Waging War with Civilians: Asking the Unanswered Questions
Abstract
As Lt. Colonel Lourdes Castillo points out, contractors are no longer restricted to acquisition and logistics but are found nearly everywhere -- and their presence on the battlefield is a reality. This article, originally submitted to our Spanish edition, opens up many important questions about doctrine, the chain of command, and legal issues. For other insightful articles on this topic and, in particular, Colonel Steven J. Zamparelli's "Contractors on the Battlefield: What Have We Signed Up For"? see Issues and Strategy 2000, a special issue of Air Force Journal of Logistics. Using contractors in war is a crucial subject on which our services absolutely must focus more attention. One can group the many risks associated with replacing soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines with contractors into three main categories of questions: (1) How will using contractors affect mission accomplishment? Will it deter an opposing force, or will it create an easily identifiable Achilles' heel?; (2) Will using contractors extend the amount of time needed to complete the mission? Will American forces have to deploy at the slower pace of their contract support? Will the mission and the commander drive the tempo of decisions in battle, or will previously agreed upon contract limitations -- which may not fit the current combat situation -- act as the driving force?; and (3) Will using contractors place our service personnel at greater risk of losing their lives in combat? Are we ultimately trading their blood to save a relatively insignificant amount in the national budget? We must completely and successfully answer these questions because if this grand experiment undertaken by our national leadership fails during wartime, the results will be unthinkable.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA518762
Entities
People
- Lourdes A. Castillo
Organizations
- Air University