Contractor services are an essential adjunct to DoD’s in-house maintenance capabilities. Contractors provide more specialized maintenance capability than DoD can affordably train and retain. Contractors allow DoD to acquire and support a broader range of equipment types than otherwise would be possible. Contractors permit increased flexibility in the types and frequencies of maintenance services. Not all contracted services are efficient, however. When separate maintenance contracts are negotiated and administered locally for each DoD treatment facility, service prices might be higher, contractor responsiveness may be reduced, and internal overhead pertaining to award-and-administer contracts is much greater. Individual facilities do not always have the expertise to develop, award, and administer the sophisticated contracts that are needed to obtain today’s high-tech biomedical engineering services, but within most DoD TRICARE regions, the expertise does exist. Maintenance service contracts are developed through statistical averages and expected mean time between service activities for particular equipment types. Regional contracts allow vendors to spread risks across a larger equipment pool and result in more cost-effectiveness than is the case with local contracts. Proven cost savings can range from 10% to 30%, according to prototype programs underway in DoD. Regional maintenance contracts also may allow consolidation of exchange items to provide float while services are performed and permit the consolidation of contractor-owned repair parts and test, measurement, and diagnostic equipment (TMDE) regionally.