Flawed execution: a case study on operational contract support

Abstract

Contracting for supplies and services within a contingency and deployed operational environment has become a vital necessity. Despite the last decade and a half of armed conflict, the military services as a whole have done a poor job of teaching their leaders how to effectively plan for and manage operational contract support, starting with requirements generation and continuing to post-award contract management. The objective of this research is to develop a case study for use in Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) schools that examines the far-reaching strategic, operational, and tactical effects of operational contract support (OCS). This case study will examine the use of OCS in a deployed environment, and the positive and negative impacts of OCS decisions on the tactical, operational, and larger strategic military mission. We also consider the long-term effects of the requirement and subsequent contract action--fiscally, politically, and locally. The case study is meant to spur discussion on how second-, third-, and fourth-order OCS effects impact the United States' military mission and general interests.