View/Open - Naval Postgraduate School

Contractors Supporting Military Operations
Presenter: Richard L. Dunn is currently an independent consultant and Senior Fellow
at the University of Maryland. He conducts research and provides advice on business strategies
to effectively develop and employ technologies in the military and civil sectors. Mr. Dunn retired
from Federal service where he served as the first General Counsel of the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency and was awarded the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive. He
also served at NASA Headquarters and was on active duty as a Judge Advocate in the USAF
for ten years. At DARPA, Mr. Dunn pioneered contracting using “other transactions” to increase
the effectiveness of R&D and prototyping efforts. He is a member of the editorial advisory board
of the Government Contractor. He has written extensively both in the area of government
contracts and military history. Mr. Dunn is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire (cum
laude), and has law degrees from the University of Maryland and George Washington University
(Highest Honors). Mr. Dunn and his wife, Karen, reside in Edgewater, Maryland.
Richard L. Dunn
444 Poplar Leaf Drive
Edgewater MD 21037
(410) 798-0332
richardldunn@comcast.net
OVERVIEW
The author’s previous research surveyed issues and policies related to the trend toward
increased reliance on contractors in combat and other contingency operations, documented
relevant case studies, and, presented analyses and recommendations. 18 The current research
presents a background summary and updates relevant policy developments since the earlier
research. It then takes a distinctly different approach than the earlier study. Instead of trying to
extract additional lessons from case studies of current events, this research attempts to gain
historical perspective through case studies of earlier conflicts, primarily World War II. Rather
than attempting to survey a catalog of issues, this research concentrates on a narrow set of
issues.
The issues reviewed in this paper relate to the extent contractors can and should be
made an integral part of the “mission team” in combat and contingency operations. If contractors
have become integral to the success of combat and contingency operations, shouldn’t they be
responsive and responsible to the commander formally charged with mission success?
Expressed another way, can and should the concept of “unity of command” be applied to
contractors in a combat theater? Assuming that contractors should be integrated into joint task
force operations in a way that creates the essence of unity of command, how can that be
accomplished?
The question of contractor control/unity of command can be relatively simply stated as
suggested in the previous paragraph. This research found, however, that the path toward
combatant commander control of contractors is complicated by divergent policies, conflicting
18 Dunn, Contractors in the 21 st Century ‘Combat Zone’, presented at the Naval Post Graduate School 2 nd
Annual Acquisition Research Conference (vide). Available from the Center for Public Policy and Private
Enterprise, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland; and at the NPS website
(www.nps.navy.mil/gsbpp/ACQN/publications).
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