Retired military brass earn a second income - from the Pentagon

Retired generals, long able to find work with defense contractors, are also double-dipping with the Pentagon, according to a study published Wednesday by USA Today.

The newspaper found that at least 158 retired generals and admirals have been hired as military advisers.

They’re called “senior mentors” and some make as much as $340 an hour. Eighty percent also have ties to defense contractors, USA Today reports.

As independent contractors, the mentors operate outside military ethics policies. Several told the newspaper that the mentoring system polices itself.

“If it ever came across that you were pitching a product, I don’t think you’d ever be invited back,” said retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, who has advised the Joint Forces.

Zinni is chairman of BAE Systems and a former executive vice president for Dyncorp International.

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