Foreign governments reportedly hire more than 500 retired US DOD personnel since 2015,

More than 500 retired US military personnel have taken lucrative jobs working for foreign governments – with general and admirals landing roles in Saudi Arabia.

At least 15 high ranking officials from the military have worked as paid consultants for the Defense Ministry of Saudi Arabia since 2016 – after a judge forced the military to hand over documents detailing the jobs.

The ministry is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the CIA say approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Most personnel have taken jobs in countries known for human rights abuse and political repression, according to an investigation by the Washington Post.

Saudi Arabia’s paid advisers include two retired four-star Generals – Marine Gen. James Jones and retired Army Gen. Keith Alexander, who both worked with President Obama.

Alexander led the National Security Agency under Obama and President George W. Bush, while Jones was a national security adviser – and has also taken work from the Government of Libya.

Others who have worked as consultants for the Saudis since the murder of Khashoggi include a retired four-star Air Force general and a former commanding general of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

It is unclear exactly how much the former high-ranking personnel are being paid per job, but it is more than what most American service members earn on active duty.

Those serving as an active four-star general earns $203,698 a year in basic pay, while former military officials have been given consulting deals worth more than $10million.

Retired four-star Marine Gen. James Jones, has worked with both the Saudi Defense Ministry and the Government of Libya since stepping down

The ministry is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the FBI say approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018

 The ministry is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the FBI say approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018

Retired Army Gen. Keith Alexander led the National Security Agency under Obama and President George W. Bush and has worked for the Mohammed bin Salman College of Cyber Security

Retired Army Gen. Keith Alexander led the National Security Agency under Obama and President George W. Bush and has worked for the Mohammed bin Salman College of Cyber Security

Australia’s government has given consulting deals worth more than $10 million to several former senior U.S. Navy officials. 

A retired US Air Force general was offered a consulting gig in Azerbaijan at a rate of $5,000 a day, with retired generals and admirals being offered the most money.

Saudi Arabia hired a former Navy SEAL as a special operations adviser for $258,000 a year, while the UAE offered packages of up to $200,000.

A consulting firm owned by six retired Pentagon officials and military officers negotiated a $23.6 million contract with Qatar – which later fell through.

The majority of the personnel have worked as civilian contractors for Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Persian Gulf monarchies.

They are understood to be playing a critical role in upgrading their militaries behind the scenes, despite the gulf countries security forces being accused of continually breaching human rights.

United Nations investigators found that with shared intelligence, aerial refuelling and other support from the US government contractors, the Saudis and UAE intervened in Yemen’s civil war.

Retired Army Lt. Gen Michael Flynn, 63, was investigated by the Defense Departments inspector after collecting $449,807 from Russian and Turkish interests in 2015 a year after his retirement

Retired Army Lt. Gen Michael Flynn, 63, was investigated by the Defense Departments inspector after collecting $449,807 from Russian and Turkish interests in 2015 a year after his retirement

Those serving as an active four-star general earns $203,698 a year in basic pay, while former military officials have been given consulting deals worth more than $10million in Australia

Those serving as an active four-star general earns $203,698 a year in basic pay, while former military officials have been given consulting deals worth more than $10million in Australia 

A consulting firm owned by six retired Pentagon officials and military officers negotiated a $23.6 million contract with Qatar – which later fell through

A consulting firm owned by six retired Pentagon officials and military officers negotiated a $23.6 million contract with Qatar – which later fell through

Documents show that 25 retirees from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps were granted permission to take jobs in Saudi Arabia.

Congress gives permission for retired troops and reservists to work for foreign governments so long as they have approval from their branch of the armed forces and state department.

But the US government fought to keep the hirings secret, until a judge ruled that 4,000 pages of documents should be handed over to the Washington Post in a two-year legal battle.

Military officials redacted the pay packages for retired general sand admirals, as well as names of lower-ranking personnel.

They argued that releasing the information would violate their privacy and subject them to ‘embarrassment and harassment’ as well as ‘unfairly harming their public reputation.’

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled that the ‘public has a right to know if high-ranking military leaders are taking advantage of their stations — or might be perceived to be doing so — to create employment opportunities with foreign governments in retirement.’

The US has accused the crown prince in a declassified CIA report of having approve the killing of Khashoggi, pictured, – something that they have always denied

The US has accused the crown prince in a declassified CIA report of having approve the killing of Khashoggi, pictured, – something that they have always denied

United Nations investigators found that with shared intelligence, aerial refuelling and other support from the US government contractors, the Saudis and UAE intervened in Yemen’s civil war

United Nations investigators found that with shared intelligence, aerial refuelling and other support from the US government contractors, the Saudis and UAE intervened in Yemen’s civil war

The US government fought to keep the hirings secret, until a judge ruled that 4,000 pages of documents should be handed over to the Washington Post in a two-year legal battle

The US government fought to keep the hirings secret, until a judge ruled that 4,000 pages of documents should be handed over to the Washington Post in a two-year legal battle

Retired military personnel are restricted from receiving anything of value from foreign governments that could compromise their sworn allegiance to the US, but they can do so with the consent of Congress.

Those seeking authorization for foreign work must also pass a background check and counterintelligence review – and must self-report their intent to work.

Many veterans don’t bother to report their intent, as there is no criminal penalty for violating the law.

The Defense Department can withhold retirement pay from those who ignore the rules, but a spokesman confirmed that they have docked the pensions of ‘fewer than five’ people.

Retired Army Lt. Gen Michael Flynn, 63, was investigated by the Defense Departments inspector after collecting $449,807 from Russian and Turkish interests in 2015 a year after his retirement.

Flynn, who served as national security adviser to President Trump, failed to clear his work with US officials and was pictured next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a gala in Moscow.

Alexander has also undergone work for the Japanese Ministry of Economy and had advisory roles with in Singapore

Alexander has also undergone work for the Japanese Ministry of Economy and had advisory roles with in Singapore 

Retired military personnel are restricted from receiving anything of value from foreign governments hat could compromise their sworn allegiance to the US, but they can do so with the consent of Congress.

Retired military personnel are restricted from receiving anything of value from foreign governments hat could compromise their sworn allegiance to the US, but they can do so with the consent of Congress. 

He was celebrating the 10th anniversary of Russia Today, and was paid $38,557 to travel to the event, and in 2017 pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US.

The inspector general ordered him to forfeit the cash that he had received from the Moscow trip, but was not penalized further for the remaining $411,250 he collected from Russia and Turkey.

Following the transgression Congress passed legislation in 2019 and 2020 forcing the pentagon to submit annual reports about retired general and admirals working for foreign powers.

The Pentagon has since compiled but only reports a few lines of information, and does not name the retired officials.

Only one of the 500 reported to the armed forces and State Department since 2015 involved Russia, with a retired Air Force colonel receiving permission in March 2020 to take a $300k job with a company based in the US by majority owned by the Russian Government.

No other instances of retired military personnel seeking to work for ‘foreign adversaries’ were included in the 500.

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