On a superficial level, the shift means that most of those representing the United States in the war will be wearing the scruffy cargo pants, polo shirts, baseball caps and other casual accouterments favored by overseas contractors rather than the fatigues and flight suits of the military.
More fundamentally, the contractors who are a majority of the force in what has become the most important American enterprise abroad are subject to lines of authority that are less clear-cut than they are for their military colleagues.
Contractors Outnumber U.S. Troops in Afghanistan
A pause in fighting between the U.S. and Iran came to a screeching halt after Tehran...
As munitions streaked through the night sky, a plaintive cry like a whale song echoed in...
Washington has reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports after the collapse of a planned...
The US has paused strikes on Iran for a second night as top military officials advised...
