Communication Tools
Defense Contractors
DEFENSE CONTRACTORS ON THE OFFENSE
In mid-March, 2008, the Government Accountability Office issued a report calling on the Pentagon to rein in private contractors who oversee the allocation of taxpayer dollars without having to disclose any financial conflict of interest that may exist.
The story wasn’t as caliente as the $100 cases of soda pop but it does presage a crisis of public perception awaiting many contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan once the Bush Administration draws to a close.
In the hierarchy of public relations villains, war profiteers rank right at the top. A miscalculation here, or an accounting oversight there, might not constitute profiteering, but in a different political and business environment, politicians and the media likely won’t make fine distinctions. Democrats in the House and Senate are already taking dead aim at Defense Department officials responsible for billions in accounted spending.
Should a Democrat win the White House in November, government and media attention may also likely focus on payees who granted wildly lucrative contracts only to end up working for the very contractors they awarded.
With more than 163,000 private defense contractors operating in Iraq and 36,500 in Afghanistan – numbers respectively equal to the combat troops on the ground in each country – the potential for mainstream media coverage of the money trails is obviously significant.
Defense contractors must therefore take steps now to ensure that they are positioned favorably if/when the spotlight lands on them. Aside from flatly denying any wrongdoing, they will have to employ a proactive and protracted communications strategy:
Tap into the core values of their mission. Freedom, liberty, democracy, and patriotism – these values drive the defense contractors’ mission. Contractors must highlight the vital support role they play keeping American troops safe and American interests intact. They can employ powerful images from the front lines in communications materials while always underscoring enhanced national security as a context of the discussion.
Articulate their expertise. In many cases, the contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan are the only companies on the planet that can do what they do. Whether securing oil fields, protecting officials and diplomats, or feeding troops deployed at the tip of the spear, contractors must define their services and articulate the return on public investment that their expertise provides.
Show they have nothing to hide. Contractors should consider making financial information public before it’s requested by regulators, reporters, or Congress. Most defense contract information is publicly available through the Defense Contract Audit Agency, so whoever wants the information can get it anyway. Contractors can blunt the disclosure impact by posting contract details on their Websites or talking candidly about their profit margins. Doing so now co-ops the news hook later.
Focus on government policy. Defense contractors abide with legal and regulatory frameworks set forth by Congress itself. If it’s the law that’s flawed, it’s the lawmakers who should be held accountable, not the contractors complying with policy every step of the way.
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