Contractor for military caused U.S. troops deaths.
Harry Hope
Pentagon officials now say at least 18 troops have been electrocuted
since 2003 -- many due to faulty wiring and improper grounding.
The number could be higher than that when Afghanistan is included, say
congressional sources.
From CNN, 11/24/08:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/24/soldiers.electrocuted/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
Sources: Contractor for military committed serious violations
By Abbie Boudreau and Scott Bronstein
CNN Special Investigations Unit
WASHINGTON (CNN) --
A contractor providing services to the U.S. military in Iraq and
Afghanistan has committed serious violations of its contract, mainly
by conducting inadequate inspections of electrical wiring and
grounding at American bases, according to Pentagon sources.
The Pentagon findings on Houston, Texas-based KBR stem from the widely
publicized death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a highly decorated 24-year-old
Green Beret from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Maseth was electrocuted while taking a shower at his base in Baghdad.
His January 2 death was just one of many deaths now believed to be
linked to shoddy electrical work done at U.S. bases, managed by U.S.
contractors, according to Pentagon sources.
The Pentagon's Defense Contract Management Agency recently gave KBR a
"Level III Corrective Action Request" -- issued only when a contractor
is found in "serious noncompliance" and just one step below the
possibility of suspending or terminating a contract, Pentagon
officials said.
In KBR's case, it means that the contractor's inspections and efforts
to ensure electrical safety for troops have been unacceptable, and
must be significantly improved, Pentagon sources told CNN.
Just after Maseth's electrocution, Pentagon officials estimated that
about a dozen troops had been electrocuted in Iraq.
But Pentagon officials now say at least 18 troops have been
electrocuted since 2003 -- many due to faulty wiring and improper
grounding.
The number could be higher than that when Afghanistan is included, say
congressional sources.
"I can't make sense around Ryan's death, that he died like that, that
he was so trained. So highly trained to survive," said Maseth's
mother, Cheryl Harris, in an interview earlier this year.
"It just feels so surreal. It's so painful to think about how he
died."
Largely because of Harris' efforts to demand answers about her son's
death, the U.S. Senate and House have held oversight hearings in
recent months in hopes of finding out how the electrocutions occurred.
"The fact that there's an assessment made at this level -- a level
three -- which is very serious, indicates to me, and to a lot of
people, how serious this problem is," said Sen. Robert Casey,
D-Pennsylvania.
"It's really a question in the end about justice. The only way we can
have justice in a case like this for the families and for the American
people is to have serious accountability. That has not happened yet.
There's still a lot of parties here that have not been held to account
for what happened here," Casey said.
Danielle Brian, the executive director of the Project on Government
Oversight, a Washington-based watchdog group, said accountability is
needed, but difficult to come by when KBR's contract is so integral to
the Iraq war.
"The problem, of course, is it's such a big contract," Brian said.
"The government's in a place -- the Pentagon's in a place where they
say, 'How can we suspend KBR? They're sort of running the show over
there.' "
"It's so big -- it's too big to cancel that contract or suspend them
from future contracts," she added.
Brian said the action against KBR amounts to "nothing more than a slap
on the wrist" for a company with an estimated $24 billion contract for
its work in Iraq.
She pointed out that KBR's government contract is paid for by U.S.
taxpayers.
"I think the public should demand that the government generally hold
its contractors accountable, and remind the government this is our
money -- we don't want our money spent this way," Brian said.
"We want to make sure that if our money is being used to hire
contractors in Iraq, that it is being spent well and that it's
protecting our troops."
Since CNN first reported the story about Maseth's death last spring,
the network has repeatedly asked the Pentagon and its contract agency
for an interview.
They have never agreed to an interview to answer questions about
Maseth's death or other similar cases.
KBR declined comment for this story, but earlier told CNN it found no
link between its work and the reported electrocutions.
The company's contract in Iraq is vast and encompasses numerous
responsibilities that vary from one location to another, ranging from
the upkeep of U.S. bases there to providing most of the basic services
on the bases.
All of the 18 electrocutions occurred in different places and under
different circumstances.
There are at least two lawsuits now against KBR, including one by
Maseth's family, and they are trying to determine precisely what role,
if any, KBR played in the specific circumstances that led to those
deaths.
"I want KBR to be exposed. More than anything, I just want them to
step up and take care of what they're being paid to take care of, and
to do the work that they are contracted to do. More than anything,
let's put the security and the safety of our troops first," Harris
said.
Pentagon officials told CNN that KBR's initial corrective efforts have
not been sufficient.
KBR will now have to come up with a corrective plan that is acceptable
to the Pentagon.
The company could still receive fines or penalties.
So far, the company has not been held responsible in any of the
deaths.
The company has denied liability in the lawsuits.
__________________________________________________
KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root): KBR is an American
engineering and construction company, formerly a subsidiary of
Halliburton, based in Houston.
Dick Cheney was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Company from 1995 to
2000.
After Halliburton acquired Dresser Industries in 1998, Dresser's
engineering subsidiary, The M. W. Kellogg Co., was merged with
Halliburton's construction subsidiary, Brown & Root, to form Kellogg
Brown & Root.
KBR is the largest non-union construction company in the United
States.
Harry