What’s next for overseas contractors?
During the past week there were a number of reports and news articles, which, when taken together, offer some interesting questions about what is coming next for overseas contractors.
The Voice of America, for example, reported:
The top U.S. military officer says the United States may double the number of troops it has in Afghanistan next year. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, says as many as 30,000 more troops could arrive by mid-2009.
And of course, where the troops are, so are the contractors. In fact, it’s now official military doctrine. The cover story of Serviam magazine this month concerned stability operations:
Good news for private companies, nonprofit charities, and others involved in global stability operations: Your opportunities to do more have just multiplied. As it moves from not only winning wars to winning the peace, the U.S. Army has officially embraced partnerships with private companies, nonprofit charities, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as part of its evolving military doctrine. This far-reaching development has been in the works for years but became official on Oct. 8. The release of Field Manual 3-07, Stability Operations, is the biggest doctrinal breakthrough since the publication of Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency, two years ago.
If you’re trying to get a better sense of what’s coming next, take a look at some of the articles on Danger Zone Jobs, under the category: Future Growth.
But for me, one of the more interesting articles this week was about what would be involved logistically when the time comes to leave Iraq. It won’t happen overnight. DCVelocity ran a piece called Outbound: A Realistic Timeline for Withdrawal. I highly recommend you read it.
A timetable for withdrawal from Iraq cannot be dictated by political desires; it must be driven in large part (if not primarily) by logistics…All in all, the military folks believe they can safely move out 3,000 truckloads per month. That means that once the withdrawal order is given, we are looking at three years, minimum, for a safe and orderly exit.
What do you see happening in the near future?
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