Private Military and Security Companies The modern Private Military and Security Company (PMSC) came to be after the end of the Cold War. An increase in government interest in privatization and outsourcing combined with an age of warfare where civilians and combatants were increasing difficult to differentiate created the perfect environment for PMSCs to expand (Singer). Although PMSCs play an integral role in providing basic services for the United States military, the extent of their role must be reevaluated because they have been criticized for unscrupulous financial practices and lack of accountability and transparency. To completely do away with PMSCs would be catastrophic to United States military personal because of the extensive logistical and support services they provide. US troops are stretched thin in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the reluctance of congress to send more troops forces thousands of PMSC contractors to fill the holes. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were a new landmark in the role of PMSCs in warfare, with 54% of the troops on the ground being private contractors hired by the Department of Defense and 46% being uniformed soldiers (Oliver). According to George Seagle, Director of Security for the Government and Infrastructure Division of Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), since 2003 KBR (a PMSC) has “served more than 490 million meals, transported more than 675 million gallons of fuel, delivered more than 220 million pounds of mail, and washed more than 30 million bundles of laundry.” Furthermore they often construct infrastructure such as housing and mess halls to feed troops. However, many times they are involved directly in conflict, designated as bodyguards, convoys, or trainers. Although some PMSCs have ... ... middle of paper ... ...events strain relations and could be avoided if PMSCs are regulated with more scrutiny or limited to non-combatant roles in warzones. PMSCs will no doubt continue to be an important part of our armed forces. They can provide much needed services for our troops, but if left unregulated their actions may have repercussions that endanger our troops. The extent and effectiveness of their role must be reevaluated and limits must be placed on their actions to prevent further political strains and financial waste. Works Cited Oliver, Paul. The Endemic Problem of Overreliance on Private Military Contracting. 11 April 2011. Shearer, David. "Outsourcing War." Foreign Policy (1998): 68-81. Singer, P. W. "Outsourcing War." Foreign Affairs (2005): 119-132. Article. Tavernise, Sabrina. Maliki Alleges 7 Cases When Blackwater Killed Iraqis. 20 September 2007. Magazine.
...at home. Based on the QDR Gen Casey writes the objectives memorandum to best support the defense of the United States and support the civil authorities at home.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief analysis of the United States Army’s organizational structure and its culture and how these two elements impact its workers, associates and affiliates. This paper will first examine the Army’s history, development and structure to highlight the origins of the Army’s culture. Secondly, a brief history of the Army’s organizational development will be followed by a close examination of its philosophy and supporting beliefs. Lastly, this paper will discuss the role of the Army’s leadership, their response to critical issues and the organizational structure of the Army. An analysis of the army’s top leaders will help the reader to understand the Army culture more thoroughly in the context of the Army’s organizational structure. More specifically this section of the paper will examine the Army leadership’s response to the current geo-political environment and other related issues. In conclusion, this paper hopes to highlight the Army’s overall functioning from an organizational standpoint and emphasize that idea that the Army is like a functional corporation. This will be accomplished by addressing various key questions throughout this text.
Lockheed Martin is an organization that heavily relies on its defense contracts in order to generate revenue. In 2005, 95% of Lockheed Martin’s revenue came from the US Department of Defense, other US Federal government agencies and foreign military customers (Defense News, 2007). Lockheed Martin earns this revenue by winning government contracts. As previously noted, Lockheed Martin has a large customer base with the US Department of Defense. The company is the largest provider of IT services, systems integration, and training to the government (Lockheed Martin, 2008). Other customers that provide revenue for Lockheed Martin are international governments and some commercial sales of products and services (Lockheed Martin, 2008).
...nues to train our best CBRN Soldiers to meet the challenges of tomorrow with confidence and professional expertise.
... threats is a complex process. The process requires highly trained personnel and high-order equipment to combine and produce this very important capability. The BIDS can now be better viewed as an asset that protects the maneuver units of the battlefield, and ultimately the people of the United States.
• A leaner support structure that will free up 1800 marines from logistics duties and make them available for other purposes
1. The positive outcomes of having a total force far outweigh the negative impacts. This paper will talk about the effectiveness and efficiency of the total force, the overuse of the reserve component and its effects on members of the force, and how civilian trained reserve personnel add diversity and a well-rounded force.
Should the government decrease military spending or should it increase military spending? This is a question that many Americans wrestle with, and politically speaking, is a point of great contention since to many, military might evokes a sense of security. However, when considering this question from a foreign policy standpoint, does current military spending really match the current level of threats faced by the United States, or are too many dollars being allocated for an unnecessary level of military strength? There are certainly cons in making the decision to drastically lower military spending, but they are minimal when compared to the positive ramifications such a decision would have. This paper aims to explore these pros and cons
Contracting private military companies and private security contractors are not without their issues. Management of these companies and contractors are a crucial issue for the government. One of the most significant challenges in d...
Armed with numerous studies, and intensive public hearings, Congress mandated far-reaching changes in DOD organization and responsibilities in the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. This landmark legislation significantly expanded the authority and responsibility of the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Included in this expanded authority and responsibility was the requirement for the chairman to develop a doctrine for the joint employment of armed forces. As operations Urgent Fury, Just Cause, and Desert Storm have vividly demonstrated, the realities of armed conflict in today's world make the integration of individual service capabilities a matter of success or failure, life or death. Furthermore, the operation Desert One demonstrated the need for a strengthened Joint Warfare Doctrine and the consequent change in Joint Warfare Employment. It is plain to see the benefits of having the greatest navy integrated with the world's greatest army and air force. However, even in the wake of a relatively successful joint operation in the Middle East (Desert Storm), certain weaknesses are evident in the current joint employment tactics and/or capabilities. By analyzing past operations such as Urgent Fury and Desert Storm, we are able to see sufficient evidence that the Joint Warfare Concept can be disastrous in one instance and virtually flawless in another.
In this paper we will be looking at first a brief history of mercenaries so we can see where Private Military Contractors originate from and what the world has done to try to end such use of these warriors for hire. Next we will look at these groups themselves, what sort of work they do. Finally we will look at why their work is so controversial.
Robert Greenwald’s documentary film, Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteer, highlights how the private military contractors (PMCs) make the profit out of the Iraq War, and visualizes how the motive of profit-oriented PMCs has a negative impact on U.S. image. The film shows interviews of former PMCs employees and their families, Iraqi civilians, U.S. military staff, and more. The question has raised that how the U.S. government solve such tragedy and at the same time to fulfill its needy of manpower in Iraq. Accountability is not the only significant opportunity cost of U.S. government deploying PMCs to Iraq, but also losing oligopoly leverage of traditional military in the labor market of the business of
The military budget of the US, approximately $700 billion, is roughly the same as the military budgets from every country in the world. If the US military budget were to be cut in half, it would still be the largest budget in the world, if it were cut in half again, ...
The mechanism of sequestration has and will reduce the country’s ability to efficiently manage the Army’s personnel requirements. As the Army reduces its personnel they should look at contractor levels and adjust them accordingly. The Army should reduce their reliance on contractor support personnel and increase the size of the Military to the appropriate personnel levels so that it can conduct and perform all of its missions. The increase in contractor numbers, though logical should not have occurred at the expense of the Military service member.
Private security is more focused on crime prevention, and matters that happen on private property. Private security generally has more relaxed entry requirements. Supreme court do not necessarily apply to private security. Private security is detrimental, because requirements for employment are minimal, and in many cases, training is nonexistent. There are few federal, state, or local laws that guide private police conduct. In my opinion, I believe the large private security presence in the United States is beneficial to law enforcement efforts in the United States, because they are nothing like the police but they carry equipments like the police. They get critical intelligence from the law enforcement. They out number the real police. Investigating