During the Iraq war, private defense contractors providing security and support outnumbered troops on the ground at points. Contractors can enhance US military capacity but also entail risks. US experience with private security contractors holds several key lessons.
A year after Prince proposed private troops for Nigeria, the West African nation is now using mercenaries. Prince’s old firm, Blackwater, used to contract with the U.S. to protect convoys and officials, and train foreign armies — but caused controversy when its employees killed Iraqi civilians. Nigeria’s government is deploying South African mercenaries in its […]
The U.S. government is preparing to boost the number of private contractors in Iraq as part of President Barack Obama's growing effort to beat back Islamic State militants threatening the Baghdad government, a senior U.S. official said. How many contractors will deploy to Iraq - beyond the roughly 1,800 now working there for the U.S. […]
CONTRACTOR SUPPORT OF U.S. OPERATIONS IN THE USCENTCOM AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY BACKGROUND: This report updates DoD contractor personnel numbers in theater and outlines DoD efforts to improve management of contractors accompanying U.S. forces. It covers DoD contractor personnel deployed in Afghanistan (Operation Freedom’s Sentinel), Iraq (Operation Inherent Resolve), and the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of […]
By Presidential decree, US and NATO contractors now have until September 1, 2015 to obtain a valid business license to continue operating in Afghanistan and to obtain visas for their employees (who were previously visa-exempt). The extension of the transition period to September 1, 2015 is due to the volume of applications for licenses and […]