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In the decade that ended in 2016, the Department of Defense spent over $249 billion on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom were injured. While contractor numbers peaked in 2009 (Iraq) and 2012 (Afghanistan), numbers remain high. At the end of 2016, the United States Central Command employed nearly 43,000 private military contractors, and well over half were …

The large contingent of military contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq led many pundits in Congress and the media to briefly call for “insourcing,” or giving these jobs to regular service members, especially after a few high-profile incidents. But such calls overlook the long history of military contractors. According to many, that history really goes back to the 18th century, when …

The sprawling DoD installation in Iraq, which is home to an F-16 squadron and infamous among many contractors, is getting a $134 million facelift and expansion. Reston, Virginia-based Sallyport Global Holdings will do all the work in the next six months. According to a news release, the job entails upgrades and expansions to “base operations support, life support and security …

The Department of Defense hired Arlington-based PAE Government Services to perform “training and mentoring, and contractor logistics support for the Afghanistan National Defense Security Forces,” according to a news release. With Obama-era troop withdrawals still the order of the day, at least for the most part, and the nation facing increasing pressure from both Taliban and Daesh (ISIS) forces, the …

38-year-old senior chief petty officer Kyle Milliken is believed to be the first KIA in Somalia since the infamous “Black Hawk Down” battle in 1993. SCPO Milliken was part of an assist-and-advise mission, supporting a Somali National Army operation against al-Shabaab about 40 miles outside Mogadishu; al-Shabaab is an al-Qaeda affiliated group that is waging a civil war against Somalia’s …