David Isenberg: Maybe This Is Why the PMSC Industry Is Supposedly Cost-Effective
The article recounts how private security firms won lucrative contracts to supply support staff and security guards to back up U.S. forces in Iraq. The firms recruited Ugandans and pushed them to the limit, on low pay and no benefits.
David Isenberg: DynCorp Does Due Diligence
Dyncorp's new Supply Chain organization, stood up last year, has introduced several tools that are updated regularly to evaluate subcontractors on an ongoing basis.
David Isenberg: Hotel Contingency Operation: Money Can Check in but It Can Never Leave
On April 17, the Contracting Oversight Subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing. The subject was the Comprehensive Contingency Contracting Reform Act of 2012.
David Isenberg: Different Ethical Strokes for Different PSC Folks
Most people assume that the PSC acronym stands for Private Security Contractor. It does but it also stands for Personal Services Contractor. You may be thinking, what is a personals services contractor and why should I care?
David Isenberg: Chapter Twelve
Considering that Chapter 12 is best known as a chapter of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the authors may have wished for another chapter number. On the other hand, considering the gap between some claims and evidence, perhaps it is appropriate.
David Isenberg: Data at Last, Data at Last: Thank God Almighty, Data at Last (Sort of)
One wonders why all the PMSC trade association crack analysts and interns have not been publicizing his work. After all it is not every day that one finds factual data supporting, at least partially, their claims. Oh well, perhaps they're on a long coffee break or out for a run.
David Isenberg: We’re Not Mercenaries. Oh, Dear
For many years those in the private security contracting industry have argued loudly that the people who carry guns in the field are not mercenaries. And they are exactly right, as I have noted many times in the past.
David Isenberg: Soldier or Contractor? It Doesn’t Matter; in the End Both Still Get Screwed
Despite all the attention paid to the use of private military and security contractors on battlefields it is true, as many in that industry say, that it is not that new; at least not as an organizational phenomenon.
David Isenberg: A COR! A COR! My Afghan Kingdom for a COR!
On March 29 the Government Accountability Office released a report on the state of military contracting oversight in Afghanistan.
David Isenberg: Some Things Are Just Unacceptable
This is not some merely some picayune issue for bureaucrats to fuss over. As Sen. Portman testified, "This is about something much more fundamental, and that's who we are as a people. It's about respecting and protecting human dignity."
David Isenberg: But That Is Another Story
Perhaps the private military and security industry is right; maybe using contractors IS more cost-effective than using regular military folks. But is that really the case?
David Isenberg: A Covert Mystery, Wrapped in Classification, Inside a Contractual Black Hole
When it comes to overseeing contractors, as the old saying goes, you ain't seen nothing yet. That's because we've barely begun to consider the use of private contractors in another critical national security realm: the intelligence community.
