The Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) provides contingency support to augment the US Army force structure means to adequately support its forces using private military companies.
US Army has used contractors to provide supplies and services since the Revolutionary War. For example, George Washington contracted sutlers, or civilian merchants, to deliver supplies to his troops. During the Second World War, civilian workers provided support services throughout the war effort. In the Korean War, contractors provided stevedoring, along with road and rail maintenance. In the Vietnam War, contractors became a key part of the logistical capabilities by providing construction, base operations, transportation, supply distribution and technical support for new weapon systems. Throughout US history, civilian contractors have supported the Army on the battlefield and have become an indispensable part of its war fighting and peacekeeping capabilities.
In 1985, LOGCAP was established primarily to preplan for contingencies and to leverage the existing civilian resources. However, it was not until three years later before it was first used. In support of a United States Third Army mission, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) used LOGCAP to contract for the construction and maintenance of two petroleum pipelines systems in Southwest Asia.
Later, USACE awarded the first contract under LOGCAP umbrella concept to Brown and Root Services (now KBR) in August 1992 as a cost-plus-award-fee contract, which was used in December that year to support the United Nations forces in Somalia. This contract was also used to support forces in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, and Rwanda.
When this first umbrella contract had expired, it was competed again, with DynCorp being awarded the second contract in January 1997. This time, Army Materiel Command (AMC) took over management of the LOGCAP from USACE. From 1997 to 2001, DynCorp supported US forces in the Philippines, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, East Timor, and Panama.
AMC awarded LOGCAP III, the third contract, to KBR in 2001. Since then, it has been primarily supporting the Global War on Terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Djibouti, and Georgia.
However, as a result of the criticisms leveled against KBR, AMC ended LOGCAP III, which was replaced by the current LOGCAP round, dubbed "LOGCAP IV". Unlike the prior three rounds, under LOGCAP IV three contractors (KBR, DynCorp, and Fluor Corporation) were awarded contracts, whereupon the three could compete for future task orders.
| LOGCAP Contract Services | ||
|---|---|---|
| Direct Support/General Support (DS/GS) Operations | Field Services | Other Services |
| Class I (subsistence)
Class II (clothing and equipment) |
Billeting
Sanitation |
Airfield
Retrograde |
Ensuring adequate support for his operational plans is the primary logistics consideration for each combatant commander. He needs war-fighters to support his plans and logisticians to support the war-fighters. It is each military service’s responsibility to provide this logistical support. As just discussed for the Army, it is LOGCAP. For the Air Force and Navy, it is respectively the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program (AFCAP) and Navy Global Contingency Construction Contract (GCCC) and Global Contingency Services Contract (GCSC).