Filling Out the Ranks in Iraq

Brad Freeman, a manager at the Defense Contract Management Agency, liked

DCMA needs more workers and managers like Freeman to monitor the billions of dollars in military support contracts in Iraq. In fact, when Freeman returned in August from his last tor overseas, Connie Short, director of DCMA's combat support center in Alexandria, Va., asked only half jokingly, "Can't you go back?"

Fighting wars on multiple fronts is taking a toll on DCMA's civilian workers. Charged with overseeing Defense contracts worldwide, the agency has watched as demand for its workers in war zones rises as troops stay longer than expected. Contractors have taken on more tasks, from cooking meals to assisting in prisoner interrogations. DCMA increasingly is finding that its employees, like military personnel, are overdeployed, and officials worry about how long current staffers will stay at the 11,000-person agency.