Contractors Supporting Military Operations
Abstract
Contractors supporting combat operations have become essential to the way the United States fights wars and conducts operational deployments. The trend toward increasing reliance on contractors for logistical support and to supply expertise not otherwise available to the military is not new. It is surprising to conclude, as this research does, that the issue of who is in charge of contractors in the zone of combat operations is still an open question. While there have been important policy developments in recent years, some fundamental questions concerning contractors supporting combat operations remain to be answered. During policy formulation in the past year the military maxim of "unity of command" met the procurement imperative of the contracting officer's authority and the military came up short. This research reviews recent policy developments and then applies the perspective of history to the subject through a series of case studies of earlier conflicts, primarily World War II. The issues reviewed in this paper relate to the extent contractors can and should be made an integral part of the "mission team" in combat and contingency operations. If contractors have become integral to the success of combat and contingency operations, shouldn't they be responsive and responsible to the commander formally charged with mission success? Expressed another way, can and should the concept of "unity of command" be applied to contractors in a combat theater? Assuming that contractors should be integrated into joint task force operations in a way that creates the essence of unity of command, how can that be accomplished? The author concludes that the incremental policy developments of recent years have been inadequate. He sets forth recommendations for "radical" changes in the military's approach to dealing with contract support, including temporarily "militarizing" some contractors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA494602
Entities
People
- Richard L. Dunn
Organizations
- University of Maryland