Contract Officer in Military Service Contracts

Abstract

The contracting of services within the military is a growing field of opportunity for prospective contractors. With the added attention given to the Office of Management and Budget's A‐76 Commercial Activities policy, many contractable services previously performed by government forces are now being accomplished by private companies. Contractors accustomed to performing construction‐related work may not be aware that service contracts contain added requirements. As in all government contracts, contractors deal frequently with representatives who do not have the actual authority to obligate the government, but this problem can be more pronounced in the services‐related field. Additionally, each branch of the military approaches service contracting in a slightly varied form with their own contracting guidelines. As the federal budget constraints increase, the military will assuredly devote more attention to the management of their contracts while concurrently relying on free enterprise to provide needed services within A‐76 policy guidelines.