That is what you seemed to be saying.

See, they get great (almost unbelievable) pay, but their benefits suck. Their benefits depend on what their contractor wants to give them, and that ain't much, usually.

IF they are lucky enough to survive without injury, they can make a nice payday. If they are injured, their long-term care is down to how good their private insurance is. They get no support from the military. They're pretty much hung out to dry.

Most "mercenaries" (the Blackwater Contract Security Personnel types) are older--they want a massive payday and they all think they can play the odds and come out a winner. And most do. It's the ones that don't that make it all rather sad. And they are usually military retirees--they have great knowledge and skills, but they don't want to go back in the service. They want that BIG payday.

In any event, I like an AVF. You have a motivated, quality force--not smartass trouble makers who are joining the military as a diversionary program to avoid jail, or people who would rather be somewhere else.