Faculty Publications

Relations Between Uniformed And Contractor Personnel In Complex Operations

Document Type

Article

Keywords

military operations, privatization, security contractors

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Small Wars and Insurgencies

Volume

24

Issue

2

First Page

295

Last Page

305

Abstract

Contemporary operations require the US military to work with enormous numbers of private contractors. The official reasoning for this is that private contractors are more cost-effective than military personnel, as contractors can be hired and paid for specific jobs, while military personnel must be maintained year-round at a high cost. On the other hand, many service-members bring back stories of contractor failure or misconduct. Is it in fact more efficient to use contractors on a battlefield? How can multi-agency operations be made most effective? This article attempts to contribute to these questions by determining the conditions under which contractors will 'work' for the military. Theory indicates that they will do so if the likelihood of being caught and punished for shirking is high. I examine the relations between military personnel deployed in Iraq and the contractors accompanying them through a questionnaire and targeted interviews. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Department

Department of Political Science

Original Publication Date

5-1-2013

DOI of published version

10.1080/09592318.2013.778015

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