Dear friends,
Private military contracting represents military service without military protections. Whether you're providing diplomatic security in hostile territories, conducting convoy operations through insurgent-controlled areas, protecting high-value assets in active war zones, or training foreign military forces in conflict regions, you face combat zone risks with an extreme fatality rate of 89.3 per 100,000 workers—nearly double that of active-duty military personnel in similar roles. You're not protected by Geneva Conventions, you don't receive prisoner-of-war status if captured, and your death won't generate the same official response as a service member's. This legal and institutional ambiguity demands specialized legacy planning.
The fundamental difference between military service and contractor work affects every aspect of legacy planning. Active-duty military personnel have SGLI death benefits, casualty assistance officers, military funeral honors, and comprehensive survivor support systems. Contractors have company-provided life insurance, workers' compensation through Defense Base Act provisions, and employment contracts that might not provide adequate family support. Your military personnel legacy planning framework applies to your operational risks, but your benefits and family support systems operate entirely differently.
Document every aspect of your contractor employment comprehensively. List all life insurance policies (employer-provided and personal), employment contract details including death benefit provisions, Defense Base Act insurance information, and contact information for your company's HR department and benefits administrators. Include your company's procedures for notifying families of contractor deaths—this varies wildly between companies and contracts. Your family won't receive casualty assistance officer support; they'll navigate private insurance claims and corporate bureaucracy while devastated by grief.
The legal ambiguity of contractor work creates unique scenarios your family struggles to understand. You're not civilians protected from combat operations. You're not military personnel protected by military law and international agreements. You operate in a gray zone where rules of engagement are contractual rather than legal, where capture doesn't guarantee prisoner-of-war treatment, and where your combat actions might expose you to prosecution that uniformed personnel avoid. Explain in your encrypted video messages why you chose this path despite these legal vulnerabilities, what contractor work enables that military service doesn't, and how your deliberate career choice reflects your values rather than recklessness.
Limited emergency medical support represents a critical contractor vulnerability. Military operations include robust medical evacuation chains, combat medics with advanced training, and established procedures for casualty care. Contractor operations might provide basic medical support with limited evacuation capabilities, particularly in remote locations or during high-threat operations where medevac helicopters won't fly. Wounds survivable in military operations become fatal in contractor environments. Address this reality directly—acknowledge you accepted these limitations because contractor work pays significantly more than military service, enabling you to provide for your family despite accepting greater personal risk.
Diplomatic protection missions create scenarios where you're defending embassies, diplomats, or government facilities in countries actively hostile to your clients. You might face organized attacks by well-trained forces, suicide bombers targeting diplomatic compounds, or prolonged sieges with limited reinforcement options. These missions combine the vulnerability of fixed defensive positions with the political complexity of operating in sovereign nations that may view your presence as provocative. Update your final messages before each contract to reflect current assignment risks—embassy security in stable countries differs dramatically from diplomatic protection in active war zones.
Convoy security through hostile territories represents contracting's most consistently dangerous work. You're protecting supply convoys, personnel movements, or valuable cargo through areas where insurgents routinely attack contractors. IED threats, ambushes, small arms fire, and coordinated attacks target convoys that follow predictable routes with limited armored protection. Unlike military convoys with air support and quick reaction forces, contractor convoys often operate with only organic security. These operations combine high mortality risk with the monotony of repetitive routes—you're conducting the same dangerous convoy repeatedly, each time vulnerable to enemies who study your patterns.
Non-disclosure agreements and security clearances complicate legacy planning for contractors with classified work. Never include contract details, client identities, operational specifics, or protected information in final messages. NDAs and clearances apply posthumously—violating them in death notes could expose your family to legal liability or compromise ongoing operations. Focus on personal relationships, values, and emotional truth while maintaining contractual confidentiality. The encrypted message storage protects content from unauthorized access, but you remain responsible for what you choose to include.
Financial planning requires particular attention for contractors. Higher pay enables aggressive savings and investment, but inconsistent employment, contract-dependent income, and limited retirement benefits create financial volatility that military service members don't face. Document all investment accounts, property holdings, and financial assets. Include guidance about managing income interruption if your death occurs between contracts or before benefits pay out. Consider whether your family can maintain their lifestyle without your contractor income—many contractor families make financial decisions based on inflated salaries that disappear if you're killed.
Your contractor colleagues occupy a unique position in your life. They're fellow professionals who chose combat zone work for similar reasons—whether financial necessity, addiction to adrenaline, belief in the mission, or inability to transition to civilian life after military service. These relationships differ from both military unit bonds and civilian friendships. Consider messages for contractor colleagues who understand the unique challenges of combat operations without military support structures, legal protections, or institutional recognition.
For those with military service backgrounds, explain the transition to contractor work in your final messages. Many families struggle to understand why you'd return to combat zones as a contractor after completing military service. Address this directly—whether financial motivations, continued belief in the mission, difficulty adjusting to civilian life, or simply loving the work despite its dangers. Your choice deserves explanation in your own words rather than leaving family to construct narratives about your motivations.
The moral complexity of private military contracting deserves acknowledgment. You're conducting military operations for profit, defending clients who might not represent your personal values, and operating in legal gray zones that raise legitimate ethical questions. Don't shy away from this complexity in legacy planning—address it honestly. Explain how you reconcile contractor work with your values, what boundaries you maintain, and why you believe this profession serves legitimate purposes despite its controversies.
We understand the contractor mindset—you're experienced professionals who chose combat zone work fully aware of its risks and controversies. You're not naive about mortality rates, legal vulnerabilities, or limited institutional support. You made deliberate career choices that reflect your skills, your financial needs, and your comfort with risk that most people can't accept. Bring that same clear-eyed assessment to legacy planning. Acknowledge contractor work's unique dangers without apology, document your benefits comprehensively, and provide your family with honest explanations for your career choices. Whether you're providing diplomatic security, conducting convoy operations, or training foreign forces, your professional service matters and your legacy deserves the same thorough preparation you bring to every high-risk contract.