if you're a service acquisition executive, if you're a peo, your highest priority is responding to those. and also giving them a menu of ways that they can work within the system but work quickly. so i think we're getting the mrap lesson into the acquisition system at large. i'll say something about contingency contractors. i don't need to tell this audience that the -- that our way of waging war brings with every soldier to the battlefield approximately one contractor. it's interesting to look back on the numbers. in world war ii, there was one contractor for every service member. in vietnam, one for every five. in iraq, one for every 1.2 service members. in afghanistan, one for every.7. in other words, more contractors than soldiers. because of the heavy reliance we have now on building new fobs and construction required to do that, most of the transportation is done by contractors. so there are 107,000 contractors now in afghanistan. of whom about three-quarters are local nationals, which is not a matter insignificant of the economy for afghanistan. and i think it's fair to say that f

we went to the inner harbor and started people what d asking peo you think of this water. >> it's fine. >> it is really bad. it has high bacterial count that is off the gage of what is acceptable. so it is very, bad. it's a public health issue. >> reporter: the challenge is money through all of this. and of course, a little bit of the science, too. the entire new infrastructure would mean new sewer, what drains t would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and rear a big time public partnership with the private sector. there's already a little of that going on. this private partnership takes money from businesses and works on this thing. they take watershed that could be floating sometime this summer. we are talking about moving this up pretty quick and then they're saying in 10 years, swimming, a triatholon, maybe even a fish out of here so some big plans. >> why, joel? with the cost that you're saying it would be with all of the doubts from people who think i'm not still not going to get in the harbor, why is this so worthwhile for the city to take on. >> reporter: let's remember, in

doesn't need to be a peo services that reflected within the air force? i don't know. >> let me use that as a predicate and then to loopback to the discussion that we had a little earlier. that i understand you correctly, mr. assad, when i thought i heard you say that the first time you heard about problems with the contract was from us, the commission? >> no, dick on my staff had talked and agreed to it but when mike called, chairman thibault called me about it, i knew it was coming up for review. i just hadn't seen it in detail, but mike gave me more detail than i had known at that point. >> so -- >> there's a normal process. >> but just unclear, the chairman of the extra commission on wartime contracting new about this issue sooner than you personally did? >> that's correct. >> is that troubling to? >> no, because the fact of the matter is that, you know, we've got hundreds of reviews that i conduct on a quarterly basis. and this was just one of the reviews that had been scheduled that i would have gotten to it. >> but this has been established and sur

doesn't need to be a peos services that's reflected within air force?a predicate and to loop back to the discussion that we had a little harder. did i understand you correctly, mr. assad, i thought i heard you say that the first time you heard about problems with the central contract was with us, from the commission? >> no. on my staff had talked about about when mike mike called me, chairman thibault called me about it, i knew it was coming up for review. i just hadn't seen it in detail, mica getting more detail than i don't at that point. so there's a process. >> but just so i'm clear to the chairman of the extra commission on wartime contracting, knew about this issue sooner than you personally did. >> that's correct. >> is that troubling to? >> no because the fact of the matter is that, you know, we have got hundreds of use that i conduct on a quarterly basis, and this was just one of the reviews that had been scheduled that i would have gotten to it. >> but it's been established, and surely you wouldn't disagree, that the training of the afghan sec

i came to the court 15 years ago and i was surprised of the numberw1- of minorities and peo of color of hispanic background. who were law clerks. i would say in the last 15 years there has been change and i think it's not as difficult as people might think. and i think once you establish credibility in the areas that think, i don't have a chance. no, you do have a chance. i can't say that, but know people that tell other people and then gradually yeah, i do have a chance. and get in the pool. whatever the pool may be. like anything else when you hire you have to do through networks and contacts. that's at least part of it. and i have seen that change. so i don't think i have had a huge problem in this respect. not perfect. but not the kind of problem that i think you might be thinking of. >> well -- >> i think there are quite a few in my office of quite diverse background and i have told the chairman, i have even, mr. chairman, have a law clerk of ponce, and i don't finish that's part of puerto rico. but if you are, you are special. >> mr. chairman, i would ask to see the report of e

i came to the court 15 years ago and i was surprised of the numberw1- of minorities and peo of color of hispanic background. who were law clerks. i would say in the last 15 years there has been change and i think it's not as difficult as people might think. and i think once you establish credibility in the areas that think, i don't have a chance. no, you do have a chance. i can't say that, but know people that tell other people and then gradually yeah, i do have a chance. and get in the pool. whatever the pool may be. like anything else when you hire you have to do through networks and contacts. that's at least part of it. and i have seen that change. so i don't think i have had a huge problem in this respect. not perfect. but not the kind of problem that i think you might be thinking of. >> well -- >> i think there are quite a few in my office of quite diverse background and i have told the chairman, i have even, mr. chairman, have a law clerk of ponce, and i don't finish that's part of puerto rico. but if you are, you are special. >> mr. chairman, i would ask to see the report of e