Joint Contingency Contracting: Improving Through Ethics

摘要

Over $700 billion has been allocated towards the global war on terror since 2001, of which almost $20 billion has been awarded in the 2006- 2008 time frame by contingency contracting officers (CCOs) in the field supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This level of magnitude and effort for operational contract support requires that Geographic Combatant Commanders, Joint Task Force Commanders, and the planners that advise them carefully consider that the ethical decisions being made by the CCOs in the field have a tremendous impact on the overall success of the operational missions. Dollar figures as large as those listed above and the austere locations where these dollars change hands dramatically increases the possibility that CCOs will face situations which place them into ethical dilemmas. In order to avoid fraud, bribery, contractor kickbacks, or even any perception of activity that may not be in line with the proper use of U.S. Government funds, it is imperative that commanders and their staffs think about the employment of CCOs early in the planning process to ensure that they are providing the most professional, properly trained, and ethically sound contract support options for the theater of operations.