In October 2008, ePluribus Media received new census data from Central Command (CENTCOM) in response to an FOIA request filed back in August of 2007. The data provides an overview of the number of contractors working in Iraq: nationalities, agencies they work, approximate number of employees, contract end date, etc. Most of the contracts continue to fall under Department of Defense and defense related agencies as was evidenced in the Census data released in 2007.

New Data

3rd Quarter FY 07 Contractor Census Report
4th Quarter FY 07 Contractor Census Report
1st Quarter FY 08 Contractor Census Report

This is the second set of data received by ePluribus Media. Click chart below to enlarge. 

Background

The Census was originally compiled by CENTCOM in response to a Memorandum issued by Robert A. Burton, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Executive Office of the President, with a subject line entitled: Request Contracting Information on Contractors Operating in Iraq, from the Office of Management and Budget, dated May 16, 2006. [1] In Fall of 2006, contracting officers in Iraq reported new survey forms. By the summer of 2007, the data was released to a number of media outlets, resulting in articles in the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times.

Additional Reading:

First set of data - July 2007 Contractor Census Report

Iraq Contractors: Raw Data From CENTCOM
By Susie Dow, ePluribus Media, July 8, 2007

Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq
By T. Christian Miller, Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2007

Census Counts 100,000 Contractors in Iraq
By Renae Merle, The Washington Post, December 5, 2006

[1] Memorandum issued by Robert A. Burton, Subject: Request Contracting Information on Contractors Operating in Iraq, from the Office of Management and Budget, dated May 16, 2006

Comments or questions for the author? Post them in the discussion thread.

Photo and GraphicCredits: Iraq at Sunset ©: 2007 Craig Debourbon, reprint rights from IStockphoto; chart and table ©: 2008 Susie Dow for ePluribus Media

Contributors: Susie Dow, Cho, bronxdem, roxy

About the author

Susie Dow is the author of several articles at ePluribus Media, Missing Contractor: US Military Mechanics may Hold the Keys in addition to One Missing, One Dead: An Iraq Contractor in the Fog of War, and Iraq, Contingency Contracting & the Defense Base Act: I-III. Dow is the Editor of the weblog, The Missing Man, which follows articles on Kirk von Ackermann and his colleague Ryan Manelick. She is a volunteer researcher and editor at ePluribus Media.