Shoddy Work by Military Contractors Killing US Troops?

Posted by Damozel | D Cupples has typed her little fingers to the bone on the subject of the government's use of contractors, but I don't think we will ever be able to repeat too many times exactly how detrimental to the interests of taxpayers has been the Bush Administration's use of military contractors in Iraq.  I'm always glad to see the mainstream press on the case.  How long before the outrage begins?  How long before it reaches critical mass so something is done?   

We can but try:

In October 2004, the United States Army issued an urgent bulletin to commanders across Iraq, warning them of a deadly new threat to American soldiers. Because of flawed electrical work by contractors, the bulletin stated, soldiers at American bases in Iraq had received severe electrical shocks, and some had even been electrocuted.

The bulletin, with the headline “The Unexpected Killer,” was issued after the horrific deaths of two soldiers who were caught in water — one in a shower, the other in a swimming pool — that was suddenly electrified after poorly grounded wiring short-circuited.

“We’ve had several shocks in showers and near misses here in Baghdad, as well as in other parts of the country,” Frank Trent, an expert with the Army Corps of Engineers, wrote in the bulletin. “As we install temporary and permanent power on our projects, we must ensure that we require contractors to properly ground electrical systems.”  (NYT; emphasis added)

I don't know whether to laugh or cry first when I read this:  clearly, tears of remorse and grief and mocking, incredulous laughter are required.  But let's start with the grief.

Two of our young soldiers --- our invaluable and rightly honored American resources, whose families are daily praying for their safe return --- are 'horrifically' killed while swimming or showering because 'poorly grounded wiring short-circuited'?  Electrocuted like death row inmates, mind you, only without the safeguards to prevent such a death from being cruel beyond even the tolerance of my death-penalty supporting fellow Americans for inflicting pain on the guilty.  While swimming!  And showering!

And why?  Because someone forgot to tell one of the companies being paid immense sums to do the electrical work that electrical systems must be properly grounded.  Funny, even I know that, and I can't even work out how to operate my microwave.  How, then, can companies charged with such tasks be unaware of this?

American electricians who worked for KBR, the Houston-based defense contractor that is responsible for maintaining American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, said they repeatedly warned company managers and military officials about unsafe electrical work, which was often performed by poorly trained Iraqis and Afghans paid just a few dollars a day.  (NYT)

Oh, that's all right then, if they were warned.  And besides, KBR swears its commitment to the safety of the troops is unswerving. 

For its part, KBR, which until last year was known as Kellogg, Brown and Root and was a subsidiary of Halliburton, denied that any lapses by the company had led to the electrocutions of American soldiers. “KBR’s commitment to employee safety and the safety of those the company serves is unwavering,” said a spokeswoman, Heather Browne. “KBR has found no evidence of a link between the work it has been tasked to perform and the reported electrocutions.” (NYT)

I don't know about you, but if KBR can't find a link between the work it was 'tasked' to do and the 'reported electrocutions,' I'm convinced.  But hold on a minute....

One electrician warned his KBR bosses in his 2005 letter of resignation that unsafe electrical work was “a disaster waiting to happen.” Another said he witnessed an American soldier in Afghanistan receiving a potentially lethal shock. A third provided e-mail messages and other documents showing that he had complained to KBR and the government that logs were created to make it appear that nonexistent electrical safety systems were properly functioning.

KBR itself told the Pentagon in early 2007 about unsafe electrical wiring at a base near the Baghdad airport, but no repairs were made. Less than a year later, a soldier was electrocuted in a shower there....

Since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, tens of thousands of American troops have been housed in pre-existing Iraqi government buildings, some of them dangerously dilapidated. As part of its $30 billion contract with the Pentagon in Iraq, KBR was required to repair and upgrade many of the buildings, including their electrical systems. The company handles maintenance for 4,000 structures and 35,000 containerized housing units in the war zone, the Pentagon said. (NYT; emphasis added)

And wait --- there's more ....

In 2006, John McLain was working as a KBR electrician....when he made a disturbing discovery. A KBR quality control inspector had recently cited employees there for failing to file quarterly ground resistance testing logs — reports on whether the wiring in the upgraded embassy building was properly grounded and safe.

Mr. McLain soon realized that the testing was not being conducted, because the building had never been grounded, though KBR and at least one Iraqi subcontractor were supposed to install proper safeguards during a renovation the previous year. Mr. McLain said he had sent a series of increasingly blunt memos and e-mail warnings about the safety hazards to KBR officials.

Mr. McLain said other KBR electricians later created logs that incorrectly made it appear that the grounding system existed. KBR fired him in 2007 after he told a visiting defense contracting agency official about his concerns. His candor proved useless, however. Mr. McLain said that the contracting agency official showed no interest. “He said, ‘I’m not an electrician; I don’t know what you are talking about,’ ”Mr. McLain recalled.

Noris Rogers, who worked for KBR in Afghanistan in 2005, said he repeatedly complained to his supervisors that electrical work at Camp Eggers, the American military’s command base in Kabul, Afghanistan, did not meet the requirements of the company’s Pentagon contract. (NYT)

I'm not even going to get into the question of what the taxpayers have spent to pay for shoddy work because D Cupples has repeatedly covered this.  Check out the list of links below if you want more. 

Anyway, just in case you were wondering, the electrocutions didn't end after the warning[s] from the Army Corps of Engineers to military contractors or from contractors to their employees and operatives.

Since that warning, at least two more American soldiers have been electrocuted in similar circumstances. In all, at least a dozen American military personnel have been electrocuted in Iraq, according to the Pentagon and Congressional investigators....

[T]he Army bulletin said that five deaths over the preceding year had apparently been caused by faulty grounding, and the circumstances of others have not been fully explained by the Army. Many more soldiers have been injured by shocks, Pentagon officials and soldiers say....

The Army has provided little detailed information about the electrocutions, other than to say late Friday that 10 soldiers had been electrocuted in Iraq. A House panel has also reported that two marines died similarly....

According to the Army warning bulletin, two deaths occurred 10 days apart in May 2004 at different bases in northern Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Christopher L. Everett, 23, of the Texas National Guard was electrocuted in September 2005 while power-washing a Humvee at Camp Taqaddum, in central Iraq near Falluja. His mother, Larraine McGee said Army officials had told her that the equipment he was using was connected to a generator that was not properly grounded, and that soldiers had previously complained of shocks....

The most recent fatality occurred on Jan. 2 in Baghdad, when Staff Sgt. Ryan D. Maseth, a Green Beret, died in a shower after an improperly grounded water pump short-circuited....

Another soldier said in an interview that he was repeatedly shocked in the shower in December 2007 and submitted requests for repairs. But nothing was done until the day after Sergeant Maseth’s death, when the defense agency ordered KBR to correct the problem, according to Pentagon documents.

Cheryl Harris, Sergeant Maseth’s mother, said in an interview that the Army initially told her that her son had taken an electrical appliance into the shower with him. Later, she said, officials told her that investigators had found electrical wires hanging down around the shower. She said she had been skeptical of both accounts and learned the truth only after repeatedly questioning Army officials.

Her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against KBR, the only such claim brought in any of the electrical deaths. (NYT)

How long, O Lord, is this going to continue?  Apparently, the Defense Department Inspector and Congress are now looking into it, for whatever that is worth.  I know for a fact that the Government Accountability Office (working on behalf of Congress) has been investigating contractor waste and negligence for years and that no amount of investigation seems to stop certain companies from cutting corners to increase their profits.

You may wonder why the government didn't step in to prevent this.  There's a reason, and it's one that the Government Accountability Office has been pointing out for years:  the Bush Administration hasn't considered it necessary to ensure that there is adequate supervision over its contractors in Iraq. 

The Defense Contract Management Agency, which is responsible for supervising maintenance work by contractors at American bases in Iraq, defended its performance....

Lawmakers and government investigators say it is now clear that the Bush administration outsourced so much work to KBR and other contractors in Iraq that the agencies charged with oversight have been overwhelmed. The Defense Contracting Management Agency has more than 9,000 employees, but it has only 60 contract officers in Iraq and 30 in Afghanistan to supervise nearly 18,000 KBR employees in Iraq and 4,400 in Afghanistan handling base maintenance.

“All the contract officers can do is check the paperwork,” said one agency official, who asked not to be identified. While about 600 military officers supplement the contract officers, Mr. Ernst said, the soldiers are not adequately trained for the task.(NYT; emphasis added)

Of course, you and I --- being unacquainted with business-as-usual among war contractors --- are wondering why so much oversight is necessary, given the enormous amounts we are paying for this work?  Shouldn't a company selected by the government to do essential work during a war for which the taxpayers foot the cost be monitoring its own performance?  Shouldn't it be obsessed with providing quality work at a fair price?  Can't it supervise itself?  Well? 

Apparently KBR's initial response to those who complained of the shoddy work was that it 'might be considered an unavoidable cost of war.'

“The excuse KBR always used was, ‘This is a war zone — what do you expect?’ ” recalled Jeffrey Bliss, an Ohio electrician who worked for the company in Afghanistan in 2005 and 2006. “But if you are going to do the work, you have got to do it safe.”...Mr. Bliss, who saw a soldier in Qalat, Afghanistan, get a severe shock from an electrical box that was not supposed to be charged, said his KBR bosses mocked him for raising safety issues. They were “not giving the Army what it needed,” he said, “and not giving the soldiers what they deserved.” (NYT)

Why isn't this all over the news?  Why?  Why?  And why isn't the Bush Administration enraged by the negligent killing of our troops by people motivated only by the desire to turn an enormous profit?  Why?

Memeorandum is here.

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Defense Contractor Sentenced for Bribery

Fortunately, Grayson Fever is Spreading;  Florida Congressional Candidate Fights Contractor Fraud   

Officials Say U.S. Can't Manage War Contractors 

Contractor Gets Millions for Work the Defense Dept. Barely Uses   

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Pattern: Wasted Tax Dollars in Mid-East and at Home   

Congress Considers High Cost of Private Contractors   

Contractor Gets $30+ Million but Didn't Build Anything

And on and on.

Comments

[Electrical contractor New York]

thanks for sharing this post

[FREDERICK J C BOSCH]

GOOD DAY ,MY NAME IS FREDDIE BOSCH I RESIDE IN SOUTH AFRICA AND IS LOOKING FOR WORK IN AFGANISTAN, IRAQ,KUWAIT AFRICA, MY E [email protected],cell 27845175575,
please see my c/v,I WILL DO ANY WORK PLEASE HELP ,I AM AVAILABLE IMMEDIATLY

CURRICULUM VITAE

FREDERICK J. BOSCH

Personal details

Name Frederick J. Bosch

ID Number 501027 5089 08 8

Gender Male

Marital status Married

Nationality South African

Date Of Birth 27 October 1950

Home Language Afrikaans

Other Language English

Drivers Licence Code EB

Home Address 160 Holland Street
Despatch
6220
HEALTH GOOD

Contact Number +27 41 933 3728 (Home)
+27 84 517 5575 (cell)

E.Mail. [email protected]

I Do have a valid Passport Port VALID TILL 2011

Education

Achieved Grade 10 through DF Malherbe High School in 1969

Tertiary and other further Education

Institution The Heritage Training Foundation
Qualification Certificate for Interaction Management
Year 1997

Institution Goodsam
Qualification Level One First Aid Certificate
Year 1997

Institution Stucken, Gubb & Inggs
Qualification Certificate for Project Based
Manager/Supervisor Education
Year 1996

Institution Production Management Institute of SA
Qualification First Line Management Certificate
Year 1994

Work Experience

Company Private
Position Owner
Period 2002 till current

Key Responsibilities General maintenance and repair work that include, but are not limited to:MAINTANANCE MACHANIC
 Welding
 Plumbing
 Carpentry
 Painting
 Construction
 General maintenance and electrical work
* House Keeping
* Safety @ First Aid

CLOSED THIS COMPANY LAST MONTH DUE TO NO WORK.
CURRENT UNEMPLOYED DUE TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Company Gubb & Inggs
Position Production Foreman
Period 1983 to 2001

Key Responsibilities In Charge of labour, maintenance, production and quality of combining mill. Additional tasks that include, but are not limited to:
Dicipline of Subourdenents and labour via Code of Conduct of Company Rules
Setting up Technical Setting on Production Machines.and Replaceing Worn Parts.Working AS A Team with the Maintanance Department.
 Welding
 Plumbing
 Carpentry
 Painting
 General maintenance and electrical work plus setting up production machines +repairs
* House Keeping
* Safety @First Aid

Company Cape of Good Hope
Position Production Foreman
Period 1982

Key Responsibilities In Charge of labour, maintenance, production and quality of combining mill. Additional tasks that include, but are not limited to:
 Welding
 Plumbing
 Carpentry
 Painting
 General maintenance and some electrical work
• House Keeping
• Safety@ First Aid

Company Gubb & Inggs
Position Production Supervisor
Period 1976 to 1982

Key Responsibilities In Charge of labour, maintenance, production and quality of section. Additional tasks that include, but are not limited to:
 Welding
 Plumbing
 Carpentry
 Painting
 General maintenance and some electrical work
* House Keeping
* Safety@First Aid

Company General Motors
Position Machine Setter – Engine plant
Period 1973 to 1976

Key Responsibilities In charge of machine setup and production targets.

Company South African Ports
Position Load Master
Period 1970 to 1972

Key Responsibilities In charge of imports from vessels to harbour and loading of imported products onto rail for various destinations.

Motivation to apply for position

As can be seen from the above, I have various mechanical, Electrical and practical skills, which can be used in any industry. I am a very practical person and will find a solution for every problem. I believe the time has come to expose myself to a different environment and see how I can apply what I have learnt, in that environment. MAINTANANCE MACHANIC.
I can work as part of a team, I can work on my own ,I do not mind to be away from home for long periods of time [4/5 months at a time.] I can be on call,work shifts as you want.
I Do have a valid Passport that is valid till 2011.I WILL WORK ANYWHERE
IN THE WORLD.
I do have a Police Clearance Certeficate
I AM AVAILABLE IMMEDIATLY, I DO NOT DRINK OR SMOKE.
I DO HAVE BASIC MILITARY 1970/1978 TRAINING AND HAVE A CODE 14 HEAVY DUTY ARMY LICENCE I DID DO BORDER 3 MONTHS CAMPS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN ARMY.I DO HAVE EXPERIECE IN CONVOY SECURITY DRIVING.R1 AUTOMATIC R1 RIFLE

• I will also do the following,MANAGER,FOREMAN,SUPERVISOR, DECKHAND , MAINTANANCE MACHANIC ,HANDYMAN, TEAM LEADER, OIL PIPELINE LINE WALKER, OIL RIG MAINTANANCE ROUSTABOUT,DRIVER, PIPELINE LABOURER, HANDYMAN.SECURIY.ROUGHNECK. Pipeline Apprentice, Scaffolders , Workman/foreman/technician Painting & Blasting

Service/maintenances supervisor
I WILL DO ANY WORK IN YOUR COMPANY ,SIR,ONSHORE OR OFFSHORE
ANGOLA, IRAQ,AFRICA,CAMEROON, ETC.
BAS,Maintanance and repair, Vehicle REPAIR @MAINTENNANCE teams/bodyguards, asset protection, secure commodity escort, travel and escort security, residential and premises security, aviation security, maritime security, oil and gas industry security, surveillance and counter surveillance janitor etc.i will do any job sir.
SKILLS
Skills and Experience Production Foreman lot of people skills, skills in repair and maintenance,Housekeeping Safety First Aid ,pets, gardening, ground maintenance . Experience: construction, repair, physical securiy staff management. MAINTANANCE MACHANIC
,vehicle maintenance pool maintenance house keeping , First Aid PAINTING @SANDBLASTING