Via Business Insider:
At its peak, the U.S. Commission on Wartime Contracting, a bipartisan legislative commission established to study wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, estimated there might have been as many as 260,000 contractors in the two countries.
…
New Pentagon priorities, many believe, will provide fewer openings for traditional private military contractors. Washington's strategic "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific region will involve mainly warships or uniformed Marines, with little need for extra hired muscle.
Companies that take a broader approach and also provide logistic, intelligence and other functions, however, could have a much better decade.
International Private Security Firms Are Growing Up And Planning For The Future - Business Insider
Points:
- “The free-for-all atmosphere that pervaded the industry, particularly in the early years of the war in Iraq, insiders say, appears gone for good.”
- “The most vulnerable firms, many in industry say, may be those who have relied on ongoing U.S. military work that is now drying up as the Pentagon "Operational Contingency Allowance" - the additional funding earmarked for the wars - tapers off.”
- “Private contractors are increasingly central to operations such as the African Union's AMISOM peacekeeping mission in Somalia, performing roles such as bomb disposal, logistics and technical support.”
Ponder:
- To what extent will these firms become more ubiquitous in military environments in the future?
- Are the functions performed by these organizations truly the kind that don’t require uniformed military people?
Practice:
- When writing about military topics, especially fiction, you may need to include these organizations at least as part of the setting or background.
- Research may be a challenge because these firms don’t have the same public disclosure requirements public agencies do.
