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I work for BAE out in Saudi.
BAE Systems company policy is to not provide a reference. Good or bad, they say nothing (officially)
That said, the defence industry is a small world and many people know each other, and talk.
However, CMH notwithstanding, this guy sounds like a bit of a dick.
Sending ranting emails about the companies customers?
Not condusive to continuing employment.

Another point, BAE hasn't been a British company for years.
It's like BP, It's a global company (4th largest defence contractor in the US IIRC)

The one behind the "victim" just then cleared his weapon...and cleared it badly.....two officers mind you


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Marv your a contracter out there?

Yup.
It's a hard life (tax free) but someone has to do it...

My experience with contracters out there is more to the buddy system. I was Contract Oversite for the 401st AMC

In the defence industry whether someone is mentally stable or not is very relevant.

Orlanth wrote:In the defence industry whether someone is mentally stable or not is very relevant.

Which is a little disturbing, given what people are playing with.

mattyrm wrote:

Jihadin wrote:You know...you can be sued for glossing a former employee who doesn't perform as expected at a new job. Ones best bet is just confirmed the time spent that he/she worked there

Yeah well, my missus just explained the basic employment laws to me..

They need changing! If I own a restaurant and I fire a guy because he had a habit of sprinkling his pubes into the food due to some bizarre sexual fetish, and then a fortnight later I get a phone call off Wendy's, why the feth cant I scream from the rooftops "He jacks off in the soup!"

What am I supposed to say? "We found him simply to be unsuitable?"

No wonder there are so many idiots working ... well.. everywhere!

The reason they are the way they are, in the uk at least, is that too often companys would use bad refrences to either feth over someone who left in disagreement with the company or stop someone leaving. What your talking about would be a ciminal offense. If the emploee commits a criminal offense then they will find it hard to get a job. If not that is what probation periods are for.

ArbeitsSchu wrote:Has it been established whether he actually IS the things his old boss says he is? He did get the MoH after disobeying orders, which rather implies that he may not always do what his boss asks him to do.

Nothing has been established.

ATM there is a claim by this guy that someone told someone else something, who supposedly emailed it to him.

For Americans out there, BAE systems are corporate scumbags with influence in the popular press and very highly paid lawyers.
I'd bare that in mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAE_SYSTEMS#Corruption_investigations

Here we go.

Not that I care about BAE or whatever

We do know that the insurgents do acquire uniforms from like....Ranger Joe...US Cav....equipment from same source....oh and our conexs that go through Karachi gets broken into and all kinds of US equipment is stolen. Best one yet was SAIC sent a mobile arms room with a full set of US weapons M4/16's ,240's, 249's, MK19, 50 cals and 9mils from Karachi....and got hijacked along the way. No freaking lie. I had to track that container...it belonged to our contracters. NVG's are a hot item for them. They have plenty of russian and chinese made NVG's....and over 2,000 US NVG's thats already been stoling from another contracter that sent it through Karachi....of course batteries are in competition with either NVG's or IED's...Another good one...101st sent a Kiowa Warrior in a 40 ft container....stolen enroute

American Hero v. British Company who's the dick? British Co.
make the whistle blower look worse than the reported wrong doing.
and while i agree an a-hole could still win a medal, i think the odds are greater
that a good person would do the deeds that win them medals.

I agree with alarmingrick.

To me, risking your life to save others isn't an indication of good character in a person.

A person's post-war conduct does not alter their wartime achievements, and their wartime achievements do not mitigate bad behaviour in later life, no matter how big a hero they were. I really don't see what baring his war record has upon his later employment record other than a suggestion of general good character.

Furthermore, winning a medal during wartime doesn't mean you can't be mentally unstable at a later time in your life. Hell some of the saddest stories are from highly decorated soldiers that are fethed up by all they have been through.

So really, we can't comment on this story, you don't know the truth of what happened.

We all come out of theater with some mental issue. One year in the box is not a vacation. Besides...he get picked up...the Veteran Bill was Passed

Why would he cite BAE if he thought the reference would even be suspect? Did he not have other options? I mean, he could have simply put "COH recipient" in "other qualifications" and probably gotten the job.

This reeks of either stupidity on the part of the soldier, or malfeasance on the part of BAE.

I read an article on Yahoo that sited sorces from his previous employer at a not for profit vetrans aid center. They said he was a model employee who came up with inventive and insightful ways to help veterans dealing with PTSD. They also stated he would talk with many of the veterans personally and let them know it gets better and that together we can continue to serve the scociety we defended and love. Doesnt sound like a bitter drunk to me. I am also a Marine and you can spot the ones who are bitter and on off the wagon. Also Dogma he is a Marine not a soldier.

Jihadin wrote:Its a defamation on him.

"was mentally unstable, that Sgt. Meyer was not performing BAE tasks assigned and that Sgt. Meyer had a problem related to drinking in a social setting," according to the lawsuit.

If they left it as "Not performing BAE tasks" and instead of shotgunning him with the "problem related to drinking in a social setting" could have gone with "personnal outside influence was effecting his performance at work. They would have been alright.

What they went with is a personnal attack on his character/integerty.

Except defence contractors don't employ CMH winners for their astute knowledge of modern engineering. They employ them because they want the contracts and prestige that comes with having a nationally recognised hero in their company. And that means the guy needs to turn up at loads of social gatherings, shake hands and drink beers. If he drank too much at these events, then he failed to do what was likely a major part of his job.


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Joey wrote:For Americans out there, BAE systems are corporate scumbags with influence in the popular press and very highly paid lawyers.
I'd bare that in mind.

For sure, BAE are total dickholes.


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alarmingrick wrote:American Hero v. British Company who's the dick? British Co.
make the whistle blower look worse than the reported wrong doing.
and while i agree an a-hole could still win a medal, i think the odds are greater
that a good person would do the deeds that win them medals.

Except the virtues needed to be a battlefield hero are not the virtues needed to do a good job for a defence contractor. Heroism, physical ability and a level head in an extremely high stress situation are wonderful virtues, and almost certainly held in high amounts by every CMH winner. But they're of little value at all when your job is meet and greet politicians and senior businessman.

It isn't only possible that a person could be earn a CMH but be crappy in a civilian job, it'd have to be as common as the opposite.

Sebster....he's a marine sniper......worked in BAE High Tech sniper scopes..has a US security clearence to boot to.


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Marine snipers are trained quite well to operate their scopes.

dogma wrote:Why would he cite BAE if he thought the reference would even be suspect? Did he not have other options? I mean, he could have simply put "COH recipient" in "other qualifications" and probably gotten the job.

This reeks of either stupidity on the part of the soldier, or malfeasance on the part of BAE.

My guess is the latter. BAE is well known for their dickery. Hiring people to spy on anti-arms trade organizations, bribes and other corruption in South America, and similar corruption in the middle east.

For all we know, the guy could have been a bastion of honesty and integrity, but because of this he fit in with BAE about as well as the Russian space station fits into a two car garage.

For contrast: One of the "Black Hawk Down" heroes was a nonce. Might be a medal winner but he still has an unhealthy interest in children. Probably not going to get any mint jobs in promotion, I would have thought.

I don't doubt for a minute that many other people who have won medals have also done terrible, illegal or unpalatable things.

For contrast: One of the "Black Hawk Down" heroes was a nonce. Might be a medal winner but he still has an unhealthy interest in children. Probably not going to get any mint jobs in promotion, I would have thought.

WTF? Randy Shugart and Gry Gordon was killed in Action at Mogadishu....killed 3 Oct.....1993


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@Sebster (woul gotten back with you sooner but knucklehead above me was a bit far fetch

Regulations specify that recipients of the Medal of Honor are allowed to wear the uniform "at their pleasure" with standard restrictions on political, commercial, or extremist purposes; other former members of the armed forces may do so only at certain ceremonial occasions

Jihadin wrote:

For contrast: One of the "Black Hawk Down" heroes was a nonce. Might be a medal winner but he still has an unhealthy interest in children. Probably not going to get any mint jobs in promotion, I would have thought.

WTF? Randy Shugart and Gry Gordon was killed in Action at Mogadishu....killed 3 Oct.....1993

Probably talking about John Stebbin, Silver Star, who was convicted of child sodomy and rape. However I doubt he knows the difference between a SS and CMH in terms of status and prestige (and employability as a "face")

Thanks for the clarification Auston

No problem...mind like a steel trap.

AustonT wrote:No problem...mind like a steel trap.

Rusted shut?

Why does nationality have any bearing at all on this story?

Oh wait, now I remember - in American national mythological narratives, the British are the effete and nefarious villains, whilst the Americans play the part of of the gritty rebellious heroes.

I feel like we're being steered a little here. Be honest OP, you've already made your mind up, haven't you?

what....no tomahawk practice?

Albatross wrote:Why does nationality have any bearing at all on this story?

Be honest OP, you've already made your mind up, haven't you?

Nope. Still waiting for more details.
I'm sure my overarching goal was to encourage anti-British American propaganda to incite war betwixt the nations.
/rollseyes.

Albatross wrote:Why does nationality have any bearing at all on this story?

Oh wait, now I remember - in American national mythological narratives, the British are the effete and nefarious villains, whilst the Americans play the part of of the gritty rebellious heroes.

I feel like we're being steered a little here. Be honest OP, you've already made your mind up, haven't you?

While the title is a bit misleading, it does not change the issue of BAE being a company notorious for questionable practices.

Blackballing an outspoken and decorated war veteran for speaking out about the idiocy of supplying Pakistan's military with equipment which is far better than that being deployed to Coalition military units when that Pakistani equipment is quite likely being funneled over to the opposition forces seems something right up their alley. I'd imagine that if allegations like that could be proven, the British would be just as upset as some of the US veterans posting here in this thread.

How outspoken does an internal complaint get?