Contractor Support To Operations (CSO)
"CSO is an enduring element of operations, today and in the future requiring the military and industry to think more innovatively about the allocation of roles and responsibilities and to make best use of the military's and industry's comparative advantages in delivering and supporting military capability"
- UK Defence Industrial Strategy
The purpose of CSO is to enhance the military's force support capability by providing deployed support to operations directly from a commercial source, throughout the Line of Communication (LOC) and into the deployed Operations Area (OA) or Joint Operations Area (JOA). CSO support ranges from ad hoc and urgent operational contracting for limited and specific deployed support through discrete capability provision arrangements, to the broader commercial support contracts that have global application.
There are three types of CSO:
- Contractors on Deployed Operations (CONDO) - civilian personnel accompanying the force, comprising both UK and third country nationals and locally recruited workers (LRW) who are members of the civilian component of the military force
- Sponsored Reserves (SR) - civilian personnel who are mobilised to be members of the military force
- Private Military Security Companies (PMSC) - civilian personnel who provide discreet services to members of the military and civilian component
Higginson Associates offer a full understanding of the UK MoD, NATO, ASF and EDA use of CSO and their relevant policies and of how contractors may offer various bespoke solutions to the military to provide services and equipment support into the theatre of operations.
To discuss CSO and the opportunites for your company call Higginson Associates on
+44 208 878 7307
