Well duh! It all makes sense now. CNAS comes out with a report on contractors, fully supporting our use and the future use of contractors in our wars, and now DoS wants to form a ‘mini-army’?(well…. they’ve always had a mini-contractor army)
And the ‘monopoly of force’ argument gets another challenge by none other than…… the US Department of State? Max Weber is rolling in his grave as we speak. lol (I had to stick that one in there…)
I am also reminded of the scenes of Air America rescuing South Vietnamese and American civilians off of the roof top during the last days of the Vietnam War. That was a contractor air force that did that, and not a military one. The idea here is that contractors are the filler during the dangerous stages of a draw down or build up of a war. We can fill those gaps of operational need, and as fast as they come up. Private industry is flexible enough to do this, and account for the surprises or worse yet, poor planning of the war.
Even with natural disasters like the BP spill in the gulf, you must have a partnership between private and public forces in order to meet the operational requirements of the disaster. When the feds run out of a specific resource, or let’s say a disaster has done something completely unexpected, private industry can instantly address the problem. Or in some cases, the federal government can jump in and take over where private industry is faltering. The key to me is to find some kind of equilibrium within that war or disaster, where we reach the sweet spot of private and public partnership. –Matt
Edit: 6/14/2010- I would like to correct one of the things I mentioned in this post that one of my readers brought to my attention as partially wrong. During the draw down stage of the Vietnam war, this was largely a military effort. So I want to emphasize that the military did most of the heavy lifting, and Air America ‘assisted’ in that process. Or in other words, it was a team effort, with the military taking the lead. Here is a run down of Operation Frequent Wind, as just one example of that process.
Also, check this out. The author of this article changed the title of the thing. The content is the same. I will bet that he got some heat for putting together this original title below. The new one says “State Dept Wants Combat Gear For Security In Iraq”. Just a tad bit less flowery or sensationalistic than the original. lol
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This BAE Caiman is what the DoS is requesting for their security force. They want 50. They also want 24 Blackhawk Helicopters.
State wants to form a mini-army for Iraq security
By RICHARD LARDNER
June 14, 2010
WASHINGTON — The State Department is quietly forming a small army to protect diplomatic personnel in Iraq after U.S. military forces leave the country at the end of 2011, taking their firepower with them.
Department officials are asking the Pentagon to provide heavy military gear, including Black Hawk helicopters, and say they will also need substantial support from private contractors.
The shopping list demonstrates the department’s reluctance to count on Iraq’s army and police forces for security despite the billions of dollars the U.S. invested to equip and train them. And it shows that President Barack Obama is having a hard time keeping his pledge to reduce U.S. reliance on contractors, a practice that flourished under the Bush administration.
In an early April request to the Pentagon, Patrick Kennedy, the State Department’s under secretary for management, is seeking 24 Black Hawks, 50 bomb-resistant vehicles, heavy cargo trucks, fuel trailers, and high-tech surveillance systems. Kennedy asks that the equipment, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, be transferred at “no cost” from military stocks.
Contractors will be needed to maintain the gear and provide other support to diplomatic staff, according to the State Department, a potential financial boon for companies such as the Houston-based KBR Inc. that still have a sizable presence in Iraq.
“After the departure of U.S. forces, we will continue to have a critical need for logistical and life support of a magnitude and scale of complexity that is unprecedented in the history of the Department of State,” says Kennedy’s April 7 request to Ashton Carter, the Defense Department’s under secretary for acquisition and technology.
Without the equipment, there will be “increased casualties,” according to attachments to Kennedy’s memo detailing the department’s needs.
The military equipment would be controlled by the department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, according to the information Kennedy sent to the Pentagon. During the Bush administration, the bureau was heavily criticized by members of Congress for its management of Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms working in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The military has about 7,500 of the bomb-resistant vehicles — known as MRAPs — in Iraq. So shifting 50 to the State Department could be easily handled as the troops depart.
But handing over two dozen Black Hawks, which cost between $12 million and $18 million depending on the model, would be more problematic. The aircraft are in short supply and heavily used by military forces in Afghanistan, where the primitive roads heighten the need for transportation by air.
The Defense Department has not formally responded to Kennedy’s memo.
Spokesmen for both departments said the two agencies are discussing the request. “Both agencies recognize the importance of a smooth transition,” Brian Heath, the State Department spokesman said.
About 90,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, and that number is expected to fall to 50,000 by the end of August under Obama’s plan to remove all combat troops from the country. All American forces are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011.
Departing, too, will be key crucial missions they performed, such as recovering downed aircraft, convoy security, bomb detection and disposal, and the ability to counter rocket and mortar attacks.
By September 2011, the 22 U.S.-led reconstruction teams spread throughout Iraq will be replaced by five “Enduring Presence Posts,” according to the documents Kennedy sent to the Pentagon. The State Department will be responsible for all the costs of operating these stations, including security, until at least 2015.
State wants to use an existing Defense Department contract in Iraq to support these posts and the U.S. embassy in Baghdad with essential services, including meals, mail delivery and laundry.
If State can’t use that contract, known as “LOGCAP,” the department “will be forced to redirect its resources towards developing, implementing and overseeing a massive new life support infrastructure throughout Iraq,” the documents state.
The Black Hawk, manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, Conn., is designed to carry a crew of four and 11 fully equipped infantryman. The helicopters are armed with two machine guns.
The MRAPs — pronounced M-Rap — the State Department wants are called Caimans. The vehicles are nine-feet tall, weigh 19 tons and are made by BAE Systems in Sealy, Texas. Each Caiman costs more than $1 million. The vehicles have a special armor designed to deflect the most potent roadside bombs.
Story here.