Department of Defense Contractor and Troop Levels in Iraq and Afghanistan: 2007-2016

"This report provides background information for Congress on the levels of Department of Defense (DOD) troop and contractor personnel deployed in support of prior and ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information on DOD’s use of contractor personnel to support military operations, see CRS Report R43074, Department of Defense’s Use of Contractors to Support Military Operations: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress, by Moshe Schwartz.

The Role of Contractors in Military Operations

Throughout its history, DOD has relied on contractors to support a wide range of military operations. Operations over the past 30 years have highlighted the critical role that contractors play in supporting U.S. troops—both in terms of the number of contractors and the type of work being performed. During recent U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, contractors frequently averaged 50% or more of the total DOD presence in-country..."
Afghanistan troop levels

Department of Defense Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background and Analysis
"...The use of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan has raised a number of issues for Congress,
including 1) whether DOD is gathering and analyzing the right data on the use of contractors, 2)
what steps DOD is taking to improve contract management and oversight, and 3) the extent to
which contractors are included in military doctrine and strategy. This report examines current
contractor trends in Iraq and Afghanistan, steps DOD has taken to improve contractor oversight
and management, and the extent to which DOD has incorporated the role of contractors into its
doctrine and strategy. It also reviews steps Congress has taken to exercise oversight over DOD
contracting, including contracting issues that have been the focus of hearings and legislation."

Contractors’ Support of U.S. Operations in Iraq
"Contractors play a substantial role in supporting the United States’ current military, reconstruction, and diplomatic operations in Iraq. That support has raised questions regarding the costs, quantities, functions, and legal status of contractor personnel working in the Iraq theater.

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) paper, which was prepared at the request of the Senate Committee on the Budget, examines the use of contractors in the Iraq theater from 2003 through 2007. It provides an overview of the federal government’s costs of employing contractors in Iraq and in nearby countries, the type of products and services they provide, the number of personnel working on those contracts, comparisons of past and present use of contractors during U.S. military operations, and the use of contractors to provide security. CBO also investigated the command-and-control structure between the U.S. government and contract employees and the legal issues surrounding contractor personnel working in Iraq."