Civil support for deployed forces
Defence is looking now to formalise the previously rather ad hoc employment of civil contractors on deployed operations.
Late last year Defence released two ITRs concerning the use of civil contractors for the provision of logistic support services for deployed forces, including support within operational areas. One was for the provision of such services to ADF operations in the Middle East and Central Asia regions, the other was for a planning partner to assist Defence in planning contractor support for these eventualities.
Over the past decade the market testing of support activities, which hitherto had been undertaken in Australia by uniformed personnel, paved the way to the outsourcing of an ever-widening range of engineering, logistic, garrison support, transport and warehousing support tasks to civilian contractors under the Commercial Support Program.
The drawback to this was that the ADF then lacked the resources to support its troops on overseas missions including operational deployments so, to an increasing extent, it has had to turn to commercial organisation to provide logistic support activities for deployed forces, recent examples including support for ADF operations in East Timor and the Solomons.
This support for overseas deployments has been arranged as needs arose, or as industry phrases it, 'at the last moment' which then requires hurried and unique planning and implementation to meet particular situations. In a move aimed at both encouraging further industry participation in support activities and reducing implementation timeframes in arranging operational support, Defence is seeking to recruit a planning partner to augment its planning capability. It has also updated its policy on the employment of civil contractors for support of the ADF along the following lines:
* commercial support to operations should be considered a standard option rather than an exceptional case
* the ADF is responsible for the protection of contractors from environmental and hostile threats on operations
* contractors may not carry weapons or directly take part in hostilities
* a decision to use contractors must take into account the ADF's ability to protect them, the criticality of the capability they may provide and the cost-effectiveness of the contract
* where necessary, contractors should be integrated into ADF planning, exercising and preparedness regimes.
But the ITR that interests us here is that which seeks civil contractor support for Middle East and Central Asia operations.
According to the ITR the ADF may from time to time have multiple Australian force elements (FE) operating from developed or undeveloped bases in the Middle East and Central Asia regions in support of the US Operation Enduring Freedom. The countries in which services may now be required include, but are not limited to Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
Defence is seeking to enter into a standing offer agreement, presumably to recontest or expand its current agreement in that region with Inchcape Shipping Services, with one or more contractors to provide a range of logistic support services to these force elements with the requirement varying according to need and the facilities available at any particular base.
Defence's intention is to explore options of contracting the logistic support services where a single provider is unable to provide services to the entire region of the Middle East and Central Asia. This may necessitate the establishment of a standing offer with a single provider for a designated group of countries or even for an individual country.
Multiple standing offers will not be offered for an individual country, but it is possible that standing offers across the entire region of the Middle East and Central Asia will be offered by country. Respondents to the ITR were therefore encouraged to provide proposals confined to individual countries or groups of countries, on the proviso that they also provide separate proposals for the entire region. Proposals confined to individual countries or groups of countries were to be assessed separately from proposals for the entire region.
The services required are extensive and range over vehicle hire, transport services and labour hire; foreign language services; container hire; telecommunication services; equipment and appliance hire. Also required are demountable buildings and the usual range of garrison support services such as catering, laundry, cleaning and facilities management. Local procurement and travel services are also included in the SOW.
The ITR described as essential, knowledge and experience in such exotica as the ability to interact with local industry and local government agencies as well as the more mundane fields of freight distribution, labour hire regulations, maritime operations, garrison support and so on.
In the evaluation of the ITR responses leading to the selection of the five organisations shortlisted to receive the RFT early this year, the following selection criteria as to respondent's capacity, past performance and corporate capability were applied:
* current presence in the Middle East with access to Coalition bases and approval to maintain business operations in designated host nations
* ability to expand provision of services and delivery of goods beyond the designated countries to other countries in the Middle East and Central Asia
* knowledge, experience and capacity to provide the services identified
* managerial capacity to manage multiple subcontractors
* past performance in providing the type of goods and services identified within the Middle East
* previous work undertaken for the Department of Defence or Coalition partners.
>From the responses received to the ITR, Defence has selected five organisations to receive the RFT for the next phase of this requirement. They are:
* DynCorp Australia
* ESS Support Services Worldwide (Compass Group)
* Inchcape Shipping Services
* Kellogg Brown & Root
* Patrick Defence Logistics
All of these companies have a presence in the Middle East to a varying degree and by virtue of their selection it can be assumed that they all meet the capability requirements sought by the ITR. Following are brief thumbnail descriptions of their capabilities.
By any measure DynCorp is big. Currently operating in 44 overseas countries it has been a worldwide force providing maintenance support to the US military through contract field teams (CFTs). Its services contracts cover network integration, high-tech range operations, global defence logistics, maintenance services and contingency support. DynCorp held the US DoD LOGCAP contract and through that operated in East Timor.
DynCorp is a subsidiary of CSC and is currently operating in the Middle East region in a number of roles including training the Iraqi and Afghani Police Forces, providing security services for US Army facilities in Qatar, and a range of other security services in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
In this country CSC Australia has been serving government and business needs in consulting, systems integration, infrastructure outsourcing, application services, labour supply and domain knowledge capabilities since 1970.
DynCorp Australia is offering the full range of base support, maintenance, range and ILS services including security, marine and aviation services, presumably offering significant 'reachback' to its US parent.
ESS, the support services division of Compass Group, the largest foodservice company in the world, is the leading provider of foodservice and related support services to clients in remote site, defence and off-shore locations around the world. ESS, formerly known as Eurest Support Services, complements the Compass Group's international growth in multi-service provision contracts.
Defence-wise ESS operates in major garrisons around the world, in the field - both theatre and relief operations-and in military headquarters and administrative offices such as the Pentagon. Its multi-service offers bundle a variety of services from technical support and supply logistics to hotel services and catering; vehicle maintenance, transport and camp building to pest control, healthcare and communications.
In Australia ESS multi-activity support services include catering, accommodation management and hospitality services, cleaning, logistics, air-movements, range management, passenger and courier transport services. Other specialist support activities include grounds maintenance, waste management, pest control, laundry, dry-cleaning, and forward support services in operational theatres.
It appears that military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have helped transform Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), the world's largest shipping agent into a major military logistic service provider. With offices in 45 countries and 18 in Australia alone, Inchcape's diversified customer base covers the oil, cruise, navy, container and commodity sectors but such diversification has now been extended to land-based military logistic support operations in the Middle East where ISS has a major presence.
In addition to long term global port services contracts with the UK MoD, ISS has ship husbandry contracts with the US Navy. In Iraq and Afghanistan ISS provides a range of theatre-wide logistic support services to US, UK, Australian and Canadian forces. Military shipping and support now accounts for ten percent of ISS profits.
Inchcape teamed with KBR for the UK MoD's CONLOG contract to provide logistics and infrastructure support to Permanent Joint Forces Headquarters (PJHQ) operations and exercises worldwide. As we have noted ISS currently provides logistic support services for the ADF in the Middle East through a 2002 standing offer contract.
Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), a Halliburton company, is a major logistics management provider for large complex projects and operations around the world. KBR has been performing logistics management services since the 1930s and today it dominates the government services world contingency market by providing logistics support to forces deployed around the world.
The company has major contracts with the Pentagon in the Middle East including for the provision of logistics and reconstruction services in Iraq. When KBR entered into the competitively bid LOGCAP III contract in 2001, the scope of work called for KBR to be prepared to support 25,000 troops, with an absolute maximum of 50,000. This was the same scope of work in hand when work began on the war in Iraq. But KBR's actual assignment in Iraq and Kuwait, however, has meant a dramatic increase in that scope. Today KBR is providing support for more than 210,000 US and Coalition troops and civilians in more than 60 camps. KBR also has a seven year CONLOG (infrastructure and logistic support) contract with the UK MoD to support military operations and exercises worldwide.
KBR's Australian subsidiary has been part of Australia's development since the early 1950s when it built tunnels for the Snowy Mountains scheme. Local defence activities include a range of consultancy, management and logistic support services and KBR has assisted with the progress of a number of defence projects including the Replacement Patrol Boat, JP 126, Echidna, Land 134, Parakeet, providing management and logistic support training services. KBR is conducting the training program for the new Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) and no doubt it is a contender for the DMO's Strategic Training Partner.
The parent company, Patrick Corporation, is a transport logistics company with interests in port terminals, stevedoring, distribution and shipping throughout Australia, as well as an air division consisting primarily of Virgin Blue.
Patrick has built an integrated network of freight logistics operations across all transport modes - rail, road, sea and air. The company significantly expanded its capacity to provide fast and reliable distribution of cargo by the recent acquisitions of a 50% stake in rail operator, Pacific National, and 45% in Virgin Blue airline. Ports division activities embrace terminals, port services, general stevedoring, international freight and technology. The latter develops IT systems and communications networks to support the group.
Patrick Defence Logistics is part of the group's land division and provides logistics support services to the Defence sector as well as commercial and government organisations with specialist project management requirements. Its services are provided on a global scale and it has supported ADF deployments in East Timor and the Solomons.
Earlier this year the US Defense Department proposed for public comment a new rule to establish uniform treatment of contractors accompanying deployed forces. The sweeping rule, which would amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), also would allow combatant commanders to adjust contract requirements in response to rapidly changing conditions on the battlefield.
The proposed rule contains a new clause for use in contracts that require contractor employees to accompany military forces engaged in contingency, humanitarian, peacekeeping or combat operations, outside the United States. Under the clause contractors accompanying a deployed force would have to:
* accept the risks associated with contract performance in such 'inherently dangerous' operations
* assume responsibility for all support required for contractor personnel, eg medical and legal services, unless otherwise specified in the contract
* assume responsibility for all issues relating to exclusion contained in employee insurance policies that may be provided through a compensation package
* comply and ensure that its employees comply with all laws and regulations of the United States and the host country or locality, and with the Uniform Code of Military Justice where applicable
* comply with instructions of the combatant commander relating to all transport, logistical and support requirements which, in the event of a conflict, take precedence over any contract terms.
The clause also contains a provision dealing with changes in emergencies. It says that if the contracting officer or his representative is not available and emergency action is required that causes an immediate possibility of death or serious injury to contractor personnel, the ranking military commander may direct the contractor or employee to undertake any action so long as those actions do not require the contractor employee to engage in armed conflict with an enemy force.
The clause would authorise the contractor to submit a request for an equitable adjustment (REA) for any additional effort or loss of equipment occasioned by such a direction. An REA could also be submitted if the instructions related to transportation, logistical and support requirements conflict with the contract terms. The proposed rule came almost nine months after the General Accounting Office criticised the US Defense Department for failing to provide consistent policy and oversight regarding the use of contractors in support of deployed forces.
In its June '03 report, GAO said that of the four military services, only the Army had developed substantial guidance for dealing with such contractors. GAO called for the development of department-wide guidance and standard contract language on the subject.
For publication soon in its Strategic Paper series, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has been undertaking a comprehensive study of the role of civilian contractors in supporting military operations including deployed operations.
And while its findings and recommendations have yet to be released it is believed that author Dr Mark Thomson sees as essential that the ADF develop and retain a small but robust core capacity to support itself during an initial deployment into a high threat environment. At the same time he is believed to be a strong advocate for the careful but wide employment of civil contractors in support of low risk operations and elsewhere, as a cost effective force multiplier for the ADF, through their replacement of uniformed logistic staff at the rear.
By Tom Muir, Canberra