governments since 2015, often enjoying six-figure consulting contracts, according to an investigation by The Washington Post that involved a two-year legal battle to obtain documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

Most of the personnel have worked as civilian contractors to help upgrade the militaries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf countries. Aside from Russia, the released documents did not show that retired military personnel worked for governments categorized by the US government as "foreign adversaries."

Since 2016, 15 retired US generals and admirals have worked for Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry, including retired Marine Gen. James Jones, a former national security adviser under Obama; retired Army Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the National Security Agency under Obama and Bush; a retired four-star Air Force general; and a former commanding general of US troops in Afghanistan. A former Navy SEAL worked as a special operation advisor for $258,000 per year.

The Gulf aside, there are many other cases of foreign governments hiring retired military personnel. Several former senior Navy officials secured consulting deals with Australia worth more than $10 million. A consulting firm owned by former Pentagon officials won a $23.6 million contract with Qatar that later fell through.

A former Air Force general consulted for Azerbaijan at a daily rate of $5,000. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser under Trump, earned $449,807 from Russian and Turkish interests in 2015 without seeking clearance. Of the more than 500 cases reported since then, only one involved Russia, in which a retired Air Force colonel secured a $300,000 executive position with a satellite-launch company in the US that was majority-owned by the Russian government, the report said.

While retired military personnel are permitted to work for foreign governments if they obtain approval from their armed forces branch and the State Department, the US government largely withheld information about them until the Washington Post sued the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and the State Department. The newspaper was also given documents secured through a similar lawsuit by The Project On Government Oversight.

The newspaper found that approval is nearly automatic, with 95% of the more than 500 requests submitted since 2015 accepted. Moreover, the armed forces rely on the retired personnel to self-report their intention to work for foreign governments. There is no criminal penalty for violating the law, which is rarely enforced.