Supporting the U.S. Military Is Not Just Politics

Over the past decade at least, the US has shifted many support activities that the military used to perform directly to private enterprises so that the military can focus on its primary task of producing warriors. Trying to measure what a fair price is for services and materials is difficult. Someti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inENR Vol. 252; no. 6; p. 48
Main Author Staff PHOTO BY TOM SAWYER FOR ENR
Format Trade Publication Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York BNP Media 09.02.2004
Subjects
Armed forces
Government contracts
Politics
Private sector
War
United States > US
Iraq
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Summary:Over the past decade at least, the US has shifted many support activities that the military used to perform directly to private enterprises so that the military can focus on its primary task of producing warriors. Trying to measure what a fair price is for services and materials is difficult. Sometimes, simple commodities can become priceless when delivered at the right place, the right time and in the right quantities. The real debate should be whether there are better ways to contract for such services, what kinds of audits and profit are acceptable and whether the military should do the work directly as it did in the past.
ISSN:0891-9526