DynCorp Hires Former Army Chief of Staff

This should be good for future defense contracts. Leading security-industry contractor DynCorp has hired the Army’s former chief of staff, retired General Peter Schoomaker, to sit on the company’s board of directors. From a DynCorp statement on Thursday:

“We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Gen. Schoomaker’s experience and caliber joining our board at this time,” said DynCorp International chairman Robert B. McKeon. “Pete’s leadership skills and in-depth knowledge of our nation’s security challenges will be a tremendous contributor to the continued growth of DynCorp International.”

Schoomaker retired from the Army in 2000, but Donald Rumsfeld brought him back to active duty to replace Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki, who famously clashed with Rumsfeld over the Crusader artillery system and the Iraq war. Never before has a retired general or admiral ever chaired a service. He stepped down in April, handing the reins of the Army to former Iraq commander General George Casey.

One Schoomaker angle that would be too obvious to exploit: his brother is commander of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.