Established in 1985, LOGCAP is an Army program that preplans for the use of global corporate resources to support worldwide contingency operations. In the event that U.S. forces deploy, contractor support is then available to a commander as an option. Examples of the types of support available include supply operations, laundry and bath, food service, sanitation, billeting, personnel support, maintenance, transportation, engineering and construction, and power generation and distribution. LOGCAP has been used to support U.S. forces in operations in Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia and is currently being used to support operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Uzbekistan, as well as in other countries. The use of LOGCAP to support U.S. troops in Iraq is the largest effort in the history of LOGCAP. The LOGCAP contract comprises a series of task orders that commit both the contractor to provide services and the government to pay for those services. Some of the task orders are considered undefinitized contracting actions because the terms, specifications, and price of the task orders are not agreed upon before performance begins. Undefinitized contract actions are used when (1) government interests demand that the contractor be given a binding commitment so that work can begin immediately and (2) negotiating a definitive contract is not possible in sufficient time to meet the requirement. The Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) requires that undefinitized contract actions must include a not-to-exceed cost and a definitization schedule. DFARS also requires that the contract be definitized within 180 days or before 50 percent of the work to be performed is completed, whichever occurs first. The head of an agency may waive the requirement. Both LOGCAP and the Balkans Support Contract are cost-plus-award-fee contracts. Cost-plus-award-fee contracts entitle the contractor to be reimbursed for reasonable, allowable, and allocable costs incurred to the extent prescribed in the contract. The advantage of cost-plus-award-fee contracts is that they provide financial incentives based on contractor’s performance and criteria stated in the contract. These contracts enable the government to evaluate a contractor’s performance according to specified criteria and to grant an award amount within designated parameters. Thus, award fees can serve as a valuable tool to help control program risk and encourage excellence in contract performance. But to reap the advantages that cost-plus-award-fee contracts offer, the government must implement an effective award fee process. Responsibility for the LOGCAP contract is divided among multiple DOD and service components. AMC is the Army executive agent for LOGCAP, and it has organized the program under its Army Field Support Command (AFSC). According to Army regulation, as the executive agent, AMC is responsible for coordinating LOGCAP requirements (and the requirements of any other AMC umbrella support contracts) with the unified commands, other services, and Army-supported combatant commanders for AMC contractor support. AMC has assigned responsibility for LOGCAP to the commander of AFSC, who has task-organized LOGCAP under three separate offices, all of which report directly to him. These three offices are (1) the LOGCAP Program Manager, (2) the LOGCAP Contracting Office, and (3) the LOGCAP Support Unit. The key contract management roles and responsibilities for these three offices are detailed in table 1, along with the management roles and responsibilities of LOGCAP customers. DCMA also plays a role in overseeing contract activities. When requested by the procuring contracting officer, DCMA monitors a contractor’s performance and management systems to ensure that the cost, product performance, and delivery schedules comply with the terms and conditions of the contract. As of November 2004, DCMA had 46 employees in Iraq monitoring multiple DOD contracts, including the LOGCAP contract. DCAA performs contract audits of the LOGCAP contract and provides accounting and financial advisory services regarding contracts and subcontracts for AFSC. These services are provided in connection with the negotiation, administration, and settlement of contracts and subcontracts. Overall, the Army has taken numerous actions, or is in the process of taking actions to improve the management and oversight of LOGCAP as well as related contracts, based on our earlier reporting. Some of the initiatives the Army has completed or has under way that should contribute to stronger management of LOGCAP include (1) rewriting its guidance, including its field manual for the use of contractors on the battlefield, and its primary regulation for obtaining contractor support in wartime operations; (2) implementing near- and longer-term training for commanders and logisticians; (3) developing a deployable unit to provide training and assistance for commands using LOGCAP; (4) restructuring the LOGCAP contracting office to provide additional personnel resources in key areas; and (5) eliminating the backlog of contract task orders requiring definitization and conducting award fee boards in order to improve the financial oversight and control of LOGCAP. The absence of guidance on how to effectively use LOGCAP was cited in our 1997 report as an area that needed improvement, and since that time the Army has rewritten two key documents that provide guidance on using LOGCAP. In January 2003, the Army reissued Field Manual 3-100.21, Contractors on the Battlefield, and it is currently rewriting Army Regulation 715-9, Contractors Accompanying the Force. These documents should significantly improve the supported forces’ understanding of the Army policies, responsibilities, and procedures for using contractors effectively on the battlefield. The Army’s rewritten field manual provides guidance for commanders and their staff at all levels in the planning, management, and use of contractors in each area of operations, as well as guidance describing the relationship between contractors and both the combatant commanders and the Army’s service component commanders. The manual addresses supported forces’ roles and responsibilities in planning contractor support; deploying and redeploying contractor personnel and equipment; and managing, supporting, and protecting contractors. It also addresses the planning process and relates the planning for contractor support to the military decision-making process. The Army’s regulation for contractors accompanying the force is still in draft; however, when completed, we believe it will establish Army policy for planning and managing contracted support. According to an information paper on the draft regulation, it proposes significant changes in three areas. The most significant policy change in terms of contract management and oversight is the recommendation that the supported unit (that is, the customer) be responsible for providing day-to-day control of contractors’ activities. Contract managers will continue to be responsible for the business aspects of managing the contractor workforce. The other two changes deal with (1) the accountability and support of contractor employees and (2) the medical screening, training, and equipping of contractor employees prior to deployment. An Army official working on the draft regulation said that once the regulation is finalized, the field manual will be revised to incorporate the changes. Training and assistance programs have been or are being developed to improve the understanding of the contract and how it is managed and controlled. A 1999 initiative was the creation of a deployable unit, known as the LOGCAP Support Unit, to assist commanders in planning for and using the contract effectively. The unit consists of 66 Army Reserve soldiers with specialties in logistics, engineering, quartermaster duties, transportation, and ordinance. Because customers often have little knowledge of contract processes, the unit has developed training materials that address the issues of planning, operational impacts, execution responsibilities, and keys to success. This training addresses preparing statements of work, independent government cost estimates, and the contractor’s cost estimates and technical plans and has been presented at the Quartermaster School, the Battle Command Training Program, and DCMA’s predeployment training. The LOGCAP Support Unit has also taken steps to increase the size of the unit and improve its training. As we reported in July 2004, the unit was deployed in the early stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and when the original members returned home, replacement teams were created and staffed with individuals who had no prior LOGCAP or contracting experience. Since then, the unit has developed a program of instruction to enhance LOGCAP Support Unit members’ skills in key areas. As of November 2004, two sessions of the training have been conducted for all members of the unit who are not deployed. The LOGCAP Support Unit has also worked with the LOGCAP Program Manager’s office and DCMA to ensure the consistency of information being provided in each office’s training. The LOGCAP Program Manager’s office, in conjunction with the LOGCAP Support Unit, has also made efforts to educate the users of LOGCAP services about their responsibilities. When the office has become aware of units preparing for deployment, it has dispatched teams tasked with briefing commanders on the contract and their responsibilities. LOGCAP training has also been presented at senior-level symposiums and made a part of several warfighter exercises. We did not follow up on DOD’s efforts to integrate LOGCAP into professional military education because DOD is in the process of developing a training module that could be utilized by each of the mid- and senior-level service schools. Recently, AFSC restructured the LOGCAP Contracting Office to provide additional resources in key areas. This includes dividing procuring contracting officer functions and contracting branch chief functions as well as establishing definitization and award fee board coordinators. The command also established a Deputy Division Chief position. To assist in the timely resolution of issues in the theater, the command deployed contracting officers to Kuwait and Iraq to establish closer working relationships with commanders and DCMA personnel located there. AFSC is also in the process of reorganizing its contracting office.