Examining the Positive and Negative Aspects of US Military/Contractor Bonds in the Operational Environment

TY - JOUR

T1 - Examining the Positive and Negative Aspects of US Military/Contractor Bonds in the Operational Environment

AU - Kinsey, Christopher

AU - Batka, Caroline

AU - Schilling, Stefan

PY - 2022/4/25

Y1 - 2022/4/25

N2 - The US Department of Defense (DoD) relies on contractors to execute its mission. Although the DoD aims to maintain functional group bonds among personnel to accomplish its objectives, the relationships between DoD personnel and contractors are not well understood. To examine the US military/contractor bond, we conducted a small, non-generalizable pilot study based on semi-structured interviews. Participants described a range of barriers to establishing military/contractor bonds, including inter-organizational impediments, issues with professional boundaries, lack of common communication processes, and social comparison. Participants also identified various facilitators to military/contractor bonds, including shared goals and experiences.

AB - The US Department of Defense (DoD) relies on contractors to execute its mission. Although the DoD aims to maintain functional group bonds among personnel to accomplish its objectives, the relationships between DoD personnel and contractors are not well understood. To examine the US military/contractor bond, we conducted a small, non-generalizable pilot study based on semi-structured interviews. Participants described a range of barriers to establishing military/contractor bonds, including inter-organizational impediments, issues with professional boundaries, lack of common communication processes, and social comparison. Participants also identified various facilitators to military/contractor bonds, including shared goals and experiences.

KW - Contractors

KW - Functional Group Bonds

KW - operational level

KW - Iraq War

KW - US Department of Defencse

KW - military

UR - https://journals.upress.ufl.edu/jpms/article/view/1839

U2 - 10.5744/jpms/2001

DO - 10.5744/jpms/2001

M3 - Article

VL - 48

SP - 135

EP - 173

JO - the Journal of Political and Military Sociology

JF - the Journal of Political and Military Sociology

IS - 2

M1 - 2

ER -