Contractors as Military Professionals?

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  • Gary John Schaub Jr
  • Volker Franke
Security contractors often work side-by-side with soldiers and sometimes take on roles traditionally performed by the military. Is the use of contractors compatible with the strong and pervasive professional military ethos? What are the motivations, values, and attitudes of individuals who sign on with private security firms? Do they share norms, behavioral codes, and a professional identity? How do contractors view their professional status and relationship with traditional military forces? How do military members view contractors? Using survey methodology, we compare the attitudes of US military officers to those of security contractors with law-enforcement backgrounds who had completed at least one overseas deployment with a security firm and examine how the two groups view each other, their roles, and professional status.
Original languageEnglish
JournalParameters - Journal of the United States Army War College
Volume39
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)88-104
Number of pages17
ISSN0031-1723
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2010
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Commented upon by:
David Isenberg, “The Presumed and Possible PMC Professionalism,” The Huffington Post (19 March 2010).

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