Centralized database in the works for wartime contracts

It's never easy to keep track of supplies or any building project in a war zone. Now the U.S. government is hoping to improve its oversight of contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan with a centralized database to do jut that.

The database is known as SPOT--or Synchronized Pre-deployment Operations Tracker--database. It is intended to track contractors in each of the two countries for the State and Defense Departments, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. But a plan on paper doesn't always deploy. USAID, for example, has not warmed up to SPOT to track its contractors in country.

And there are plenty of issues that have to be worked out, according to John Hutton of the General Accounting office.

"Data to be collected includes the contract number, a brief description, contract value, as well as specific data on individual contractor personnel," he said.

For more on SPOT in the war zone:
- check out this ohmygov.com article