Contingency Contracting - Areas of Responsibility

The Combatant Commands are organized either on a geographical basis (known as Area of Responsibility, or AOR) or on a functional basis. Each Combatant Commander has command and control over the joint military forces within its AOR, regardless of branch of service.

In recent contingency operations, different Geographic Combatant Commands (GCCs) have had military command and control. For example, military command authority was USNORTHCOM during Hurricane Katrina operations in the United States; USPACOM during the Operation Tomodachi for tsunami relief and associated nuclear disaster in Japan; and USCENTCOM during Iraq and Afghanistan operations.

All DoD Contracting Officers (COs) executing theater support contracts will do so in support of particular GCCs. This includes deployed Contingency Contracting Officers (CCOs) and stateside COs providing reach-back assistance. Pursuant to DFARS PGI 225.370 'Contracts requiring performance or delivery in a foreign country', DoD COs must ensure that overseas solicitations and contracts include any applicable host country and designated operational area performance considerations.

DoDI 3020.41 'Operational Contract Support', requires that GCCs publish and maintain OCS-related information for the respective operational area and that such requirements are integrated into contracts performing or delivering in the Combatant Commander's (CCDR) area of responsibility. CCOs and support personnel should monitor GCC webpages or other applicable resources for OCS guidance and specific contract support requirements.