The author argues that:

PMCs must be held accountable for their criminal actions, not merely to provide personal justice for those injured by their crimes, but also for the strategic objectives of organizing the U.S. military’s available manpower effectively and retaining the support of citizens both domestic and abroad. At the same time, it is simply impractical to bring criminal sanctions against all PMCs for every possible crime that they might commit. Criminal sanctions against contractors should, at the very least, reach egregious crimes and should focus on quasi-military PMCs. Operating at the battlefront, quasi-military PMCs pose the greatest threat to the U.S. military’s ability to control the contingency operation. Additionally, because they bear arms and wear uniforms like members of the U.S. military, the local populace is more likely to attribute their actions to the U.S. military. By providing justice for victims, criminal sanctions will further the strategic goal of winning the locals’ support and trust during counterinsurgency efforts.

The author argues that:

the UCMJ can be applied constitutionally if three limitations exist: (1) its application must be stated expressly in the contractors’ contracts; (2) it can only apply to quasi-military PMCs; and (3) it must, at least initially, be restricted to noncapital crimes with civilian analogues.

Huffington Post uses this theme as part of a commentary on tensions created by having a lot of civilian contractors deployed. There are some interesting (unattributed) quotes from some JA’s who have been there, done that.

Huffington Post uses this theme as part of a commentary on tensions created by having a lot of civilian contractors deployed. There are some interesting (unattributed) quotes from some JA’s who have been there, done that.

A former U.S. Army contractor was arrested today in Newport News, Va., for allegedly killing one sailor and seriously injuring another in a vehicular collision in Kuwait[.] Hanks is charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), a statute that gives U.S. courts jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed outside the United States by, among others, contractors or subcontractors of the Department of Defense. If convicted, Hanks faces up to 10 years in prison. The case was investigated by the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Division and is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorneys Micah D. Pharris and Steven C. Parker of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Hurt for the Eastern District of Virginia.