Private Security Contractors Operating in Contingency Operations, Combat Operations or Other Significant Military Operations (US Department of Defense Regulation) (DOD) (2018 Edition) The Law Library presents the complete text of the Private Security Contractors Operating in Contingency Operations, Combat Operations or Other Significant Military Operations (US Department of Defense Regulation) (DOD) (2018 Edition). Updated as of May 29, 2018 This Rule establishes policy, assigns responsibilities and provides procedures for the regulation of the selection, accountability, training, equipping, and conduct of personnel performing private security functions under a covered contract during contingency operations, combat operations or other significant military operations. It also assigns responsibilities and establishes procedures for incident reporting, use of and accountability for equipment, rules for the use of force, and a process for administrative action or the removal, as appropriate, of PSCs and PSC personnel. For the Department of Defense, this Rule supplements DoD Instruction 3020.41, "Contractor Personnel Authorized to Accompany the U.S. Armed Forces," which provides guidance for all DoD contractors operating in contingency operations. This book contains: - The complete text of the Private Security Contractors Operating in Contingency Operations, Combat Operations or Other Significant Military Operations (US Department of Defense Regulation) (DOD) (2018 Edition) - A table of contents with the page number of each section

Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Background: Services Provided by Private Security Contractors (PSC); Number and Profile of PSCs Working in Iraq and Afghanistan; Congressional Focus on PSCs; (3) Private Security Co. Working for the U.S. Gov¿t.: Why the U.S. Gov¿t. Uses PSCs; DoD PSCs; Iraq; Afghanistan; Can the Use of PSCs Undermine U.S. Efforts?; DoD Mgmt. and Oversight of PSCs; (4) Options for Congress: Define the Role that Private Security Contractors Can Play in Support of Mil. Operations in Unsecure Environments; Prohibit armed security contractors from being deployed in combat zones; Restrict armed security contractors to performing static security; Restrict armed security contractors to static security, with an exception for local nationals.

The reality of war, in the 21st century is the presence of the other force, Private Security Contractors (PSCs). Contractors are not only used for their skills in logistics, maintenance, intelligence and interpreters, but they are now a key component of Department of Defense's (DOD's) security operations in Iraq. Commanders now rely on Private Security Contractors (PSCs) to provide additional forces needed to secure forward operating bases, logistical convoys and also to perform protective service operations. The use of PSCs by the Department of Defense in all aspects of military operations has become vital to mission success not only in Iraq, but Afghanistan and around the world. Their extensive use has become the logical solution in bridging the gap of required forces needed to execute and win our nation's wars. This paper will address key issues of Private Security Contractor operations particularly addressing their utilization, PSC legal status and issues, PSC contingency employment risk and recommendations for improving PSC oversight.

The use of private security contractors (PSCs) to protect personnel and property in Iraq and Afghanistan has been a subject of debate. While PSCs are viewed as being vital to U.S. efforts in the region, many are concerned about transparency, accountability, and legal issues raised by the use of armed civilians to perform security tasks formerly performed by the mil. Contents of this report: Legal Status and Authorities: (a) Internat. Law: Can Contractors be Combatants?; Are They Mercenaries?; (b) Iraqi Law, and Afghan Law, and Status of U.S. Forces; (c) U.S. Law; ¿Inherently Gov¿t. Functions¿ and Other Restrictions on Gov¿t. Contracts; Prosecution of Contractor Personnel in U.S. Fed. or Mil. Courts; Uniform Code of Mil. Justice.

The events of 16 September 2007, the Blackwater shooting in Nisoor Square, brought Private Security Contractors (PSC) and their use under an intense focus. The problems highlighted for the Joint Force Commander (JFC) were his lack of necessary tools to exercise oversight and control of operational contractors and an inability to hold them accountable. Steps have been taken since the incident to improve the JFC's arsenal within this area. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the tools the JFC can utilize to ensure control is maintained of civilians accompanying military forces during a declared war or contingency operation. Additionally, it will examine the benefits of aligning PSC usage in the joint operating area (JOA) under the Department of Defense (DoD) to both establish a solid legal jurisdiction and remove the friction from operations under multiple departments.

The current operating environment has seen an unprecedented number of private security contractors such as Black Water and Dynacorp engaging in combat with enemy forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the many issues raised is whether such contractors are protected under the Geneva Conventions. The answer to this question is crucial for commanders as the United States prosecutes current and future combat operations along side of civilian security contractors. Private security contractors conducting combat operations on behalf of the United States are civilians and should be afforded all of the protections granted to lawful combatants. They satisfy the definition of a combatant protected by Article 44 of the Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocol of 8 June 1997, and they are defacto members of the United States armed forces.

Operational Contract Support (US Department of Defense Regulation) (DOD) (2018 Edition) The Law Library presents the complete text of the Operational Contract Support (US Department of Defense Regulation) (DOD) (2018 Edition). Updated as of May 29, 2018 This part establishes policy, assigns responsibilities, and provides procedures for operational contract support (OCS), including OCS program management, contract support integration, and integration of defense contractor personnel into contingency operations outside the United States. This book contains: - The complete text of the Operational Contract Support (US Department of Defense Regulation) (DOD) (2018 Edition) - A table of contents with the page number of each section

This book addresses the ambiguities of the growing use of private security contractors and provides guidance as to how our expectations about regulating this expanding ‘service’ industry will have to be adjusted. In the warzones of Iraq and Afghanistan many of those who carry weapons are not legally combatants, nor are they protected civilians. They are contracted by governments, businesses, and NGOs to provide armed security. Often mistaken as members of armed forces, they are instead part of a new protean proxy force that works alongside the military in a multitude of shifting roles, and overseen by a matrix of contracts and regulations. This book analyzes the growing industry of these private military and security companies (PMSCs) used in warzones and other high risk areas. PMSCs are the result of a unique combination of circumstances, including a change in the idea of soldiering, insurance industry analyses that require security contractors, and a need for governments to distance themselves from potentially criminal conduct. The book argues that PMSCs are a unique type of organization, combining attributes from worlds of the military, business, and humanitarian organizations. This makes them particularly resistant to oversight. The legal status of these companies and those they employ is also hard to ascertain, which weakens the multiple regulatory tools available. PMSCs also fall between the cracks in ethical debates about their use, seeming to be both justifiable and objectionable. This transformation in military operations is a seemingly irreversible product of more general changes in the relationship between the individual citizen and the state. This book will be of much interest to students of private security companies, war and conflict studies, security studies and IR in general. Kateri Carmola is the Christian A. Johnson Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College in Vermont. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

This important report was issued by the Department of Defense in June 2019. The Indo-Pacific is the Department of Defense's priority theater. The United States is a Pacific nation; we are linked to our Indo-Pacific neighbors through unbreakable bonds of shared history, culture, commerce, and values. We have an enduring commitment to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific in which all nations, large and small, are secure in their sovereignty and able to pursue economic growth consistent with accepted international rules, norms, and principles of fair competition. The continuity of our shared strategic vision is uninterrupted despite an increasingly complex security environment. Inter-state strategic competition, defined by geopolitical rivalry between free and repressive world order visions, is the primary concern for U.S. national security. In particular, the People's Republic of China, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, seeks to reorder the region to its advantage by leveraging military modernization, influence operations, and predatory economics to coerce other nations. In contrast, the Department of Defense supports choices that promote long-term peace and prosperity for all in the Indo-Pacific. We will not accept policies or actions that threaten or undermine the rules-based international order - an order that benefits all nations. We are committed to defending and enhancing these shared values.China's economic, political, and military rise is one of the defining elements of the 21st century. Today, the Indo-Pacific increasingly is confronted with a more confident and assertive China that is willing to accept friction in the pursuit of a more expansive set of political, economic, and security interests. Perhaps no country has benefited more from the free and open regional and international system than China, which has witnessed the rise of hundreds of millions from poverty to growing prosperity and security. Yet while the Chinese people aspire to free markets, justice, and the rule of law, the People's Republic of China (PRC), under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), undermines the international system from within by exploiting its benefits while simultaneously eroding the values and principles of the rules-based order.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. 1. Introduction * 1.1. America's Historic Ties to the Indo-Pacific * 1.2. Vision and Principles for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific * 2. Indo-Pacific Strategic Landscape: Trends and Challenges * 2.1. The People's Republic of China as a Revisionist Power * 2.2. Russia as a Revitalized Malign Actor * 2.3. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a Rogue State * 2.4. Prevalence of Transnational Challenges * 3. U.S. National Interests and Defense Strategy * 3.1. U.S. National Interests * 3.2. U.S. National Defense Strategy * 4. Sustaining U.S. Influence to Achieve Regional Objectives * 4.1. Line of Effort 1: Preparedness * 4.2. Line of Effort 2: Partnerships * 4.3. Line of Effort 3: Promoting a Networked Region * Conclusion