Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry (review)

The end of the Cold War has seen great reductions in the total strength of the armed forces of nations across the globe. Since citizens the world over look to their governments for security, the last component of the military to be downsized is usually its combat forces. In the U.S., the first to go when reductions are imposed is the support structure, whose functions are within the purview of the Secretary of the Army, for example raising and maintaining the Army and research and development (among others). Anyone familiar with the U.S. Army is well aware of the diminution in strength and functioning of the Army school system. To protect the combat flags, publicly funded functional support is vitiated and private contractors called in to fill the void.

This is not unprecedented. In both the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War, private contractors were present in support functions, but were hardly visible. Even so, companies like Vinnell, Brown Root Knudson, and Pacific Architects & Engineers were known from the highest to the lowest grades and ranks. Further reductions of service logistical back-up by Congress during the Cold War heightened the demand for support services provided by private contractors. It was the 1990s, however, that saw the explosive growth of contractor support in combat, combat support, and particular combat service support in the U.S. armed services. Appendix One in this book lists the websites of sixty Privatized Military Firms (PMF) and the list is only illustrative.

The author's aim in writing this book "is not simply to create a compilation of facts about individual firms operating in the military field." He uses a multidisciplinary approach and draws parallels with like-structured industries and similar privatization experiences in order to create "an objective system of understanding of this industry and its place in world affairs" that has a historical dimension. To this reviewer, the author more than succeeded in achieving his objective. As the PMF have filled a niche, this study is absolutely essential to an understanding of how the military has changed in recent years, particularly in the U.S. and in its Army. It seems as if only yesterday that KP [kitchen police—i.e., preparing mess-hall meals] was contracted out along with Army flight instruction. Those changes, of course, occurred decades ago, but, in retrospect, were harbingers of the present and the future.

The author demonstrates how the blossoming of the military service industry has helped big defense contractors like TRW or Northrop Grumman to "maintain profitability in time of shrinking public contracts." Also, "through the billion dollar contracts its BRS subsidiary had in support of military operations, Halliburton was able to smooth out the overall downturn in the general oil-services industry in the mid-1990s." The PMF today are capable of providing a full gamut of services to the U.S. military. In direct support of the frontlines, one finds private military provider forces responsible for implementation and/or command. These providers are followed in echelon by private military consultant firms that provide advisory and training functions. They are in turn followed by private military support firms that provide non-lethal aid and assistance.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the book comes toward the end. Chapter 14 is entitled "Morality and the Privatized Firm." It features a profound discussion of the moral hazards of privatization coupled with the diffusion of responsibility and accountability that lurk in this field. The principal weakness of this discussion is that it fails to recognize or describe the many management controls in law and regulation that govern the activities of these organizations. This chapter is worth studying by both practitioners and critics.

This book is recommended reading for anyone involved in the business of national defense.