An excellent article that collects all the interesting data of many of the big reports on contracting, and tries to refine the problems into some key points to focus on. I also have his book in the Jundi Gear store. The key suggestions he makes are these:
* An experienced and capable contracting officer at all deployed locations.
* Contracting officers armed with all the support tools and authorities they need to do their job.
* A government workforce with sufficient authority to do a job well and that will be held accountable for its areas of responsibility. Contracting officers will work closely with all military forces and other interagency representatives in their areas of responsibility. They will supervise contracts under a contingency contracting process capable of matching the needs of the force with contractors qualified and equipped to do the job.
* The contracting officer and the contractors themselves will be overseen by an integrated, qualified team of auditors and inspectors who provide real oversight and accountability, but who do not interfere with the ability of the contractors to do their jobs. All their work will be part of a system that provides visibility and transparency so that everyone who needs to understand the process and why will have access to the relevant information.
The main theme is quality control on the part of the government, and that is a major theme that I hit upon here on FJ. The last point of this grouping hinted at an important concept as well. Quality control does not mean micromanaging or interfering with contractor operations. It means just observing, and ensuring that the contracts are being carried out properly. And if a contracting company violates the terms of that contract, then it is absolutely vital that those companies are dealt with properly and fairly by the client. Deal with it now, not later. That takes sound leadership with the appropriate authority, sufficient manpower, and support and guidance from upper level leadership. –Matt
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Contracting in Combat: Advice for the Commission on Wartime Contracting
by James Jay Carafano, Ph.D.
January 13, 2009
In the wake of controversy over private military contracting, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 established the Commission on Wartime Contracting to investigate the issue. The commission is expected to issue an interim report in 2009 and a final report in 2010. The commission should promote recommendations to improve the government’s capacity to make and oversee contracts in an “expeditionary” wartime environment, advocate a more robust and capable contracting force, and propose better doctrine and management processes for deciding when hiring contractors to support military operations is most useful.
A New Kind of War
Contractors have become ubiquitous on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan. Contract employees washed dishes, drove trucks, built facilities, and even guarded Jerry Bremer, the appointed head of the Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority who led the first year of the occupation. By 2007, there were more than 100,000 civilians working under U.S. government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan–and about 160,000 U.S. combat troops. According to some estimates, contractors account for roughly 40 percent of the costs of running operations.[1]
