Military Review English Edition November December 2016 | Page 55

CONTRACT SUPPORT

T

he U.S. Army Operating Concept (AOC) describes how our future Army will prevent
conflict and shape security environments while
operating within a complex environment as part of the
joint force. The concept highlights many of the capabilities required to shape security environments and
conduct advanced expeditionary maneuver.1
The new concept, however, overlooks at least
one essential factor that will shape future conflict
for better or worse. Receiving no attention within
the AOC, operational contract support (OCS)—the
process of planning for and obtaining supplies, services, and construction from commercial sources in
support of joint operations—has and will continue to
play a critical role in our ability to deploy, fight, and
win our nation’s wars (see figure, page 55).2
This article demonstrates the importance of the
OCS process within the AOC. Moreover, it highlights several key points about OCS that are important for Army commanders.

Importance of Operational
Contract Support
OCS continues to be overlooked because commanders and planners tend to pigeonhole it as a sustainment function requiring attention only after major
combat operations commence.3 This tendency ignores
three important facts.
First, Phase 0 (shaping) operations play a vital role in
national security efforts. For example, during fiscal year
(FY) 2014 in Africa, U.S. forces conducted sixty-eight
missions, including counterterrorism, humanitarian
assistance, and disaster relief, and they supported eleven
major exercises and 595 security cooperation activities
designed to promote stability and prosperity. While
some of these missions were Phase III (dominate) operations designed to find and defeat terrorist networks, the
overwhelming majority were Phase 0 operations designed to help our allies and deter adversaries in a region
of rapidly increasing strategic importance.4
Second, these types of operations depend heavily—
and often totally—on commercial support. Geopolitical
considerations, host-nation restrictions, and extended
lines of communication often limit the size and shape
of military deployments. However, soldiers who deploy
must rely on commercial support for such basic needs
as communications, base life support, and logistics.5
MILITARY REVIEW  November-December 2016

To illustrate, the Army’s 413th Contracting Support
Brigade conducted twenty-nine expeditionary missions
in the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) area of responsibility during FY 2016. These contracting activities
supported deployed military forces while strengthening
relations with our allies and building a reliable vendor
base for future operations.6
Third, OCS provides more than just logistics. While
access to commercial support significantly enhances
sustainment capabilities, the OCS process also provides
responsiveness, effectiveness, and efficiency across the
full spectrum of warfighting capabilities and functions.
These include security, construction, training, translators, and intelligence analysis. Military communications networks are especially dependent on commercial
support. The Defense Information Systems Agency
employs a series of contracts to provide the information-technology backbone that allow commanders to
exercise mission command over far-flung operations
around the globe.7 As the Army confronts an era of
shrinking force structure and increasing social, political, and economic complexity, the commander’s ability

Maj. Gen. Edward
F. Dorman III, U.S.
Army, commands
the 8th Theater
Sustainment Command
at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
He holds a BA from
Tennessee Technical
University, an MA
in German language
and literature from
Middlebury College
and the JohannesGutenberg University
in Mainz, Germany,
and an MS in national
resource strategy from
the National Defense
University. He is also
a graduate of the
Industrial College of
the Armed Forces.

Lt. Col. William C.
Latham Jr., U.S. Army,
retired, serves as the
operational contract
support integrator
for the U.S. Army
Combined Arms
Support Command
at Fort Lee, Virginia.
He holds a BA from
Georgetown University
and an MA from the
University of Alaska
Fairbanks. He has taught
at the United States
Military Academy, the
U.S. Army Command
and General Staff
College, and Army
Logistics University. He
is the author of Cold
Days in Hell: American
POWs in Korea.
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