Publisher's Synopsis
The cost of modern joint/coalition warfare is rapidly rising and our nation's ability to address this trend while maintaining the effectiveness of our fighting force will pose a significant challenge for the foreseeable future. In line with the overall government trend towards privatization and outsourcing, much attention has been focused in the past five years on the employment of contractors through private military firms (PMF) and the defense industry to alleviate some of the pressure generated by soaring personnel costs. By contracting out various functions that are deemed "not inherently military" and applying what are commonly termed "best business practices", the Department of Defense has embarked on a determined campaign to reduce the "bottom line" of manpower accounts with a post Cold War target of 700,000 uniformed military personnel.
