Brennan was, until recently, President and CEO of The Analysis Corporation, a growing intelligence contractor, as well as chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, an influential and secretive industry association representing major intelligence contractors.
Knowing that my business is paving new paths for working parents, workplace equality, work-life integration and the growing independent contractor workforce is incredibly rewarding, motivating and squashes any doubts.
Even as concern about sweatshop labor has grown, some contractors have simply moved operations to more remote areas, farther from the prying eyes of international and local watchdogs.
"It is not sustainable government policy to exclude the self-employed, who are no longer made up solely of the traditional small business owner but now include a fast-growing contractor population," he said.
The use of contractors in research and development is waning, he says, but "there is a growing need for contractors in the areas of quality control, manufacturing, and clinical development".
The memo is expected to reanimate the professional public-affairs cadre among the Pentagon's civilian and military staffs, who have made no secret that they have felt challenged by the growing numbers of contractors hired for "strategic communications" issues.
The growing dependence on contractors is partly because the military has lost some of its logistics and support capacity, especially since the end of the cold war, according to the report.
The challenge for the government and for nuclear companies as they increase construction is to keep an eye on a growing army of contractors and subcontractors who may be tempted to cut corners.
The growing reliance on contractors like Mandiant has been compared to the dependence of the military and state department on private contractors, such as the one formerly known as Blackwater, to provide physical security to diplomats and other VIPs during the Iraq war.
A significant factor in the decline of the quality of jobs today has been many employers' increasing reliance on "non-regular" employees -- a growing army of contractors, freelancers, temps and part-timers.
