THE EVOLVING CONTINGENCY 

CONTRACTING MARKET: PRIVATE SECTOR 

SELF-REGULATION AND UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT MONITORING OF PROCUREMENT 

OF STABILITY OPERATIONS SERVICES

Whitney Grespin 

Carlisle Barracks, PA and

UNITED STATES 

ARMY WAR COLLEGE

PRESS
PKSOI PAPER

THE EVOLVING CONTINGENCY 

CONTRACTING MARKET:

PRIVATE SECTOR SELF-REGULATION AND 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 

MONITORING OF PROCUREMENT 

OF STABILITY OPERATIONS SERVICES

Whitney Grespin

January 2016

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ISBN:978-0-9861865-5-4

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FOREWORD

The contingency contracting industry has shifted 

markedly in recent decades. The events of 9/11 led 

to a complete reorientation of military and stability 

operations activities worldwide such that the primary 

operating theater of many existing companies shifted 

almost entirely to Afghanistan and Iraq, while government demand also allowed for the creation of a 

myriad of new private entities to provide contingency 

contracting services. As U.S. Government (USG) contracting requirements react to drawdowns from these 

two concurrent large-scale ground engagements, the 

nature of the primary goods and services provided by 

the private defense industrial base will respond accordingly.

This transition away from private company support of large military engagements has also been coupled with a reorientation of industry focus away from 

combat environments towards support operations in 

increasingly frequent, but risky, stability operations. 

These types of operations necessitate augmented private sector support for commercial efforts in austere 

environments, as well as international missions that 

have shifted from UN “Chapter VI” peacekeeping 

missions to increased peace enforcement missions of 

the “Chapter VII” variety. The Office of the Secretary 

of Defense (OSD) states that, “‘Contingency contracting’ encompasses all contracting performed in a contingency environment (declared and non-declared), 

including military operations, stability operations, 

natural disasters, humanitarian, and other calamitous 

events.” 
The activities of private companies in combat operations and complex environments have traditionally 

drawn minimal attention when compared to their historic presence in such settings; yet in the last twenty 

years the services of these companies have grown to 

become a seemingly indispensable part of the modern 

western stabilization arsenal, as well as the subject of 

much media attention. The governments that procure 

these companies’ services put a great deal of faith and 

trust in their operations. While government contracting practices trend away from massive life support 

operations (accommodations, catering, facility maintenance, etc.) and back to the provision of peoplebased services, it is important that this manpower be 

sourced and monitored responsibly and ethically in 

order to uphold the principled aspirations of the U.S. 

and align policy practice with preaching. 

Daniel A. Pinnell

COL, U.S. Army

Director

Peacekeeping and Stability

Operations Institute

iv
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

WHITNEY GRESPIN has worked in contingency contracting, educational programming, and international 

development on five continents. Her specialties include the facilitation and management of cross-cultural training and capacity building programs. Ms. Grespin holds a BA from Duquesne University, a Master’s 

in Public and International Affairs from the University 

of Pittsburgh, a professional certificate in Project Management from Georgetown University, and secondary education social studies teaching licensure from 

Pennsylvania State University. She currently holds a 

PhD Studentship position at King’s College London’s 

Defence Studies Department, including instructional 

responsibilities at the UK Joint Services Command 

and Staff College, and consulting responsibilities as 

Director of Government Relations for UAS service 

provider Precision Integrated Programs. Ms. Grespin 

has served as a Contributor to AEI’s Critical Threats 

Project, and was named one of 2013’s “99 Under 33 

Foreign Policy Leaders” by the Diplomatic Courier 

and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. She is an 

active member of the Association of Junior Leagues 

International and serves as a board member of the Society of Woman Geographers.

1

The Evolving Contingency Contracting Market: 

Private Sector Self-Regulation and 

United States Government 

Monitoring of Procurement of Stability

 Operations Services

Whitney Grespin

Introduction 

Although there is a dearth of reliable statistics 

representing the size of the international contingency 

contracting industry, there can be little argument that 

the scope of the private industry’s services in support of western interventions has paralleled the waxing and waning of western interventions in complex 

environments. At a recent industry conference that 

brought together an impressive array of contingency 

contracting and stability operations service providers, 

a high ranking U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) official presupposed that in future complex operations, 

“Fifty percent of the U.S. force structure in a deployed 

environment are expected to be contracted support 

and not military personnel.”3 While somewhat alarming, this estimate is an educated opinion given that as 

of late 2015 the U.S. claimed to officially have 9,800 

military personnel augmented by just over 30,000 contractors in Afghanistan. Even as U.S. engagement in 

Afghanistan is expected to draw down, the DoD official assessed that the U.S. will probably see a 2:1 contractor to military personnel ratio in stability support 

missions, since these types of missions will continue 

into the foreseeable future.4

Considering recent sociopolitical events and the 

posturing of international actors, many of whom are 
2

preparing to intervene in hybrid and non-state conflicts, it is not surprising to note that the surge of 

contingency contracting in complex environments 

was followed by numerous initiatives that aspired to 

establish accountability within the industry. Given 

the multilateral international profile of many of these 

stability operations contracts, there is a necessity for 

oversight of contracting firms’ use of foreign workers 

in high-risk/complex environments. As the Government Accountability Office wrote in November of 

2014, “Since the 1990s, there have been allegations 

of abuse of foreign workers on U.S. government contracts overseas, including allegations of Trafficking in 

Persons (TIP)5. In 2002, the United States adopted a 

zero tolerance TIP policy regarding U.S. government 

employees and contractors abroad, and began requiring the inclusion of this policy in all contracts in 2007. 

According to U.S. State Department, implementation 

of the TIP policy is important because the government 

relies on contractors that employ foreign workers in 

countries where they may be vulnerable to abuse.”6

While federal procurement policies and regulations 

focus on meeting the mission needs of the contracting 

entity or “customer”, the USG increasingly recognizes 

that its buying power can be used to promote, if not 

ensure, the responsible and ethical provision of goods 

and services.7

In understanding the constantly evolving contingency contracting market, it is critical to understand 

the different types of services that such companies 

specialize in and how they might provide capability 

specialization and service modularization to cater to 

a variety of contract scopes of work, as well as how 

contracting firms may offer institutional memory and 

operational impartiality that might be difficult for 

government employees to offer for a variety of rea-
3

sons. The private sector contractors must retain situational awareness of self-regulation industry initiatives 

and to understand how those practices relate to, support, or inform current government-mandated guidance for ethical practices in stability operations support service procurement. A failure to do so would 

result in non-compliance with mandated behavioral 

minimums, thus excluding them from being a viable 

bidder on government procurements. It is not easy to 

stay abreast of multiple regulations that have developed over recent years, but it is critical that companies 

invest the resources to do so. Regarding self-regulating accountability initiatives, this paper discusses 

the broad International Code of Conduct for Private 

Security Providers, complemented by case studies of 

private firm initiatives and successes in combating 

human trafficking and improving security and risk 

control through local engagement. Finally, the paper 

concludes with a discussion of government-led responses that surpass voluntary compliance practices 

in an effort to mandate minimum standards of acceptable behavior.

Understanding the Private Sector

Contingency contracting firms may be hired by 

a variety of clients to include corporations, governments, humanitarian groups/NGOs, media outlets, 

and other international organizations. The menu of 

services provided to international peace and stability 

operation project implementers by the private sector include risk advisory, the training of local forces, 

highly specialized airlift capabilities, base support, logistics, construction, personnel vetting, budget management, weapons destruction, fixed site and person-
4

nel protection, logistical support, and security sector 

reform, among other critical complex environment 

services. 

Historically, firms operating in these environments 

and in the broader peace and stability operations industry were referred to as Private Military Companies 

(PMCs). According to Doug Brooks, private consultant and President Emeritus of the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA), the term PMC 

has been “largely discarded these days as not being 

exacting enough,” because the “military” designation, 

“implies that [firm employees] are combatants under 

international law, and civilians—even armed security 

personnel—do not have the rights and privileges of 

combatants.”8 Broader industry consensus seems to 

agree that private firms are held to a narrower set of 

Rules for the Use of Force (RFUOF) than the Rules 

of Engagement (ROE), which military actors are expected to adhere to.9

 Brooks elaborates, “For example, 

[contractors] can use deadly force only in self-defense 

or in protection of something or someone which they 

have specific permissions to protect, whereas soldiers 

can use force proactively.” 10

While there is ongoing debate over exact definitions, the term Private Military Security Company 

(PMSC) has emerged as the current catch-all term 

favored by the international community, though it 

actually refers to private firms working in conflict 

and post-conflict environments rather than those undertaking military-type missions. Other terms, such 

as Peter Singer’s Privatized Military Firm (PMF) or 

Brooks’ Military Support Provider (MSP), have attempted to capture the true function of small niches 

of the broader industry; but in reality one term cannot 

accurately encapsulate the wide array of industry ser-
5

vices. These private sector firms providing “contingency contracting” services can be classified into four 

broad categories of operations: logistics and support 

companies, private security companies, security sector reform and development companies, and industry 

support organizations.

More specifically, logistics and support companies (LSCs) are companies that specialize in providing logistical support, aviation services, construction 

services, unexploded ordnance and landmine clearance, water purification, medical care, and other life 

support services that are generally useful in less developed or post-disaster societies, and are not specific 

to other complex or combat environments. Such LSCs 

have historically made up a great majority of the contingency operations industry.

Private security companies (PSCs) are firms that 

specialize in providing protection for people, places, 

or things. Although their clients frequently are other 

companies, they also include governments, NGOs, 

humanitarian and civil society actors, and a variety 

of other international organizations. PSCs allow operations to continue in extremely dangerous environments, including operations such as humanitarian relief, reconstruction, and infrastructure development. 

They may employ armed or unarmed personnel depending on their client and operational environment. 

PSCs are the smallest category of these four primary 

contingency contracting designations, and as with the 

other sectors, they predominately staff their personnel 

rosters using local hires and host country nationals. 

Regardless of the sensationalist stories that have made 

headlines in recent years, most PSCs are carefully administered professional enterprises with remarkably 

comprehensive quality control processes.
6

Security sector reform and development companies (SSR&Ds) are firms that provide long term strategic solutions to weak and failed states. These entities operate with the goal of ensuring the creation of 

governmental and societal stability and structure that 

will eventually allow interventions to be scaled back 

(if employed), and ultimately result in a successful 

conclusion. SSR&Ds provide development services, 

long term training, and security reform training and 

advising. These reforms are aimed at making permanent improvements in a state’s capacity and strategic 

position to self-govern a durable stabilization process. 

The following table illustrates the diversity of services that private firms have excelled in providing to 

governments over the past decade-plus of contingency contracting in complex environments. Just as OSD 

describes, “‘Contingency contracting’ encompasses 

all contracting performed in a contingency environment (declared and non-declared), including military 

operations, stability operations, natural disasters, 

humanitarian, and other calamitous events.”11 These 

contracting services vary widely depending on the the 

complex operational environment. 

 Table 112
7

Private sector support in complex environments 

has become an increasingly essential part of the model for success, particularly given the requirements of 

the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for comprehensive, 

large-scale, ground war troop’s support. Although 

the private security industry has faced intense scrutiny from the public and press in the past decade, clients continue to find that the services performed by 

the stability operations industry are both essential and 

viable alternatives to many of the services once provided by governments themselves. 

Capability Specialization and Service

Modularization 

There are many facets of the contingency contracting industry that illustrate the ways in which the 

private sector is often better positioned to provide 

stabilization and support services in complex environments than many governments. For example, the 

private sector’s ability to offer surge capacities and 

specialized services far exceeds typical governmental 

or military capabilities. By tapping into global capacities, the industry possesses the capability for rapid, 

flexible responses and service expansions that surpass 

the abilities of governments which rely on their own 

internal capacities. 

The use of contracting firm services also has the 

benefit of alleviating personnel drain and reducing logistical burdens for governments. By having ad-hoc 

needs filled by private contracting firms, deployed 

militaries and peacekeeping operations can focus 

a greater proportion of their resources on the longstanding mandates already set for them by the international community.
8

Furthermore, contingency contracting firms often 

employ individuals who may be significantly more 

experienced than current the government employees 

assigned to these kinds of operations, as the private 

sector can ensure such expertise by enlisting the services of retired military personnel and government 

officials who have already had full careers in their 

area of expertise with compensation and benefits incentives that are beyond the scope of standard government employee packages. Having employees with 

government and military backgrounds, helps company managers understand the institutional irritations of 

governmental response capabilities and ensure their 

firm’s capabilities and services address the real gaps.

Curiously, many traditional international organizations have only recently begun to truly accept the 

potential of modularized private sector services which 

provide enormous value, quality, and cost savings. A 

senior DoD official assessed that, “If operational expectations are only 1-2 years, then the U.S. saves about 

90% through the use of contractors rather than the 

military, due to the military’s lifecycle costs.” 13 The 

same official went on to explain that a major appeal 

of private sector support is that, “The contractor pillar is technically proficient and flexible, allowing for 

rapid expansion and contraction. The U.S. could shed 

140,000 contractor jobs in Iraq with virtually no liability.” 14

As the intentions of increased efficiency resonate 

across the interests of all stakeholders involved in 

multilateral peacekeeping operations, it is important 

to recognize that private industry has already mastered exploiting synergies and economies of scale. As 

past performance indicates, many international and 

governmental organizations have a poor reputation 
9

for timely responses to peacekeeping operations. In 

an effort to enhance their responsiveness, these organizations identified processes that can be contracted 

away from the headquarters to allow those dedicated 

personnel to focus on oversight and policy rather than 

remote logistics, as exemplified by their shift toward 

utilizing new regional contracted logistics hubs in recent years.15

Speed is often of the essence in humanitarian 

emergencies and peacekeeping operations, and the 

private sector has proven its ability to deploy in a fraction of the time it takes governments and militaries 

to mobilize. Private firms do require contracts, but in 

practice these can be drawn up with relative speed, or 

prepared ahead of time to allow a rapid deployment 

into the field. The ability to move quickly is of critical importance in situations where entities like the UN 

typically take upwards of eight months to mobilize. 

A great deal of research has reinforced the fact that 

early intervention in post-disaster and other complex 

environments save lives, but this private sector capacity has been underutilized in practice. 

Institutional Memory and Impartiality

It is interesting to note that private firms specializing in contingency operations often have stronger 

institutional memory through consistent employment 

of individuals than many of the supported militaries. This expertise comes from doing similar tasks 

over many years and in many locations, or from being able to hire individuals with the most relevant and 

extensive backgrounds. Most militaries rotate their 

personnel through stability operations postings in six 

to twelve month schedules, thus inherently limiting 

their experience potential. 
10

Peacekeeping training centers have tried to address this issue, yet private firms benefit from such 

experience in the form of accrued past performance 

that helps them to win future contracts, thus creating 

a strong internal incentive to preserve such knowledge or to employ personnel that bring that knowledge with them. As a senior Contracting Official for 

procurement in Afghanistan remarked, “There is no 

collated product of lessons learned or best practices 

for guys who are about to deploy [and have no idea 

what they’re about to undertake].”16

As one retired US military official observed, “Civilians who stay long enough see the carousel go 

around and around and around.”17 USG personnel 

who deploy to or oversee work in complex environments tend to see a lot of “recreating the wheel,” and 

a marked lack of continuity. Consistency is the most 

crucial aspect of many of these types of efforts, and the 

single thing that can be done to improve performance 

is to improve consistency. “People are looked down 

upon for being contractors, but contractors have the 

most continuity. That’s not a plug, it’s a fact. They can 

choose to stay.” Choices on personnel rotation and 

turnover, especially within USG entities, are the major 

enemy of continuity, which creates inconsistency and, 

often, failure.18

Successful peacekeeping missions necessitate 

more than the mere cessation of violence and must include the beginning of the rebuilding of communities. 

The inclusion of contingency contractors into stability 

operations in complex environments introduces vast 

reconstruction advantages that are not possible during military-only operations, notably including the 

use of fewer employees coupled with the empowerment of locals through training programs. In addition 
11

to the benefits of private security sector participation 

detailed above, the creation of host country national 

contractor jobs provides real benefits to damaged 

economies and builds host community buy-in towards a new future, while continuing to develop local 

infrastructure long after all stability operations forces 

or implementers have left.

The private sector has the ability to provide stability and capacity building services as neutral, non-state 

actors in a manner that contributes to reducing political frictions. Too often, states bring political biases 

or historical legacies that can have an adverse impact 

on political solutions. Wise selection of private firms 

can reduce these tensions and facilitate reconciliation. 

Ultimately, increases in contingency contracting is a 

direct result of the growing recognition of the value 

that the industry brings to international contingency 

contracting, stabilization operations, and complex environment intervention. 

Voluntary Accountability

Demands for specific PSC services have grown to 

record levels in recent decades, and private firm’s capabilities now include an array of services that are vital to the success of combat operations as well as other 

more traditional stability operations and contingency 

contracting. While past calls for corporate responsibility have heralded successes such as the Kimberley 

Process and the Extractive Industries Transparency 

Initiative in widespread international operations, 

there has also been a move within the PSC and contingency contracting industries to call for accountability 

and to implement a code of ethics for the retention of 

services and operations of such service providers.
12

Existing credible accountability initiatives form a 

framework for governing the conduct of contractors, 

but much remains to be fleshed out to form a coherent 

and standardized approach to overseeing such organizations and activities.

Case Study I: The International Code of Conduct for 

Private Security Providers

In 2008, the International Committee of the Red 

Cross, the Swiss government, and contributors from 

private security companies and the civil society/NGO 

sector developed and proposed the Montreux Document on Private Military and Security Companies. 

The document details international legal obligations 

and lists specific recommendations related to PSC 

services procurement practices and operational oversight, and clarifies the obligations of States pertaining 

to the hiring of such entities during armed conflicts.19 

Although representatives from dozens of states affirmed their support of the Montreux Document, it became clear that a supplement to the recommendations 

contained therein would eventually be necessary for 

its calls to be met by private security companies. Thus 

was born efforts to develop the International Code of 

Conduct for Private Security Providers (ICoC). The 

draft document produced by ICoC stakeholders was 

unveiled at a November 2010 conference held in Switzerland, where 58 private security companies from 

fifteen countries participated in a public signing ceremony, committing them to operate in accordance with 

the Code. 

While the Montreux Document strives to guide 

the practices of States, the ICoC guides the performance of contracted or otherwise procured services 
13

and activities by companies. The Code lays out a 

list of comprehensive human rights-based principles 

and industry-identified best practices guideposts for 

the responsible provision of private security functions. These principles go beyond on-the-ground issues, such as rules for the use of force, prohibitions 

on human trafficking, torture, and other human rights 

abuses. They also articulate commitments regarding 

the management and oversight of companies from a 

corporate perspective. Corporate governance issues 

addressed include ethical personnel recruitment, vetting practices, and grievance recognition and investigation, among other topics. 

As of 2015, 708 companies from approximately 70 

countries had signed the ICoC20, with 96 private security companies, 13 civil society organizations, and 

6 governments having committed to ongoing membership.21 The signatories offer a striking variety of 

services with over half claimed maritime security 

capabilities, which is a reflection of recent trends in 

industry focus, as well as a demonstration of private 

industry’s ability to respond rapidly to evolving client needs. Doug Brooks, President Emeritus of ISOA, 

observed in 2012 that “standards never change unless 

the client pays attention to the standards.”22 Similarly, 

Mark DeWitt, (now prior) Deputy General Counsel 

of private industry stakeholder Triple Canopy and 

longtime member of the ICoC’s Steering Committee, 

contends that “everyone understands that the longterm success of the ICoC will be driven by clients . . 

. . We must be willing to tell Congress and other national bodies that the ICoC is an industry standard 

that should be incorporated into their procurement 

policies.”23 
14

The ICoC for Private Security Service Providers 

(PSPs) aims to improve industry accountability by establishing an independent oversight mechanism that 

will monitor reporting and address grievances, and 

also contains a set of principles that articulate and reinforce the obligations of private firms regarding international humanitarian law and human rights law. 

Once established and operational, the ICoC framework and broader governance mechanism will strive 

to expand its coverage beyond PSPs into all sectors of 

the stability operations industry in the future. 

Supporting the International Code of Conduct 

for Private Security Service Providers is a unique opportunity for citizens and consumers worldwide to 

articulate support for a cross-sector initiative striving 

to set high standards for ethical operations in conflict 

areas and complex environments. In a time when 

private security companies and many other contingency contracting firms are often criticized for a lack 

of transparency, the tax-paying public and relevant 

stakeholders should take the opportunity to request, 

if not demand, that their governments and other PSP 

service consumers endorse and explicitly support the 

aims of this initiative and the commitments of signatory companies. 

Case Study II: Private Firm FSI Addresses Human 

Trafficking Proactively

Unbeknownst to much of the general public, substantial shares of USG contracting expenditures go 

to employ host country nationals (HCNs) and third 

country nationals (TCNs) to provide services that 

would prove to be prohibitively expensive were they 

staffed by American citizens at U.S. pay rates. Ac-
15

cording to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, 

more than one out of every six dollars of the $530 billion federal government budget is spent on contractors.24 Although sourcing manpower in complex environments is a small proportion of that overall figure, 

both the USG and private industry actors realize the 

value of responsible, ethical sourcing for alternative 

manpower. The impetus for principled talent acquisition means that certain companies choose to go to 

great lengths to ensure, at the least, compliance with 

U.S. requirements, or at the best, exceeding mandates. 

The most successful companies actually reinvest in 

community development from which the labor force 

hails, in order to improve the standard of living and 

the quality of life for the work force and their families. 

FSI Worldwide (FSI) began life in 2006 as a specialist supplier of former Gurkhas to the security industry. While this still forms a significant part of the 

business, the key elements of the FSI business model 

(the recruitment, leadership and management of high 

quality, ethically sourced personnel) are concepts that 

apply equally to civilians as to former military personnel. As such, FSI has developed a highly efficient and 

cost effective model for the recruitment and management of skilled and unskilled labor for the construction, facilities management, and oil and gas and hospitality sectors, in addition to security staff, which it 

continues to provide to a large client base.25

FSI’s model is at odds with longstanding abusive 

recruiting standard practices, wherein a former Gurkha soldier would be expected to pay a recruiter about 

$5,000 for the opportunity to work. The challenge is 

the vast majority of the Gurkha candidates will not 

have thousands of dollars for the initial payment to 

the recruiter, forcing the recruit to take out a loan, ob-
16

ligating the recruit to pay the recruiter approximately 

80% of their ongoing salary. As FSI co-founder Nick 

Forster explained, “That’s not an exception to the rule 

– that’s the model... whether its naiveté or laziness or 

a complete lack of knowledge, people accept that everything is above board when more often than not, it 

is not.” 26

Human trafficking and forced labor is the largest illicit activity worldwide after drug trafficking, with an 

estimated 25 million people forced into labor worldwide. As Nick Forster remarked at a panel on corporate social responsibility in complex environments, 

“You would consider human trafficking and forced 

labor a pandemic in most other circumstances.”27 Previous enforcement efforts focused on sex trafficking. 

In recent years, there has been a pronounced shift towards labor trafficking. Legal guest workers are at risk 

of being exploited just as much as illegal immigrants 

and undocumented workers. While it is challenging 

for companies to monitor the hiring practices of second and third tier subcontractors, who often assume 

responsibility for the recruitment, processing, and deployment of these personnel, companies are recognizing that ethical manpower sourcing is both productive, and it makes bottom line commercial sense. 

FSI has identified that assessment of the following 

key areas is important to the ethical sourcing, vetting, 

and recruitment of HCNs and TCNs, and should be 

considered by all companies who are beginning recruitment in geographic areas or cultures that are beyond their realm of expertise, or even familiarity:28

• Recruitment Fees: what fees are charged to workers? Who pays for each cost including recruitment, 

medical, travel, and housing?
17

• Housing: does the accommodation meet a suitable standard? Does it restrict the workers’ freedom 

of movement?

• Contracts of Employment: are migrant workers provided with an employment contract prior to 

deployment? Are the Terms & Conditions subject to 

change once they reach the job site (contract substitution)? Is the contract translated into a language they 

can understand? Has someone clearly explained their 

rights and responsibilities under the contract? Are 

there any penalties for leaving the contract early?

• Identity documentation: are passports or other 

documents held by brokers or the employer? Are employees given a receipt and an explanation? Can they 

access their documents immediately on request?

• Humane Treatment: are there effective systems 

in place to ensure workers are not being threatened 

with physical violence or intimidation? Is a translator 

provided during disciplinary investigations?

• Grievance Mechanisms: is there an effective 

grievance system in place? Do workers have direct access to their employers? Is there whistle-blower protection?

• Salary Payments: are workers paying off a debt? 

Are payments made directly to the worker? Do workers receive a pay slip? Are any deductions withheld, 

and if so, are the workers aware of them and their purpose?

Many contracting companies, and especially those 

that hire HCNs and TCNs, can bring legitimacy to the 

Host Nation government by teaching transferrable 

skill sets as leave-behind knowledge.29 In order to 

deliver this unique value-added aspect to their operations, it is vital that firms proactively address human 
18

trafficking and ethical labor sourcing. To address 

these concerns, FSI self-selected as a member of the 

ISOA30 and committed to its Code of Conduct31 as well 

as to being a signatory of the United Nations Global 

Compact, and therefore abides by The Ten Principles 

of the United Nations Global Compact32 and the Athens Ethical Principles33. In 2010, FSI was awarded a 

special commendation at the End Human Trafficking 

Now (EHTN) Business Leader’s Awards, and later 

won the EHTN award in 2013.34 

The following figures come from a November 2014 

USGAO Report to Congressional Committees, which 

shares the assertion and title that “Oversight of Contractors’ Use of Foreign Workers in High-Risk Environments Needs to Be Strengthened.” These figures 

illustrate sample recruitment paths for TCNs working 

in support of the USG in Afghanistan, and highlight 

contractor’s vulnerability in having no visibility of 

their recruiter workers prior to their arrival in country. 35
19

Case Study III: GardaWorld’s Strategy for 

Controlling Risk Through Local Engagement

In line with FSI’s ethical recruiting guidelines, 

those who hire such specific services are often directly vested in the principled conduct of their subcontractors. Larger, more diverse companies such 

as GardaWorld will frequently sub-contract to niche 

firms such as FSI to hire TCNs to fill specific contractual requirements, such as the provision of physical 
20

security services. These large firms, who support the 

USG and other customers, are also inherently prime 

contractors partnered with multiple sub-contractors 

to fulfill broad contractual requirements. 

“From the most serious insider threats resulting 

in disruption of services, damage to facilities, attacks 

on staff or the ever-present issues of corruption and 

theft, the risks are variable, nearly unidentifiable and 

even more difficult to overcome.”36 GardaWorld has 

come up with a comprehensive list of 26 “Key Recommendations” to alleviate the most common obstacles 

to achieving success and transparency in high-risk security service procurements. These key recommendations include: 37

1. Build a wide network of recruiters. Do not become 

too reliant on one group or person.

2. Understand the tribal, family and religious dynamics of a region are often more important than experience. Focus on employing equitably the tribal 

structures in a region.

3. Understand and work with existing institutions. 

This requires buy-in from local power brokers.

4. Hire very locally, especially in rural areas. Create 

goodwill by hiring staff from families in very 

close proximity to your operations, or who are 

affected in by the installation and stability operations projects.

5. Use your security provider to insulate yourselves 

as much as possible from day-to-day personnel 

management. Recognize that allowing your 

sub-contractor to handle the daily operations 

on-the-ground since they have the best understanding of the challenges, is the best policy. 

Micromanagement will likely lead to mishandling of events.
21

6. Nepotism will happen but can have a positive effect.

Introducers feel a sense of responsibility should 

their chosen worked cause problems. Use this 

to your advantage to manage local staff in an 

effective and secure manner.

7. Normalize employment standards for local staff.

Provide high standards – including insurance, 

social security, food and accommodation – for 

local staff to minimize resentment, or the “them 

and us” attitude toward expatriate personnel.

8. Pay on time, all the time and “look them in the eye” 

when you do it. Respect and loyalty are earned 

primarily through the payment of wages.

9. Always monitor and question what is happening 

and why. Use a senior staff member, who does 

not have direct management responsibility 

over the specific tasks, to monitor and question 

every action and receipt, ensuring loyalty to the 

line manager.

10. Visibly respect your staff. Empower your staff, 

give them real responsibility, and take an interest in how their culture works.

11. Select each team with extreme attention to detail. 

Carefully select teams to ensure the balance of 

local tribal power is reflected in them.

12. Hire expatriate staff who have an interest in the culture. Employ expatriate staff who are prepared 

and able to act as mentors for local staff, using 

nuanced and culturally acceptable practices.

13. Continuously invest in internationally accredited 

training. It is a signal to local communities that 

you are a long-term, trusted partner.

14. Spot opportunities for developing staff from within.

Long-term staff are more experienced, better 

trained and have a stronger connection to their 

employers.
22

15. Separate living quarters for local national and expatriate staff. Local staff feel more at ease when 

their accommodation is comfortable and apart 

from their expatriate colleagues.

16. Move staff around between positions to reduce exposure to specific role abuse. Staying too long in one 

role provides opportunities for staff to build 

their own relationships and networks that can 

lead to corrupt activities.

17. Maintain open lines of communication. Push information down to the lowest levels of the organization. All staff gain from feeling a valued 

part of the team.

18. If changes have to be made, make them sensitively, 

and understand the repercussions beforehand. Former employees or groups of employees who 

feel they have been disrespected can cause serious problems if their removal is not handled 

diplomatically or managed over a period of 

time. Building influence networks and managing information.

19. Identify and build relationships with key national 

and provincial leaders. Seek out senior officials 

who will work in your interests.

20. Identify and build relationships with key local honest brokers/suppliers. These people can be extremely hard to find and even harder to get to 

know. This only comes with direct experience 

in particular locations.

21. Insist all business is conducted “in the light of day.”

Use influence and relationships with senior 

officials to insist everything is conducted in a 

transparent manner.

22. Hire a senior-level advisor – your “local national 

liaison.” This person should be your social and 
23

moral conscience who can help navigate your 

way through the many challenges you will face.

23. Factor in that everyone has their own agenda. Always ask the question, “Why are they telling 

me this?”

24. Recognize the limits of your knowledge. The expatriate staff understands the limits of their 

knowledge and accesses, and garners local input routinely.

25. Sincerely give back to the community. This “nostrings-attached” approach is appreciated by 

the local community and builds goodwill.

This guidance all relies heavily on interpersonal 

relationships, trust, transparency, and the proper 

management of staff to ensure effectiveness and security. While many companies may aspire to follow 

these guidelines, the very codification and publication 

of a publicly-accessible whitepaper38 on the topic is 

quite telling in regards to GardaWorld’s commitment 

to the interests of ethical talent sourcing.

Beyond Voluntary Compliance: Legislative 

Response and Government-dictated requirements

Although private companies who focus both on 

USG contracting as well as international commercial 

work have made great efforts to self-regulate and construct voluntary accountability initiatives, there are 

still legitimate concerns about specific aspects of the 

industry that are inherently difficult to regulate. For 

these types of discrete challenges that garner much 

public attention, the USG and other international organizations may choose to intervene and/or impose 

blanket legislation in an attempt to mitigate damaging 

practices.
24

Case Study IV: ANSI-ASIS PSC .1: Management 

System for Quality of Private Security Company 

Operations

While the ICoC relied heavily on multilateral stakeholder input to develop self-governing processes, the 

U.S. DoD elected to pursue a set of standards to exist 

alongside the self-selected behavior expected of ICoC 

signatories. Following the 2010 ICoC completion, 

DoD contracted the standards-drafting ASIS International to develop formal procedures and standards to 

apply to private security company operations. 

Dr. Ian Ralby, a recognized expert on the regulation, governance, and oversight of private security 

companies, described the development of these standards in a 2015 paper for the Fletcher Security Review:39

* ANSI PSC.1

The ANSI/ASIS PSC.1 Standard, developed by 

a technical committee of over two hundred people 

from twenty-six different countries, is by far the 

most detailed instrument relevant to the regulation, 

governance and oversight of the private security industry. It is the flagship Standard of the ANSI/ASIS 

PSC Standards Series, which seeks to operationalize 

the ICoC within a formal structure familiar to businesses. That structure, with both national and international supervision, provides auditable procedures 

for the development, certification, and monitoring of 

ongoing compliance. PSC.1 pushes the envelope with 

regard to business standards as the first to incorporate 

human rights requirements. The ICoC’s purpose was 

primarily to commit signatories to human rights principles regardless of whether they were so obligated 
25

by law. The PSC Standard Series takes that voluntary 

commitment a step further and requires companies, in 

order to be certified, to have adequately incorporated 

international human rights principles compliance into 

their operating policies and procedures. The PSC.1 

Standard is currently in the process of being converted 

into a full international Standard, ISO 18788.

* ANSI PSC.2

Given the unusual nature of the PSC.1 Standard, 

it was understood from the outset that a second Standard would be needed to set forth the requirements 

for auditing PSCs. A conformity assessment standard, 

PSC.2 is based on ISO 17021 – the general standard for 

auditors – but tailored specifically to the unique needs 

of the PSC industry and the PSC.1 Standard. This 

Standard focuses on the expertise required to assess 

companies operating in the most challenging environments on Earth. Traditional auditors, accustomed to 

examining more conventional businesses, typically 

lack the discernment and expertise necessary to understand the legal, human rights, and operational 

requirements of the PSC Standards. PSC.2 therefore 

provides an extensive list of competencies or terms of 

familiarity such as “Terminology, practice, and understanding of the rule of law and use of force . . . human 

rights impact assessment . . . methods for personal 

security and protection of persons . . . [and] methods 

and practices for continuity, emergency and recovery 

management.”40 Given the breadth of skills needed, 

it suggests the use of audit teams, as few individuals 

would be able to address all the issues competently. 

So PSC.1 sets out the company compliance requirements and PSC.2 establishes the auditing procedures.
26

Case Study V: Preventing Human Trafficking in USG 

Procurement

Although human trafficking has always been a 

high-visibility issue, in 2012 President Obama signed 

Executive Order (EO) 13627 “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking In Persons In Federal Contracts,” which supported a number of other laws intended to “provide the tools to combat trafficking in 

persons both worldwide and domestically.”41 In issuing this EO, the White House acknowledged that “as 

the largest single purchaser of goods and services in 

the world, the US Government has a responsibility to 

combat human trafficking at home and abroad, and to 

ensure American tax dollars do not contribute to this 

affront to human dignity.”42

Following a decade of war in both Iraq and Afghanistan as well as an increasing number of contingency and stability operations elsewhere in the world, 

a growing number of grievances with the treatment 

of TCNs prompted the establishment of EO 13627 

against TIP. One such high-profile (and long-unresolved) incident centered around a court case brought 

by the families of 12 Nepalis TCNs against USG contractor Kellogg, Brown & Root (more often known as 

KBR) after the TCNs were killed in Iraq. In 2004, 13 

Nepali laborers were recruited to work in Jordan by 

KBR sub-contractor Daoud & Partners under the pretense that they would be working at a luxury hotel. 

Once they arrived in Jordan, the Nepali TCN’s passports were allegedly confiscated, and the men were 

forced across the border into Iraq in non-uparmored 

vehicles to travel to Al Asad air base, where they were 

to work for KBR at the U.S. militarybase. En route to 

Al Asad, the vehicles were ambushed by a militant 
27

group, who killed 12 of the 13 Nepali men. The court 

documents against KBR/Daoud allege that they “established, engaged and contracted with a network of 

suppliers, agents, and partners in order to procure laborers from third world countries”43 Ten years later, 

the court case is still in the news lacking resolution 

after repeated court orders flip-flopping on whether 

the courts would hear the case.

This case, among many others, prompted EO 

13627’s “zero tolerance approach” and dictated that 

U.S. contracts would include the following prohibitions:44

* Use of misleading or fraudulent recruiting 

practices

* Charging employees recruitment fees

* Destroying or confiscating an employee’s personal ID documents

The subsequent National Defense Authorization 

Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA), which contained 

Title XVII “Ending Trafficking in Government Contracting,” furthermore emphasized the commitment 

of the USG to end human trafficking in government 

contracting supply chains. These efforts included a 

number of legal requirements that had to be met in order for companies to comply with federally mandated 

trafficking in persons regulations. For example, upon 

receipt of a contract award from the U.S. Government 

and annually thereafter, contractors and subcontractors were required to certify that they had an appropriate Compliance Plan in place and that neither they, 

nor their labor subcontractors, had been engaged in 

any TIP activities, and/or that appropriate actions 

had been taken in relation to the discovery of any such 

activities.
28

Contracting firms were required to maintain a 

Compliance Plan, including an employee awareness 

program, which was to cover (at a minimum):45 

• A Trafficking in Persons (TIP) policy statement

• Details of actions to be taken against employees 

violating the TIP policy

• A TIP reporting process for employees

• A recruitment and wage plan that only permits the use of recruitment companies with TIP 

trained employees, which prohibits charging 

recruitment fees to the employee, and ensures 

that wages meet applicable host country legal 

requirements or explains variances

• A housing plan to ensure that employee housing meets host country standards

• Procedures to prevent subcontractors at any 

tier from engaging in TIP

Under the initial “Combating Trafficking in Persons” section of the FAR (Part 52.222-50), the possible 

enforcement remedies for firm or employee violations 

included:46 

• Required removal of a Contractor employee or 

employees from the performance of the contract;

• Required subcontractor termination;

• Suspension of contract payments;

• Loss of award fee for the performance period in 

which the Government determined Contractor 

non-compliance;

• Termination of the contract for default, in accordance with the termination clause of this 

contract; or

• Suspension or debarment.47
29

The seriousness of this issue is beyond dispute, 

yet there is often a slow mobilization phase due in a 

large part to a lack of direct impact on the organization’s daily operations. Until a company is penalized 

for failing to reach the new monitoring standards, directly affecting contractual income, the organizational 

leadership will be reticent to affect change. USG contractors are obligated to mitigate trafficking, yet companies often lack awareness of the new requirements 

and obligations requisite in supporting the USG as a 

member of the contingency contracting industry.

As part of a concerted federal effort to address 

TIP issues, a 2014 GAO report, “Recommended that 

agencies (1) develop a more precise definition of recruitment fees and (2) ensure that contract monitoring specifically includes TIP. DoD concurred with the 

first recommendation, while State and USAID noted 

that forthcoming regulations would prohibit all recruitment fees. All three agencies concurred with the 

second recommendation.” 48 While the development 

of a precise definition remains outstanding, the call 

for it alone is a step in the right direction. In January of 2015, DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a final rule 

amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 

to strengthen protection against trafficking in persons 

in Federal contracts.49 These changes are intended to 

implement the 2012 EO 13627 and the 2013 title XVII of 

the NDAA. These updates establish a number of new 

safeguards largely modeled on the aforementioned 

successful private sector practices, and reflect public input from federal contractors, academia, NGOs, 

and other stakeholders. Critically, the new FAR rule 

prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from 

charging employees recruitment fees or using misleading or fraudulent recruitment practices. The FAR also 
30

requires contractors and subcontractors performing 

work over $500,000 outside the United States to develop and maintain a compliance plan, and to certify 

that, to the best of their knowledge, neither they, nor 

any of their subcontractors has engaged in traffickingrelated activities.50

This final amended FAR rule became effective 2 

March 2015, and placed the burden of responsibility 

on prime contractors to ensure that their supply chain 

is free from any forms of TIP violations and related 

human rights violations.51 Both the risk and the challenge of this requirement are significant, as it is now 

the responsibility of the prime contractor to ensure 

that all sub-contractors – including subs to the subs – 

are fully compliant with regulations.

The following image graphically illustrates how 

these mandates will affect a broad range of federal 

contracts, and highlights that there is a need for additional scrutiny by prime contractors of subcontractor labor practices to a degree that was not previously 

commonplace. Prime contractors will need to actively 

review the labor practices of their subcontractors and 

suppliers, and ensure ethical labor practices are maintained down to the lowest tiers of their supply chains.52
31

Fiscal Implications/The Business Case

Adhering to these requirements is not only the 

right thing to do – it is also the smart thing to do in 

terms of business sense. While proper implementation of these requirements is essential to maintaining 

compliance with contractual obligations, there are additional business benefits that accrue for companies 

and customers, which include:53

1. Meeting clients’ expectations, demonstrating 

commitment to clients’ needs, and reducing 

clients’ uncertainties about the credibility and 

quality of their selected providers.

2. Providing clients with benchmarks against 

which to select providers.
32

3. Reducing the amount of oversight a client has 

to exercise.

4. Improving effective, cost-efficient delivery of 

goods and services and accompanying reduction of operational costs.

5. Managing risks (reputational, brand, operational) and potential liabilities (legal).

6. Increasing coherence in risk management processes, reducing project-related risks, and enhancing operational success.

7. Maintaining good stakeholder relations and 

the ‘social license to operate’.

8. Ensuring respect for human rights, demonstrating due diligence, and reducing the likelihood 

of disruptive and undesirable events.

9. Maintaining a commitment to continuous improvement.

Companies working in high risk environments 

have recognized the necessity of operating in a responsible fashion to be both effective and efficient. 

This includes mitigating unnecessary costs to both 

themselves and their customers, which may range 

from operational disruptions to legal and reputational 

liabilities, resulting from TIP incidents. Although cost 

has long remained a key factor in determining selection, particularly given the recent preference for LPTA 

(Lowest Price Technically Acceptable) procurements, 

contracting company’s adherence to voluntary metrics 

have made it possible for accountability and quality to 

be incorporated into source selection evaluations, as 

evidenced by the increased attention to “Best Value” 

contracts over LPTA line evaluations. 

Dr. Ian Ralby54 wrote in an analysis of accountability initiatives for armed contractors, “As the world 
33

faces a likely upsurge in this sort of contracting, it 

remains to be seen whether the extensive regulatory, 

governance, and oversight efforts of the last decade 

will prove effective in ensuring higher quality, more 

responsible contractors, or whether gaps in the system will lead to the rejection or circumvention of those 

accountability measures in favor of the lowest priced 

contractors.”55 As one industry leader elaborated, 

“LPTA just means that the services are being commoditized, and when you get a commoditized market 

you get bad service”.56 Contractual limitations are at 

odds with each other, as the scope of execution at a 

minimal cost is prioritized over encouraging contractors to meet or exceed government mandated obligations for quality and ethical performance. 

At the 2015 Annual Summit of the International 

Stability Operations Association (ISOA), a national 

security and development specialist keynote speaker 

assessed that, “The USG has to be willing to pay high 

rates to the private sector companies, and the companies have to be prepared to pay high salaries to their 

contractors,” implying that in the stability operations 

field, returns are very much a case of getting what is 

paid for.57 Supporting this assertion, a recent report 

indicated the Pentagon’s emphasis on LPTA contracts 

has backfired by causing industry consolidation. The 

report also indicated that reliance on such contracts to 

cut short-term costs “has created long-term ramifications” for the defense industry, as “in the past several 

years, emphasis on LPTA has changed behavior in the 

marketplace, prompting shaved margins, spinoffs and 

consolidation to achieve economies of scale in lowpriced markets. Such events drive more monopolistic 

positions for the few remaining contractors, allowing 

them to command a higher price.58 Only time will 
34

tell if the pendulum of procurement policy will soon 

swing the other way, focusing instead on best value 

rather than best price.

Practicing Self Preservation

In contrast to the public’s perception and normative 

portrayal of the industry in mass media, private companies providing contingency contracting services to 

the USG are initiating their own measures to enhance 

self-monitoring and peer accountability across the 

field. Corporate commitments to ethical implementation and careful oversight mean more than a signature 

on a paper, especially when they require comprehensive resources and valuable man-hours in order to adhere to voluntary accountability frameworks. 

The aspirations of EO 13627 and subsequent extensive assessment and auditing procedures for supply chain transparency are vital forcing functions to 

ensure ethical manpower sourcing practices for USG 

contracted efforts. Structured approaches to designing effective government contract compliance programs are increasingly important as government budgets shrink and more emphasis is placed on oversight. 

While compliance programs must meticulously consider each company’s own business environments, 

operations, and risks, there is a common structure of 

analysis that all firms can use to ensure that they are 

meeting basic compliance requirements. Basic steps 

to encourage a firm’s compliance are as follows:59

1. Conduct a risk analysis to determine the company’s 

risk areas. The risk analysis should begin by examining background factors to identify unique 

risks, such as procurement integrity, bribery, 

pricing accuracy, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 
35

compliance, institutional conflicts of interest, 

or export control, depending on the company’s 

area of specialization. 

2. Install a compliance system for each identified risk. 

This system does not have to be complicated, 

as a simple repeatable structure to ensure that 

company employees have a procedure or checklist to follow may suffice, depending upon the 

nature of the risk and related exposure.

3. Revise form subcontracts as appropriate. All subcontracts should be periodically reviewed to 

ensure they contain up-to-date and appropriate 

flow-down compliance requirements.

4. Apply a corporate Code of Business Ethics and Compliance Program. Sufficient codes must demonstrate an exercise of due diligence to mitigate 

criminal conduct, and provide guidance on reporting violations to relevant authorities such 

as the Contracting Officer or other oversight 

mechanism.

5. Encourage an active internal controls and audit system. This system should be fully supported by 

upper management, and the proximity of the 

monitoring function to the activity should be 

relative to the complexity of the inherent risk of 

non-compliance.

6. Provide regular training to all employees. An ethics and compliance awareness and training program tailored to a company’s specific activities 

is important for adhering to legal requirements.

The mandated structured analysis for private contingency contracting companies should be conducted 

on an annual basis to ensure active compliance efforts 

meet current regulations, and efforts are still appro-
36

priate to business operations and changing contract 

requirements. When new requirements are imposed 

during the period of contractual performance, it may 

be necessary to use such structured analysis more frequently. Ensuring a solid and up-to-date compliance 

system that is understood by all employees, audited 

and monitored, and actively supported and enforced 

by upper management, is not a guarantee that problems will not arise. However, the U.S government has 

historically considered the existence of such a system 

to be an indicator that the contracting firm is attempting to adhere to regulations, and takes the existence of 

the regulatory system into account when considering 

enforcement actions and potential penalties. 

Furthermore, there is support within the private 

industry that uniform mandates across the industry 

can be beneficial, even within a constricting market 

in which competition is fierce. A panel of senior executives discussing corporate social responsibility in 

complex environments concluded that, “market consolidation is a good thing for the PSC industry and 

for clients...[the USG should] put into the bidding 

documents the requirement for all subcontractors and 

all third party providers to comply with Prime vendors’ behaviors. So, if the Prime is compliant, the subs 

should be compliant as well, even if in practice and 

not through formal certification.” 60 Nick Forster, CoFounder and Director of Business Development of FSI 

Worldwide, elaborated that, “to see what is happening behind the veneer of legitimacy is extremely difficult to do. It comes down to the tendering solicitation 

process.” 61 In short, if language is included that levels 

the playing field for all competitors – in that the expectations for their compliance and self-regulation is 

uniform – then there have been indications that more 
37

transparency and more intelligent approaches to the 

writing of these solicitations and contract statements 

of work would be useful in ensuring ethical government procurement practices.

Conclusions

The United States conducts diplomatic, defense, 

and development activities throughout the world, 

including in countries with restrictive labor practices 

and poor records related to trafficking in persons. 

The United States has an obligation to prevent entities working on its behalf from engaging in trafficking 

in persons, and when it uses contractors to support 

its activities in such countries, it bears an even greater 

responsibility to protect workers given the increased 

risk of abuse. 62 The success of U.S. foreign policy in 

complex and high threat environments is dependent 

upon private contingency contractors for a number of 

critical and highly specialized services ranging across 

mobile and static security force protection, access control and tracking security access to various facilities, 

extraction and evacuation operations, and life-support. As a retired AFRICOM Commander remarked 

at a 2015 industry conference, although stability operations and contingency contracting may not be the 

biggest industry in the world, “You’d have a hard time 

finding another industry that has a greater impact in 

places that matter.”63

In short, the procurement of services in complex 

environments, when provided by manpower sourced 

from many locations worldwide, is an inherently complicated undertaking. Companies pursuing such service provision or utilization would do well to ensure 

TIP compliance through the following practical steps 
38

as recommended by academics and industry executives alike:64

1. Be educated as to the issues of labor trafficking 

and TIP regulations with the primary guidance 

coming from:

the International Labor Organization’s Convention 181 on Private Employment Agencies,65

the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on 

Business and Human Rights,66

and Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights Dhaka Principles for Migration 

with Dignity.67

2. Map existing labor supply and know who the 

sub-contracting entities are, including second, 

third, fourth, etc. tier subs and understand 

their commercial structure, past performance, 

and who their acting agents are. 

3. “Insist, Invest, Inspect”: 68 

The burden of responsibility for conducting thorough and appropriate due diligence falls on the prime 

contractor. In the instance that the prime contractor 

does not have the experience to properly audit processes and procedures, then an outside entity should 

be engaged to provide such expertise. These investments in due diligence can prove to be priceless in 

terms of avoiding murky business relationships and 

mitigating risk in future collaborations.

While the market is continuously evolving and 

honing its responses to changing procurement practices, there is little doubt about the long term necessity 

and viability of private contingency contractors. The 

industry has proven itself to be unceasingly responsive to changing customer requirements, and as one 

industry expert observed, “The industry will change 
39

because the client asked them to change.” 69 Although 

the USG has attempted to streamline its contracting 

and procurement practices in recent times, one industry executive voiced the thoughts of many in the 

private sector when he cautioned, “The government 

doesn’t know the business of the business that they’re 

in.”70 While cost often remains a key factor in determining provider selection, the various initiatives discussed have made it possible for accountability and 

quality to be added as essential metrics.71

Although the private sector has proven to be more 

forward-looking in the instances discussed above than 

their primary customer – the U.S. Government – the 

potential failure of such accountability initiatives to 

evolve and remain ahead of the curve would be detrimental to contracting companies, governments, and 

taxpayers. In the rapidly evolving market such as that 

which the USG and other consumers of contingency 

contracting offerings find themselves searching for 

services within, it is important that the industry is understood by the consumers of these unique services, 

and that the procurement practices and manpower 

behind these companies be sourced responsibly and 

ethically in order to uphold the principled aspirations 

of the USG and other accountable consumers. A failure to comply with accountability initiatives would 

prove to be detrimental to the contingency contracting industry, the credibility of governments procuring their services, and stability operations initiatives 

worldwide. 
40

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Doug Brooks, the International Stability Operations Association, King’s College London’s 

Defence Studies Department, and PKSOI’s publishing department.

Endnotes

1. United Nations, “Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the International Court of Justice,” http://www.un.org/en/

documents/charter/index.shtml (accessed 7 July 2013).

 

2. Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy Defense Pricing (DPAP), “Contingency Contracting,” http://www.acq.osd.mil/

dpap/pacc/cc/ (accessed 12 April 2013). 

3. Plenary session. International Stability Operations Association 10th Annual Summit, 28 October 2015, National Press Club, 

Washington DC.

4. Plenary session. International Stability Operations Association 10th Annual Summit, 28 October 2015, National Press Club, 

Washington DC.

5. According to the International Labour Organization, more 

than twenty million men, women and children around the world 

are currently believed to be victims of human trafficking, a global 

criminal industry estimated to be worth $150.2 billion annually. 

As defined in the US Department of State’s 2014 Trafficking in 

Persons Report (TIP Report), the terms “trafficking in persons” 

and “human trafficking” refer broadly to “the act of recruiting, 

harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for 

compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, 

fraud, or coercion,” irrespective of whether the person has been 

moved from one location to another.

6. USGAO Report to Congressional Committees, “GAO-15-

102 Human Trafficking: Oversight of Contractors’ Use of Foreign 

Workers in High-Risk Environments Needs to Be Strengthened,” 

November 2014, http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/666998.pdf (accessed 8 December 2015).
41

7. DeWinter-Schmitt, Rebecca and Nick Forster, “The Changing Landscape of Federal Government Procurement: Addressing 

the Human Impacts.” International Stability Operations Association.

October 2015.

8. Doug Brooks, “Describing the Stability Operations Industry,” personal communication, 9 July 2013.

9. Panel Discussion Stability Operations (Chatham House 

rules). Hosted by Young Professionals in Foreign Policy at the 

Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C. 

28 August 2012. 

10. Doug Brooks, “Describing the Stability Operations Industry.”

11. Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy Defense 

Pricing (DPAP), “Contingency Contracting,” http://www.acq.osd.

mil/dpap/pacc/cc/ (accessed 12 April 2013). 

12. Doug Brooks, “Describing the Stability Operations Industry.” 

13. Plenary session. International Stability Operations Association 10th Annual Summit, 28 October 2015, National Press Club, 

Washington DC.

14. Plenary session. International Stability Operations Association 10th Annual Summit, 28 October 2015, National Press Club, 

Washington DC.

15. United Nations, “2013 UNHCR regional operations profile 

– East and Horn of Africa,” http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e45a846.

html, (accessed 12 July 2013).

16. Panel Discussion Members-only meeting (Chatham House 

rules). Hosted by the International Stability Operations Association. 14 December 2011.

17. Panel Presentation, Fighting for Continuity: Methods to Synchronize Kinetic and Non-Kinetic Efforts in Irregular Warfare (Chatham House rules). Center for Complex Operations 7th Inter-
42

national Lessons Learned Conference. Hosted by the National 

Defense University, Washington, D.C. 30 November 2011. 

18. Panel Presentation, Fighting for Continuity: Methods to Synchronize Kinetic and Non-Kinetic Efforts in Irregular Warfare. Center 

for Complex Operations 7th International Lessons Learned Conference, 30 November 2011, National Defense University, Washington DC.

19. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “The 

Montreux Document on Private Military and Security Companies,” http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/ montreuxdocument-170908.htm (accessed 8 February 2013)

20. International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers, “About the ICoC” , http://www.icoc-psp.org/About_ICoC.

html (accessed 28 July 2014)

21. International Code of Conduct Association, “Members of 

the ICoCA” http://icoca.ch/ (accessed 19 December 2015)

22. Grespin, “An Act of Faith: Building the International Code 

of Conduct for Private Security Providers,” http://www.diplomaticourier.com/news/topics/security/1233-an-act-of-faith-building-theinternational-code-of-conduct-for-private-security-providers (accessed 

26 March 2014)

23. Grespin, “An Act of Faith: Building the International Code 

of Conduct for Private Security Providers,” http://www.diplomaticourier.com/news/topics/security/1233-an-act-of-faith-building-theinternational-code-of-conduct-for-private-security-providers (accessed 

26 March 2014) 

24. DeWinter-Schmitt, Rebecca and Nick Forster, “The Changing Landscape of Federal Government Procurement: Addressing 

the Human Impacts.” International Stability Operations Association.

October 2015.

25. FSI Worldwide, “History,” http://www.fsi-worldwide.com/

index.php/about-us/history#.Udsw7IZc1LY (accessed 8 July 2013)
43

26. Panel presentation. Corporate Social Responsibility in Complex Environments. International Stability Operations Association 

10th Annual Summit, 28 October 2015, National Press Club, Washington DC

27. Panel presentation. Corporate Social Responsibility in Complex Environments. International Stability Operations Association 

10th Annual Summit, 28 October 2015, National Press Club, Washington DC

28. Nick Forster, “FSI FAR Trafficking in Persons Advisory,”

FSI Worldwide, March 2013.

29 Panel Discussion, Stability Operations (Chatham House 

rules). Hosted by Young Professionals in Foreign Policy at the 

Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C. 

28 August 2012. 

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newsearch.asp?bst=&cdlGroupID=&txt_country=&txt_

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