Rand Corp. launches study of contractors in war zones

The Rand Corp. is seeking private military and security contractors who worked in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan for a study on the health and well-being of those workers.

"We hope to provide an objective account of the health and well-being challenges that contractors may face," study co-leader Carrier Farmer said in a news release Wednesday from Rand, a nonprofit research organization.

She noted that the civilian-force war stress issue has been "largely overlooked in previous studies."

Project co-leader and Rand political scientist Molly Dunigan added, "We hope the data we collect will give a more accurate picture of what contractors experience."

Anyone who deployed on contract to a war zone during the past two years is eligible to be part of the study regardless of the job performed.

"The survey is anonymous, with no information collected about either the survey respondents or their employers," the news release reads.

To participate, go to contractorsurvey@rand.org.