Jonasova, Jana (2017) Outsourcing Sustainability in US Expeditionary
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Outsourcing Sustainability in US Expeditionary Operations: The Contribution of Private Military and Security Industry in Phase IV Operations in Iraq 2003-2011 Jana Jonasova Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2016 ii Abstract This thesis examines the contribution of the Private Military and Security Industry (PMSI), as an element of the United States (US) total force, to the US military capability in pursuing Phase IV Operations in Iraq from 2003 until 2011. In order to do so, the study proposes a typology of five types of contribution categories which define the link between the ends demanded by the US government (strategic goals) and the use of the PMSI as a tool to help achieve them. By incorporating a model from the operations management field, the Hayes and Wheelwright's Four-Stage model, this thesis identifies the categories of Assistant, Implementer, Crucial Supporter, Driver, and Spoiler as distinct forms of engagement, constituting a framework for the assessment of the nature of the relationship between the contractors’ activities and the strategic goals they sought to help achieve. Applied to the case studies of armed private security services and base support services, this framework reveals that contractors became the Crucial Supporter of the US military efforts in Phase IV Operations in Iraq. In the aftermath of the ill-planned regime-change, followed by unforeseen operational circumstances on the ground, and constrained by the US domestic policy reservations towards prolonged nation-building efforts, the US government found both armed security contractors and base support contractors to be a critical asset of the US military strategy on the ground. Through their constructive contribution towards the size of the deployable force, the available timeframe, the objectives and the strategic goal of these operations, they became a key partner of the US military iii efforts in Iraq. Utilising a descriptive and exploratory approach, and relying on a range of sources, including official documents, semi- structured interviews and publicly available video testimonies of US veterans from Iraq, this thesis highlights the PMSI’s strategic value in a complex expeditionary operation while providing a detailed insight in the complexity of modern warfare. iv Table of Content Abstract ................................................................................................................................ iii Illustrations........................................................................................................................ vii Abbreviations..................................................................................................................... ix Chapter I. Introduction................................................................................................... 1 Chapter II. Research Context...................................................................................... 35 Chapter III. Literature Review.................................................................................... 72 Chapter IV. Conceptual Framework........................................................................ 113 Chapter V. The Institutional Factors Shaping the PMSI Contribution to Phase IV Operations in Iraq ......................................................................... 149 Chapter VI. Base Support Contractors and Their Contribution to Phase IV Operations in Iraq ......................................................................... 182 Chapter VII. Armed Security Contractors and Their Contribution to Phase IV Operations in Iraq .................................................................... 215 Chapter VIII. Conclusion .............................................................................................. 253 Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 269 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 277 v vi Illustrations Figures 1 Correlations of the Individual Elements 36 2 Evolution of Contracted Support in US Military 42 Operations 3 Notional Operation Plan Phases versus Level of Military 55 Effort 4 Essential Stability Tasks 56 5 Documented Civilian Deaths from Violence Perpetrated 62 by Anti-Government/Anti-Coalition Forces (All Iraq, Any Weapons) 6 The Hayes and Wheelwright Four Stage Model 118 7 The Hayes and Wheelwright Four Stage Model (Main 119 Functions) 8 Increasing Operational Capabilities across Four Stages 120 9 Increasing Operational Capabilities and Corresponding 121 Contributions 10 Range of Contributions across Stages (1) 122 11 Range of Contributions across Stages (2) 124 12 Number of Contractor Personnel in Iraq versus Troops 168 Levels 13 Trend Analysis of DoD Contractor Personnel Working 169 in Iraq (by Service Type), 2008-2011 14 Public Attitudes Toward the War in Iraq: 2003-2008 174 15 Number of DoD Contractor Personnel in Iraq (by 178 Nationality), 2008-2011 16 Number of DoD Contractor Personnel Working in Iraq 187 (by Service Type), March 2011 17 Trend Analysis of DoD Contractor Personnel Working 192 in Iraq (by Service Type), 2008-2011 vii 18 Trend Analysis of Total DoD Contractor Personnel 193 versus DoD PLS Contractor Personnel and Total US Troops 19 Number of DoD Contractor Personnel Working in Iraq 221 (by Function), 2008 20 Number of DoS Contractor Personnel Working in Iraq 221 (by Function), 2007 Tables 1 Contribution Level 11 2 Significance of the Provided Service 12 3 Prevailing Value of the Provider's Contribution 13 4 Key Concepts and Their Application in This Thesis 37 5 Two Levels of Contribution 127 6 Significance of the Provided Service and Corresponding 130 Contribution 7 Characteristics of the Provided Service 141 8 Contribution Framework Summary 142 9 Top Ten Services Acquired Through Contingency 185 Contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan viii Abbreviations APSCs Armed Private Security Companies/Contractors BAPSC British Association of Private Security Companies BSCs Base Support Companies/Contractors CBO Congressional Budget Office CENTCOM Armed Private Security Contractor COIN Counterinsurgency CPA Coalition Provisional Authority CRS Congressional Research Service CWC Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan DoD Department of Defense DoL Department of Labor DoS Department of State EO Executive Outcomes EU European Union FM Field Manual FOB Forward Operating Base GAO US Government Accountability Office GWOT Global War on Terror IED Improvised Explosive Device ISF Iraq Security Forces IPOA International Peace Operations Association ISOA International Stability Operations Association IVAW Iraq Veterans Against the War IW Irregular Warfare JP Joint Publication KBR Kellogg Brown & Root LOGCAP Logistics Civil Augmentation Program LIC Low Intensity Conflict MEJA Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act MCFs Military Consultant Firms MPFs Military Provider Firms MSFs Military Support Firms MSPs Military Service Providers MOOTW Military Operations Other Than War MOSW Military Operations Short of War MPRI Military Professional Resources Incorporated MRE Meals Ready to Eat NGO Nongovernmental Organisation ix OIF Operation Iraqi Freedom OOTW Operations Other Than War PLS Private Logistics Sector PMCs Private Military Companies/Contractors PMSCs Private Military and Security Companies/Contractors PMFs Private Military Firms PMSI Private Military and Security Industry PRS Protective Services PSCs Private Security Companies/Contractors PSMCs Private Security and Military Companies/Contractors PSS Personal Security Specialist PTSD Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder RMA Revolution in Military Affairs ROE Rules of Engagement RSSS Reconstruction Security Support Services SI Sandline International SIGIR Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction SOC-SMG Special Operations Consulting-Security Management Group SOFA Status of Forces Agreement SRA Social Research Association TCNs Third Country Nationals TWISS Theater Wide Internal Security Services UCMJ The Uniform Code of Military Justice UK United Kingdom UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola US United States USAID United States Agency for International Development WP Weinberger -Powell WPPS Worldwide Personal Protective Services WWI World War I WWII World War II x I. Introduction The international system has undergone significant changes since the end of the Cold War. One of the areas where these changes have become most obvious is international security. While previously national security had been understood as the sole responsibility of state militaries, in the turbulent twilight years of the Cold War, many western capitalist governments increasingly approached privatisation, defined as transfer of control of activities from a public agency to the private sector, with a new confidence, laying the foundations for a major global economic phenomenon of the 1990s (Guislain, 1997: 1-6, 10-12). Although governments continue to rely on their military to protect borders and pursue vital interests, together with privatisation of range of services including healthcare, education, telecommunication, transport, banking, postal services, and energy, privatisation of military and security services (military outsourcing1) has become one example of a much broader trend of global privatisation that was introduced within the new international