Well MungoP....
I am both and I wouldn't spit on Blackwater if their guts were on fire. They are mercenaries, not patriots.
As for Air Serv, there is not now, nor has there ever been a legitimate reason for paying their people like crap. They are better on the co-jo pay, slightly better on the engineer and 1st officer pay, but basically they are paying people the field the same as fifteen years ago. Bet it ain't the same for people in the States after fifteen years.
However, you just do whatever you feel is best for you MungoP. My complaint revolves around the fact that generally ASI people do not know what most people make in this work until they sign a contract and end up in the field. In this, they use people in the worst way.