Contractor Personnel Accountability on the Battlefield

Abstract : Who should be responsible for contractor personnel accountability on the battlefield? While commanders and Joint and Army doctrine manuals place the responsibility for contractor accountability on the human resources staff element, Department of Defense (DOD) and Army guidance and other regulations assigns the responsibility and authority to enforce contractor personnel accountability on the battlefield to the logistics community. Contractor accountability has been in the past, and will continue to be in the future, an enormous challenge to commanders at all levels. As of September 30, 2009, DOD reported there were over 242,000 DOD contract personnel in the CENTCOM theater of operations. Contract support to military forces is not a new concept and neither are contractor accountability issues. Contractor support to overseas contingency operations is a critical element to the success of the military commander's operation. The increased reliance on contractor support presents many accountability challenges to the military force. Therefore, contractor personnel accountability on the battlefield clearly lies with the human resources community.