Civilians On The Battlefield Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Civilians On The Battlefield - Essay Example The growing dependence on contractors in today's nonlinear battlefield, combined with its explicit inclusion stated in the current military strategy, provides the need to critically examine the subject of contractors on the battlefield. There are many challenges with civilians on the battlefield; however, increased use of civilians has changed the face of combat for the military because Global War on Terror (GWOT) has advocated an increasing number of civilians on the nonlinear battlefield. The growing dependence on contractors in today's nonlinear battlefield, combined with its explicit inclusion stated in the current military strategy, provides the need to critically examine the subject of contractors on the battlefield. To bind this complex area of study, this paper will briefly discuss the background of contractor support to the military and review the current policies and doctrine involving logistical services provided by contractors in combat operations, specifically focused on the United States Army. The use of contractors for operational support is an acceptable risk for the combatant commander as the contractors are generally achieving their mission. Current force structure requires the use of contractors for contingency operations and there are many considerations to ensure the combatant commander is properly supported Civilians have participated in military operations from t... During the Revolutionary War civilians were called "Camp Followers" as they followed the Army from camp to camp. They were most often wives and children of the soldiers and they functioned as cooks, nurses, and mended clothes. Some were even paid for their services. (Van Cortland House Museum) Prior to Operation Desert Shield/Storm policies and procedures that governed civilian personnel during combat operations were ambivalent or nonexistent. Civilian contractors were used extensively during the Vietnam War. "The heavy use of contractors during that War led the Army to determine that a need existed for a preplanned method for utilizing Contractors on the Battlefield" (GlobalSecurity.org, 1). Policies and procedures codified in directives and regulations following Desert Shield/Storm were a vast improvement over previous documents. During this war there were many contracts awarded for logistics support. This resulted in uneven results. The need for a regulated system to award contracts was evident. Current policies and procedures provide clarity and direction. Issues exist with compensation, Emergency-Essential (E-E) position designation, and accountability. Given that the Army is operating in an asymmetric environment, policies and Procedures that govern E-E civilians must change to meet the new environment. II. Civilian contractors are an asset and combat multipliers. Civilian contractors are assets to combat commanders especially when it comes to logistics. LTG Walker (Commander, 8th US Army, Korean War) said it nicely: ""There is no one but yourself to keep your back door open. You can live without food, but you cannot last long without ammunition." Logistics are vital to war fighting. Civilian contracted logistics

Operations Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Operations Strategy - Essay Example For instance, it is not only enough to focus the whole energy of an organization on production activities, but considering that there are existing processes in the business world as it continuously evolves, other aspects need to be substantially focused and even strategic actions have to be implemented. History The existence of business itself paves way to the formulation of operations strategy. Businesses ended up to the creation of business strategies. These led to the formulation of effective operations strategies (Waters, 1999). Businesses have to function efficiently and this is the reason why strategies are necessary to be integrated with the whole business operation. In fact, this is evident on how the United States’ business evolved over time. The evolution of business policy and management started between 1930 and 1960 as highly influenced by American dominance in the global market (Amatori & Jones, 2003). It is during this period that business was considered as an is olated American subdiscipline. During this time, the United States has become one of the leading countries that introduced business sophistication into the world. This resulted to significant innovation and major changes how the business including its operations was conducted. Throughout history, businesses evolved and primarily this is sped up by the onset of globalization in the modern business world. In globalization, there is increasing interdependence between national systems through different aspects including trade, military alliance, domination and cultural imperialism (Waters, 2001). It is not surprising therefore that the business world has significant changes over time due to the fact that interdependence between nations existed. This includes maximization of resources and operation. This is the very reason why business has become international and has turned into a good opportunity for international organizations to maximize their operations and resources. As the effect, each organization that tries to compete with each other is trying to create competitive strategies for their competitive advantage (Porter, 1990). For instance, marketing strategies existed and companies are after of stimulating needs not just relying purely on production oriented operation approach (Boone & Kurtz, 2006; Kotler et al., 1999). In short, the need for operations strategy is necessary in order to compete. The need for innovation is not just on producing new service or product offerings, but there is substantial consideration on business operation approach in which strategies are become its integral parts in the process. In other words, as business itself evolved, its corresponding operation which has been an integral part in its existence has also become so involved with business strategic formulation. This is in line with the creation of competitive advantage due to spiraling growth of competition everywhere most especially that the world has become so compressed when it comes to interdependence in trade. Thus, every organization is expected to formulate their very own operation strategies in order to sustain their ventures and even maximize their full advantage in their respective industries. Relevance It is important to understand that the relevance of operations strategy at present can be traced back to how business has substantially evolved. Operations element of a business