Military contractors cost two to three times more than Pentagon civilians doing identical work.

Evidence

Research shows that contractors cost two to three times as much as Pentagon civilians doing the same work. More than half of Army contracts go to administrative overhead rather than contract services. Military comptrollers acknowledge that when it comes to the use of contractors, “growth has been unchallenged.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 710

The Pentagon and the government generally justify the use of so many contractors based on their supposed efficiency, but reality appears to be the opposite. Research shows that contractors cost two to three times as much as Pentagon civilians doing the same work. More than half of Army contracts go to administrative overhead rather than contract services. Military comptrollers acknowledge that when it comes to the use of contractors, “growth has been unchallenged.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 710

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the concrete efficiency/cost dimension of the contractor justification debate, showing the stated rationale fails on cost alone.
• XREF: Ties into the book’s broader thesis that contractors and the base economy persist for political and extractive reasons, not genuine efficiency. — connects to: Contractors usually outsource base services at higher cost than the military itself — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 678
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 710