from Independent -
Many servicemen in Cyprus are believed to be unhappy at services being provided by civilian contractors.
Many servicemen are unhappy at the services provided by contractors in the UK but that does not seem to matter !
...but you would still need a cadre of uniformed personnel to monitor the contract,
Why? That is not the case here in UK. Civil Servants do that for some contracts.
I think the two areas are still referred to as the Eastern SBA and Western SBA.