Immediately following President-Elect Obama's victory, talk in the beltway switched from campaign to transition.  A question that is circulating the national security community is "who is to be the next Secretary of Defense?"

This blog will not answer that question; and odds are that no one yet knows who will hold that important cabinet seat.

But one thing is for certain: the Secretary of Defense will have a very powerful list of priorities, from Iraq to Afghanistan; from a decreasing budget to resetting our Armed Forces.  Not too far down the list will be the challenge of Pentagon contracting.

To that end, a new non-partisan report has been released on the topic - offering a few recommendations to get contracting on proper footing.  Oh - and truth in advertising: I am one of the co-authors. 

The report examines the relationship between U.S. government agencies and private security, military, and contingency contractors, and offers recommendations for managing this relationship in the future.  Specifically, it is aimed at informing policymakers in the interagency space as they develop solutions to the growing challenge of effectively integrating private contractors into U.S. national security operations.

The key conclusion of the report is that a cultural shift is required in which civilian and military leaders take steps to fully integrate private contractors not only into the force structure but also into mission requirements. Without this sort of institutional change, the problems we have experienced in connection with contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan will continue, significantly retarding the military's ability to adjust to the evolving security challenges of the 21st century.

The U.S. Government should:

   * Begin to transition away from the use of private security contractors in the battle space and build up the capabilities of the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the military police to take on security responsibilities. As this transition takes place, the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act should be expanded to govern the actions of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan not currently covered by the Uniform Code of Military Justice; improved training of security contractors, vetting of third-country nationals, and third-party accreditation of contractors should be instituted; and interagency coordination between the military and other government agencies should be strengthened.

    * Move away from reliance on the flawed and widely misunderstood term "inherently governmental" in deciding how and when to use private contractors, and instead focus on the question of core competencies and mission success. Congress should permit government agencies to use broad discretionary leeway in determining where and how contractors should be used. Congress should establish red-lined activities that must not be outsourced and require the military to maintain a "resident capacity" for any function it outsources, particularly as it relates to the ability to conduct proper contractual oversight.

    * Designate a high-ranking official in each branch of the military to conduct a top-to-bottom review of how that branch interacts with contractors and where there are areas for greater or lesser reliance on contractors.

    * Strengthen the contractor and acquisition workforce so that it is better equipped to make contracting decisions and to conduct robust oversight and management of contractors. In addition, the Army should develop and support its newly created contracting career field for enlisted personnel and officers.

    * Create a clear chain of command from Secretary of Defense through the Joint Chiefs of Staff and service departments that lays out the responsibilities for contracting and holds commanders accountable for the integration of contractors into the Total Force.

    * Integrate contractor oversight into officer training in all branches of the military.

    * Include contingency contracting as an "area of emphasis" in the 2010 QDR.

    * Create and sustain an enforcement arm of the FBI to conduct overseas investigations of private contractors as well as an extraterritorial U.S. attorney to prosecute criminal behavior.

These recommendations offer a strong start - and the interagency community that is at war and under budgetary pressure, that is a good thing.

Roger D. Carstens is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.