Citation

Schaub G. Defence Stud. 2010; 10(3): 369.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14702436.2010.503679

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

States have increasingly replaced military personnel with armed civilian contractors. Are these civilians members of the military profession? I address this question in two ways. First, I assess whether armed contractors exhibit the characteristics of the profession of arms: expertise in the application and management of violence, provision of cost-effective solutions within the jurisdiction of warfare, legitimacy derived from the state and polity, and a recognized corporate identity. Then I assess the views of 260 elite American field grade officers. I find that armed contractors do share many of the characteristics of military professionals but that officers do not view the civilian contractors as military professionals, are uncomfortable with their intrusion into the profession of arms, and are cognizant of their negative effects but some ambivalence in their responses suggests that the boundaries of the profession of arms are being permeated by civilian contractors acting in combat roles.