Public-Private Partnerships: Proceedings of the U.S.-U.K. Conference on Military Installation Assets, Operations, and Services

The U.S. Department of Defense and the U.K. Ministry of Defense face a common challenge: to modernize their forces to meet changing military threats under reduced budgets. To meet this challenge, both organizations are increasingly interested in leveraging private sector capital and expertise to provide defense activities and support services. While both countries have reduced their force structures and defense spending substantially since the end of the Cold War, the United Kingdom has been more aggressive in pursuing such private sector involvement. As the U.S. Army seeks to improve the performance and reduce the cost of support services, one essential tool will be the greater use of private sector capabilities and resources. A conference brought together the U.S. and U.K. defense officials, U.S. Army leaders, and commercial contractors from both countries to discuss the British experience with privatization and explore its applicability to the U.S. Army.