Glenn J. Voelz

"Loaded with plenty of whiskey-tango-foxtrot moments, War Under the Mango Tree is a thoroughly entertaining lampoon of the US military machine via a fictionalized mission in an equally fictional Central African country... Not since Catch 22 has a novel this brilliant come along. Five cheeky stars " --David Edlund, USA Today bestselling author of "Guarding Savage" ". . . a brilliant satire of the hypocrisy, bureaucracy, banality, and ineptitude of the military. . .scathingly funny and often feels absurd--yet other times, all too real." --David Aretha, editor of multiple award-winning military booksAt a remote military camp in Africa a small detachment of American soldiers and their local allies wage a high-tech manhunt to neutralize the notorious warlord Daniel Odoki and defeat his rebel army. As the quixotic campaign unfolds, a cast of glory seeking generals, rapacious mercenaries and corrupt government officials are determined to finish off Odoki, though each for different reasons. Meanwhile, a hapless band of compatriots, pawns in a mysterious shadow war, race to discover the truth about Odoki before it's too late. In the tradition of writers such as Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut and Evelyn Waugh, War Under the Mango Tree exposes the absurdities of modern warfare as it intersects with media culture, technology, politics and big business. The result is a darkly painted satire of war, money and corruption on the far flung reaches of Pax Americana.

"Loaded with plenty of whiskey-tango-foxtrot moments, War Under the Mango Tree is a thoroughly entertaining lampoon of the US military machine via a fictionalized mission in an equally fictional Central African country... Not since Catch 22 has a novel this brilliant come along. Five cheeky stars " --David Edlund, USA Today bestselling author of "Guarding Savage" ". . . a brilliant satire of the hypocrisy, bureaucracy, banality, and ineptitude of the military. . .scathingly funny and often feels absurd--yet other times, all too real." --David Aretha, editor of multiple award-winning military booksAt a remote military camp in Africa a small detachment of American soldiers and their local allies wage a high-tech manhunt to neutralize the notorious warlord Daniel Odoki and defeat his rebel army. As the quixotic campaign unfolds, a cast of glory seeking generals, rapacious mercenaries and corrupt government officials are determined to finish off Odoki, though each for different reasons. Meanwhile, a hapless band of compatriots, pawns in a mysterious shadow war, race to discover the truth about Odoki before it's too late. In the tradition of writers such as Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut and Evelyn Waugh, War Under the Mango Tree exposes the absurdities of modern warfare as it intersects with media culture, technology, politics and big business. The result is a darkly painted satire of war, money and corruption on the far flung reaches of Pax Americana.

During a recent address to the National Defense University on U. S. counterterrorism strategy, President Barack Obama cautioned that "we must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us." His comments hinted at the dramatic transformations of the U. S. military and national security apparatus since September 11, 2001 (9/11). Notable among these have been a new operational emphasis on the threats posed by nonstate actors and individual combatants. This trend represents a major shift from the Cold War era paradigm focused primarily on conventional threats from state-based adversaries. This strategic reprioritization has evolved into new military doctrines focused on the task of defeating networks rather than formations and technical innovations designed for identifying, screening, and targeting individual combatants on the battlefield.

As the government increasingly uses commercial augmentation to perform many of its most basic functions, it is critically important that all employees understand the rules, expectations and boundaries that define the government-contractor relationship. The enormous shortfall of experienced acquisition personnel has left much of the burden of oversight and accountability to employees who are not trained in contracting regulations and procedures. Now, more than ever, all government employees and supervisors must possess a basic understanding of contract administration best practices and familiarity with rules and regulations governing the conduct of contractors in the workplace. This handbook introduces the fundamentals of managing government-contractor relations in a blended workforce. In Contractors in the Government Workplace: Managing the Blended Workforce, author Glenn Voelz offers best practices and tips for employees and junior supervisors tasked with managing hybrid government-contractor teams. Focusing primarily on service-based contracting, the most rapidly expanding element of government acquisitions over the past decade, he provides an understanding of the tools, techniques, rules, and regulations relating to supervision of contractors in the workplace. He also discusses legal, ethical, and security tips to help avoid common mistakes and violations of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) guidelines. Voelz explains in a straightforward way all aspects of government contracting that acquisition personnel need to know, including the basics of service-based contracting, the government-contractor relationship, acquisition team responsibilities, administration procedures, contract language, common mistakes government managers may make, methods of evaluation, Performance-Based Service Acquisitions, and ethical and legal concerns. An extensive bibliography supplements the text along with several appendices which include a glossary of key acquisition terms, a checklist for reviewing and analyzing contracts, tips for writing Performance Statements and Statements of Work, and guidelines for contingency contracting and contracting in forward locations or austere environments.