Another aspect of this story that is pretty outrageous is the fact that the private contractors don't always do an adequate job, even despite the fact that private contractors cost a lot more for the tax payers than the military does to do the same job. I understand that several (around a dozen so far, from what I've heard) of our military people have been killed by bad wiring when they have tried to take a shower. I've heard that there have been other problems with work done by civilian contractors as well.

But what can one expect from no-bid crony contracts?