Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Combat Support Associates (CSA): Oversight lacking on war costs
Records obtained through FOIA show money flowing to Combat Support Associates despite an alarming catalog of problems later uncovered by Army contracting officials.
Thursday, October 8, 2009

Industry News : Casualties
Contractors in Iraq Are Hidden Casualties of War
Nearly 1,600 civilian workers -- both Americans and foreign nationals -- have died in the two war zones. Thousands more have been injured. (More than 5,200 U.S. service members have been killed and 35,000 wounded.) Many of the civilians have come home as military veterans in all but name, sometimes with lifelong disabilities but without the support network available to returning troops.
Thursday, October 8, 2009

Industry News
Scuffle With Security Contractors Highlights Iraqis' New Clout in Green Zone
In a dramatic illustration of shifting authority in the Green Zone, once an American preserve, Iraqi soldiers confronted a security detail contracted by the U.S. government, detained four of the guards and beat them in a standoff last week that lasted at least two hours, according to Iraqi officials, the company and the U.S. Embassy.
Thursday, October 8, 2009

Industry News : Jobs Outlook
Interview with KBR’s Bill Bodie
Defense contractors are seeing change on a variety of fronts. Topping the list is a shift from combat support in the Middle East to longer-term sustainment solutions. That’s no easy task given the current slew of challenges: an increase in oversight and fixed price competitions, plus a decrease in smaller contract values. For an inside look at how one defense contractor is shaping its military footprint to stay relevant, ExecutiveBiz recently spoke with Bill Bodie, interim president of Government and Infrastructure for KBR.
Thursday, October 1, 2009

Industry News : Casualties
Drugs suspected in death of Afghanistan contractor
A U.S. contractor in Afghanistan helping train the national police was found dead last week of a possible drug overdose, just months after his company was reprimanded by the State Department for another worker's drug-related death. The deaths have raised questions over how well DynCorp International selects and manages employees assigned to the police training contract, a crucial component of the U.S. effort to hand over more of the security burden to the Afghans.
Thursday, September 17, 2009

Industry News : Crimes - Investigations
ArmorGroup Statement - Update on Iraq Incident - 9th August 2009
Immediately following the incident that took place in Iraq on 9th August 2009, in which two valued colleagues, Paul McGuigan and Darren Hoare, were shot and killed and another, Arkhan Mahdi, seriously injured, we instigated two separate internal investigations - this was is in addition to the ongoing investigation by the Iraqi authorities.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Industry News : Crimes - Investigations
Interview with ArmorGroup Whistleblower John Gorman
John Gorman, retired U.S. Marine, was hired by ArmorGroup (AGNA) in 2007 to support security at the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Marie Anne St. Jean, a retired Marine herself, interviews Gorman.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Industry News : Crimes - Investigations
Civilian KBR contractor shot dead on US base in Iraq
A civilian contractor was shot and killed Sunday on an American military base in the Iraqi city of Tikrit and a U.S. soldier has been detained in connection with the incident, the U.S. military said. The contractor, whose name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was shot at 8:30 a.m. at Camp Speicher, the military said in a statement. Houston-based KBR confirmed that the person killed was one of its employees.
Monday, September 14, 2009

Industry News : Lawsuits
Former ArmorGroup North America Director of Operations Files False Claims Act Whistleblower Retaliation Law Suit Against ArmorGroup
Executive charges that ArmorGroup discharged him in retaliation for blowing the whistle about company's inadequate staffing and equipment, procurement of counterfeit goods, abetting of sex trafficking in Kabul and other violations of ArmorGroup's contract with Department of State.
Friday, September 11, 2009

Industry News : Casualties
State Department contractor electrocuted
A State Department contractor working for Triple Canopy apparently has been electrocuted while showering in Baghdad.
Thursday, September 10, 2009

Industry News : Crimes - Investigations
Houston couple pleads guilty to Afghan fraud
A Houston couple has pleaded guilty in a plot to defraud the U.S. while working as contractors in Afghanistan. Delmar Dwayne Spier, 73, and his wife, Barbara Edens Spier, 60, pleaded guilty Wednesday. According to court documents, the Spiers were officers in United States Protection and Investigations, a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Thursday, September 10, 2009

Industry News : Jobs Outlook
With U.S. Forces in Iraq Beginning to Leave, Need for Private Guards Grows
As the United States withdraws its combat forces from Iraq, the government is hiring more private guards to protect U.S. installations at a cost that could near $1 billion, according to the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. On Sept. 1, the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) awarded contracts expected to be worth $485 million over the next two years to five firms to provide security and patrol services to U.S. bases in Iraq.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Industry News : Jobs Outlook
Iraq: Security contractors fall on harder times
The private security business in Iraq is in a vice-like crush. The goldrush that began with the conflict in 2003 is drying up. Contracts are not as lucrative, the trend is towards employing Iraqis instead of Westerners.
Monday, September 7, 2009

Industry News : Crimes - Investigations
Problems With Embassy Security Contract Crept Up Long Before ArmorGroup
This is an interesting background piece, discussing ArmorGroup-North America, and it's predecessor at the Kabul embassy, MVM.
Saturday, September 5, 2009

Industry News : Crimes - Investigations
Guards in Embassy Lewdness Scandal Fired
Eight security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan have been fired following allegations of lewd behavior and sexual misconduct at their living quarters, the embassy said Friday. The Kabul senior management team of ArmorGroup North America, the private contractor that provides the guards for the State Department, is also "being replaced immediately," an embassy statement said.
Saturday, September 5, 2009

Industry News : Lawsuits
ACLU reaches settlement for veteran denied State Department contractor job because he has HIV
The American Civil Liberties Union has reached a settlement on behalf of a U.S. Army veteran who was denied a security job with U.S. State Department contractor Triple Canopy, Inc. because he has HIV. People with HIV will no longer be automatically barred from working with State Department contractors.
Saturday, August 29, 2009

Industry News : Crimes - Investigations
Former Contractor Sentenced for Participation in Scheme to Steal Fuel From U.S. Army in Iraq
Lee William Dubois, a former Department of Defense (DoD) contractor, was sentenced Monday to three years in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal fuel worth approximately $39.6 million from the U.S. Army in Iraq.
Thursday, August 27, 2009

Industry News : Jobs Outlook
Afghanistan Contractors Outnumber Troops
Even as U.S. troops surge to new highs in Afghanistan they are outnumbered by military contractors working alongside them, according to a Defense Department census due to be distributed to Congress -- illustrating how hard it is for the U.S. to wean itself from the large numbers of war-zone contractors that proved controversial in Iraq.
Saturday, August 22, 2009

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
KBR Cited By Oversight Commission
A federal panel has accused Houston-based KBR Inc. of resisting government oversight and failing to cut costs on support work in Iraq.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
DynCorp Billed U.S. $50 Million Beyond Costs in Defense Contract
A Defense Department auditor testified Tuesday that DynCorp International billed the government $50 million more than the amount specified in a contract to provide dining facilities and living quarters for military personnel in Kuwait.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009