Faced with a decreasing supply of national troops, dwindling defense budgets, and the ever-rising demand for boots on the ground in global conflicts and humanitarian emergencies, decision makers are left with little choice but to legalize and legitimize the use of private military contractors (PMCs). Outsourcing Security examines the impact that bureaucratic controls and the increasing permissiveness of security environments have had on the U.S. military's growing use of PMCs during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Bruce E. Stanley examines the relationship between the rise of the private security industry and five potential explanatory variables tied to supply-and-demand theory in six historical cases, including Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the U.S. intervention in Bosnia in 1995, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Outsourcing Security is the only work that moves beyond a descriptive account of the rise of PMCs to lay out a precise theory explaining the phenomenon and providing a framework for those considering PMCs in future global interaction.

Every year, the US Department of Defense allocates more than $400 billion to for-profit firms. Which raises the question: Where does the money go? Thomas Bruneau takes a deep dive into the murky waters of national defense outsourcing to answer that question. Moving beyond the issue of private military contractors, Bruneau investigates the scope, legality, and implications of the private sector's vast involvement in securing the nation.

For my thesis I studied government A-76 studies and outsourcing in general. Specifically my goal was to determine the efficiency resulting from these often timely and intensive studies. To do this I first looked at several functional areas to include Army Depot level maintenance, Training and Professional Development, family housing or the Residential Communities Initiative, and the Logistics Civil Augmentation program. I then looked at specific installation A-76 studies for three installations, FT Belvoir, Virginia, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, and Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. My intent was to study a variety of different cases with different circumstances to include those in which the government operation presided and those in which a contract was awarded.The data gathered is actual data from public documents and numerous interviews with staff officials involved in the A-76 process.In addition I researched the congruent A-76 programs of the other Department of Defense services, the Navy, Air Force and Marines. This study is intended to serve as a comparative analysis to the U.S. Army program and provide a basis for comparison and evaluation of progress. I concluded that the in most cases, actual process of A-76 itself fostered efficiency either in the actual downsizing of government employees or in the increased efficiency of existing work forces due primarily to the detailed study of the work force and its work load. Staffs that did a good job in the A-76 study worked towards a leaner and more efficient staff focused on mission essential tasks. The end result, doing the essential elements of work required with the appropriate staff did save the government dollars with the added benefit of increased efficiency.