Gates questions combat training by contractors

He's asking for answers from the Pentagon's top military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.

"In my mind, the fundamental question that remains unanswered is this: Why have we come to rely on private contractors to provide combat or combat-related security training for our forces?" Gates wrote in a memo to Mullen that was released Monday to The Associated Press by the office of Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

"Further, are we comfortable with this practice, and do we fully understand the implications in terms of quality, responsiveness and sustainability?"

Gates' memo came after Webb raised concerns about the role of private contractors and specifically Blackwater Worldwide, which opened a new counterterrorism training center in San Diego last month over the opposition of city officials.

Webb had been blocking Senate consideration of four civilian Defense Department nominees while waiting for answers. On Monday, Webb told Gates he was lifting his opposition to the nominees.

In a letter to Gates, Webb wrote that he found the "affirmative steps" outlined in Gates' memo reassuring. Webb was secretary of the Navy under President Reagan and now serves on the Armed Services Committee.

Webb told Gates that after getting briefed by the Navy last week he still believes there's a "need for more rigorous, senior-level oversight of the outsourcing contracts themselves."

Such contracts must exceed $78.5 million before getting reviewed by service secretaries, Webb said he was told. So the Navy's fixed-price contract for Blackwater's Lodge and Training Center in North Carolina, which had a ceiling price of $63.8 million--of which $53.2 million has been obligated--would have escaped such scrutiny, Webb wrote. He said he was told the contract was initially valued at $35.9 million.

"Clearly, the size of these contracts and the relatively low level at which such contracts can now be approved should give all of us pause," Webb wrote.