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
Iran said Sunday it struck an unmanned U.S. vessel trying to enter the Strait of...
The US Central Command (Centcom) said it targeted Iran as it posed an "imminent threat" in...
The U.S. military on Saturday said it struck three Iranian oil tankers after Navy ships were...
Israeli forces fired phosphorus shells and carried out air strikes and heavy artillery attacks across several...
