Report Of The Defense Science Board Task Force On Outsourcing And Privatization

Globalization-the integration of the political, economic and cultural activities of geographically and/or nationally separated peoples-is not a discernible event or challenge, is not new, but it is accelerating. More importantly, globalization is largely irresistible. Thus, globalization is not a policy option, but a fact to which policymakers must adapt. Globalization has accelerated as a result of many positive factors, the most notable of which include: the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War; the spread of capitalism and free trade; more rapid and global capital flows and more liberal financial markets; the liberalization of communications; international academic and scientific collaboration; and faster and more efficient forms of transportation. At the core of accelerated global integration-at once its principal cause and consequence-is the information revolution, which is knocking down once-formidable barriers of physical distance, blurring national boundaries and creating cross-border communities of all types.

This report provides three policy recommendations, based on the overarching theme of more closely integrating DoD with industry. The Sub-Panel believes that improved integration with industry is the critical element that will enable the acquisition system to perform better, faster, and cheaper in support of the warfighter. The recommended policy initiatives are that DoD should: 1. Restructure its Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT & E) organizations and associated workforce to enable the Department to make better use of the capabilities of industry and other government agencies, to concentrate in-house capabilities in areas where there is no external capability, and to eliminate duplicative capabilities. 2 Expand the use of price-based forms of contracting to reduce the cost of doing business with Department of Defense (DoD) for existing Defense contractors and to give DoD access the segments of industry that currently choose not to do business with the Department because of the costs and complexities associated with cost-based contracts. 3. Expand the oursourcing of sustainment activities to eliminate duplicative capabilities between DoD and industry, to enable the Department to capitalize on industry's advancements in applying technology to these functions, and to provide better support to the user.

At peak utilization, private security contractors (PSCs) constituted a larger occupying force in Iraq and Afghanistan than did U.S. troops. Yet, no book has so far assessed the impact of private security companies on military effectiveness. Filling that gap, Molly Dunigan reveals how the increasing tendency to outsource missions to PSCs has significant ramifications for both tactical and long-term strategic military effectiveness—and for the likelihood that the democracies that deploy PSCs will be victorious in warfare, both over the short- and long-term. She highlights some of the ongoing problems with deploying large numbers of private security contractors alongside the military, specifically identifying the deployment scenarios involving PSCs that are most likely to have either positive or negative implications for military effectiveness. She then provides detailed recommendations to alleviate these problems. Given the likelihood that the U.S. will continue to use PSCs in future contingencies, this book has real implications for the future of U.S. military and foreign policy.