Department of Defense Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background and Analysis

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DOD) increasingly relies upon contractors to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has resulted in a DOD workforce that has 19% more contractor personnel (207,600) than uniformed personnel (175,000). Contractors make up 54% of DOD's workforce in Iraq and Afghanistan. The critical role contractors play in supporting such military operations and the billions of dollars spent by DOD on these services requires operational forces to effectively manage contractors during contingency operations. Lack of sufficient contract management can delay or even prevent troops from receiving needed support and can also result in wasteful spending. Some analysts believe that poor contract management has also played a role in abuses and crimes committed by certain contractors against local nationals, which may have undermined U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 02, 2010
Accession Number
ADA524085

Entities

People

  • Moshe Schwartz

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army Procurement
  • Business Administration
  • Civilian Personnel
  • Contractors
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Law
  • Management Personnel
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Private Military Companies
  • United States Central Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.