DOD official orders head count of private security guards

From Federal Computer Week, the guy in charge of paying for things wants to know what he’s paying for.

John Young, acting undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, has launched a comprehensive head count of private security contractors working for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a Sept. 28 memo, Young gave Defense Department officials until Nov. 1 to record personal, contract and detailed deployment information on all private security contractors and translators working in those two countries.

The sad thing is, many of us have been saying this is required for years. Think they’ll start putting contractors through CRC (CONUS Replacement Center) again? Doubt it, this is the chief bean counter. But depending on the distribution of his findings, maybe ground commanders will know who the heck is near them. More hopeful is that Mr. Young might connect ground commanders with the contract weenies so when there’s friction with a contractor a screw can be turned (which of course relies on real pain being felt and not offset by a larger contract elsewhere which as been the norm)?