KNOWLEDGE BUILDING
essential in the contingency environment because of sudden schedule changes and external factors that influence how work must be done.
Camp Arifjan, OCONUS,
contractor-operated.
like many U.S. bases is government-owned and Contractors
form virtually all functions that make it possible to live on base,
from food
preparation to force protection services. Although contractors do not take the oath of office like government employ- ees do, it is important to understand that they also care about accomplishing the mission, and not just the money. The Armed Forces are responsible for fight- ing our Nation’s wars, but we need to remember that it takes contractors to win wars as well.
Contractors who transport supplies in KEEPING THINGS WORKING
Contractors are vital in contingency environments to keep bases and outposts working safely, efficiently, and effectively. Here, contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District – South line a drainage culvert on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan as part of a construction project, June 30, 2011. (Photo by Karla Marshall.)
was a contractual requirement. Until the acquisition community realizes the importance of CORs and acts accord- ingly, the government will be unable to accurately monitor contractor perfor- mance and evaluate contractors fairly.
TEAMING WITH CONTRACTORS It
is very important to have a strong
relationship involving the customer, con- tracting office, and contractor, regardless of where work is being performed. Collaboration becomes even more
130
hostile territories are in constant danger. They share the sacrifice. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 2,871 contractors have been killed and more than 74,000 have been injured overseas since Sept. 11, 2001. Contract- ing office personnel and customers must respect this sacrifice and treat contractors with fairness.
A NECESSARY SEPARATION Some
line of government
separation between the and contractor must
MISSION FIRST Possibly the most important lesson I learned from my trip was that although the contract can fail, the mission cannot. When this was mentioned, it was a spe- cific reference to the movement of large numbers of armored vehicles off the base in a very small window of time. If there were a need for these vehicles in a neigh- boring country, they had to get there whether or not contractors were moving other things.
still
exist, however. One commander found this difficult because he worked on a team with a contracted employee every day but was unable to reward the employee with a coin, as he could with his government teammates.
While this is an example of government- contractor
separation influencing the
growth of a team environment, there are other missions in which separation between the government and contractor is necessary.
Consider this example, too: In the contin- gency environment, an expired contract may result in the loss of force protection services. Since it is impossible to win a war without force protection, the Armed Forces must fulfill the requirement with their own staff, mainly Soldiers.
The primary issue here is that resources cannot be shifted at will, because there will always be a lack of manpower somewhere else. Second, it is not a Sol- dier’s responsibility to know everything
per-
One example I encountered was a con- tract that involved the harvesting and distribution of medical equipment and supplies. Since medication was invento- ried and distributed, the government had to know who was accountable for the medication for liability reasons. If a con- tractor and a government employee were each inventorying the same box of medi- cine and some appeared to be stolen, it would not be possible to determine who was responsible. As a result, medical theft could become a serious issue.
Regardless of the assignment of account- ability, it was still evident to me that a weak relationship among the requiring activity, contracting office, and contrac- tor jeopardizes contract success. Failure to correct preventable issues may lead to contract failure.
like these
Army AL&T Magazine
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