Feral Jundi

Friday, May 4, 2012

Industry Talk: KBR In Bidding To Privatize British Police Forces

Filed under: Industry Talk,Law Enforcement,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 5:37 PM

This is an interesting one, just because of the shock that the British press is having about KBR getting involved with the bidding. But of course, this is the British office of KBR bidding on this, and that is why they are able to participate. But check out this title of an article written in the Guardian.

Guantánamo Bay contractor on shortlist to run UK police services

US firm KBR, which helped build detention camp, among consortiums bidding to run police services in West Midlands and Surrey

Now that is funny.  Really emphasize the fact that KBR built that prison…Dorks. From the same article, here is a statement from KBR.

“KBR is not involved in policing, our objective in the privatisation of the police force is to get more police doing actual police work while KBR brings operational efficiencies to the back office with the objective of achieving an overall lower cost of service while improving service levels,” said a spokesman. “We are an operational support company whose capabilities are transferable to critical, uniformed, command-led environments such as the police.”

Not only that, but I don’t see the US press having a fit when Aegis (the US branch) bids and gets US contracts. Hell, they won a massive contract in the early days of Iraq, funded by US tax dollars, and that is what put Aegis on the map.lol Or how about the Embassy in Afghanistan contract (KESF contract, and check out news about it at SOCNET), which is currently in the process of transitioning from AGNA to Aegis. Aegis of course is owned by Tim Spicer of Sandline fame, and that company had history too–just like KBR.

So with that said, I wish KBR luck and I certainly hope the bidding process and following contracts give these British police forces a good service. I also wish Aegis good luck with the US embassy contract. –Matt

 

US military-industrial giant KBR in bidding to privatize British police forces
May 02, 2012
Giant US military-industrial company Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) is in the running to win a slice of a controversial £1.5 billion (US$2.43 billion) contract to transform the West Midlands and Surrey police forces in Britain, The (London) Times reported.

Hailed as the largest police privatization scheme in the UK, it has been suggested the private companies who win the contract will be tasked to perform several police functions — including patrols, detention and criminal investigation.

KBR, a former subsidiary of the Halliburton group, has attracted its share of criticism over the large contracts it won with the US government during the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The corporation also helped to build the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The Times reported that it was among four groups shortlisted to win the British police contract, a number whittled down from more than 200.

A KBR spokesman said its bid was the first time the corporation had attempted to get involved in regular policing.

(more…)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Logistics: KBR Awarded $500 Million LOGCAP For DoS BLS In Iraq

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq,Logistics — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 12:24 PM

Ms. Sparky first posted about this and now it is official. I remember first posting about BLS last year, and there was some speculation on how this was to be done. The mission in Iraq for DoS will require a ton of security, and it will require a fair amount of logistical support. –Matt

KBR Awarded Major Task Order Under Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) IV Contract in Iraq
August 2, 2011
KBR today announced it was awarded a task order by the U.S. Army Contracting Command under its current Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) IV contract to execute the LOGCAP IV Post 2011 Base Life Support (BLS) requirements for the U.S. Department of State’s mission in Iraq. The task order is valued at over $500 million with a Period of Performance of one base year plus one option year. This award is KBR’s third task order under the LOGCAP IV contract.
KBR will provide support to U.S. Embassy staff in Baghdad and services at other diplomatic posts throughout Iraq. Services will include facilities and utilities management, fire fighting, food service, laundry, shuttle bus services, retail fuel, postal service and air field operations.

(more…)

Friday, July 8, 2011

Legal News: Federal Jury– Jamie Leigh Jones Was Not Raped, And KBR Did Not Commit Fraud

Filed under: Legal News — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 2:54 PM

This is a stunning verdict, in a week of amazing legal news.(to include that Casey Anthony case) Thanks to a reader for sending me this news, and I also want to openly apologize to KBR and to those men who were labeled as rapists by this women. My commentary was only based on the given information, and at the end of the day, what matters most is the facts.

This jury was given all of the available information and have made their choice. And honestly, after reading what was posted in that Mother Jones article, I can see why they made their choice.

As to my thoughts on the whole case? I have heard about this kind of thing in the federal government, the military, and in private industry and it is most unfortunate. And usually the way it goes down is that a gal gets drunk, sleeps with a guy they work with, then has regrets in the morning about sleeping with that guy. Then the rumors that get spread about what happened are what fuel the anger of those that had regret. So the temptation of lashing out by crying rape in order to save face is there.

I know it sounds pretty immature, but these things happen in the real world. And these things happen in war zones as well. Probably the two things that get male contractors in the most trouble overseas is ‘booze and women’. The best solution for contracting survival is to not drink while over there, and to avoid relationships (if you can).

Especially for security contractors, because A. you carry a gun and B. you must not be distracted or influenced. Remember the whole ‘Mission, the Men, and Me” concept? Well, when you start putting your relationships ahead of the mission (contract) or the men, then your start opening yourself up to all sorts of problems. Now of course the risks are lower when relationships are with individuals from ‘other’ companies and contracts on a FOB or something. But if you have relations with your client(s) on your particular contract, or within your company, then that is a big red flag. Keep it professional, and focus on the mission and contract.

Now I also want to go back to the real sexual assault cases out there. The ones where women were truly assaulted, and all of the evidence and circumstance pointed towards that. I certainly hope that this particular case does not hurt your case.

This case is also a cautionary tale for those women who have decided to use rape as a means to hurt some guy that you had consensual sex with, all because you had regrets about the whole affair in the morning or sometime later. There is a difference here between being raped/sexually assaulted, or having regrets because of personal choice. It is called being accountable for your actions, and if that is what you chose to do, then you need to live with it and move on.

A female victim has a lot of power when they scream rape, because it symbolizes such a shocking and tragic crime. But those same female victims lose that power when those ‘less than honorable women out there’ scream rape and use it as a malicious tool and legal weapon. KBR’s image suffered under this assault, and the accused men suffered under this assault–and both are a prime example of the power of this kind of thing. My support goes to those women who were truly victims, and I only hope that this case does not hurt your pursuit of justice or your desire to step forward and say something. –Matt

Federal jury: No rape, no fraud in KBR case
July 8, 2011
A federal jury on Friday ruled that a woman who sued KBR over an alleged sexual assault in Iraq was not raped, and the company did not commit fraud.
Jamie Leigh Jones sued KBR, its Houston-based former parent company Halliburton and KBR firefighter Charles Bortz, who she claimed led an attack on her while she worked for KBR at Camp Hope in Baghdad in 2005.
Jones’ attorney, Ron Estefan, told jurors during closing arguments that KBR had neglected to enforce its policies against sexual harassment by its contract workers in Iraq, which facilitated Jones’ rape.
Estefan asked the jury to award his client as much as 5 percent of KBR’s net worth in actual or punitive damages, which would have been more than $114 million.

(more…)

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Legal News: Why Jamie Leigh Jones Could Lose Her KBR Rape Case

Filed under: Legal News — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 10:03 AM

“Oftentimes the truth is in between,” says Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles. “The truth may be that this wasn’t rape as we come to understand it in the law, but it wasn’t something that was appropriate. It doesn’t mean that something didn’t happen.” However, if Jones hasn’t been entirely truthful and the jury rules against her, it could be a major setback for sexual assault victims, particularly women serving in war zones. “The problem with cases like this is, if it turns out that she’s making it up, it really does a disservice to the many women who really are raped who have trouble coming forward,” Levenson says.

Thanks to a reader for sending me this. Boy, the details in the court records below paint a vastly different picture than what Jamie was claiming. Although it is important to remember that the attorneys will do everything they can to discredit the victim so as to influence the jury’s decision. So I will hold any commentary and let the reader decide for themselves.

As to my post about her case, all I can say is that my commentary was based upon the given information at that time. Likewise, as much as I despise sexual crimes, I equally despise those who ‘lie’ about being a victim of sexual crime in order to seek financial gain, celebrity or to attack a company. This is not to say that this was the intended goal here, but these things do happen.  If this was a scheme, then the real victims would be KBR and the man (or men) accused of rape.

The other thing that a case like this will hurt, if it was determined to be a lie, are the future cases of women who were truly the victims of sexual assault in war zones. We will see and the court will decide on this deal. Either way, this article definitely paints a different picture than has been previously presented before. It was also published in Mother Jones, which is certainly not a ‘friend’ of KBR, which gives this article even greater significance. Check it out. –Matt

Why Jamie Leigh Jones Could Lose Her KBR Rape Case
Her story of a brutal attack in Iraq sparked a national outcry—but how much of it is true?
By Stephanie Mencimer
Thu Jul. 7, 2011
The allegations were explosive when they first hit in 2007: A 20-year-old woman named Jamie Leigh Jones alleged that four days after going to work in Iraq for contracting giant KBR in July 2005, she was drugged and gang-raped [1] by fellow contractors. She accused the company, then a subsidiary of Halliburton, of imprisoning her in a shipping container after she reported the rape, and suggested KBR had tampered with some of the medical evidence that had been collected at an Army hospital. The harrowing story has made international headlines. It’s been the subject of congressional hearings and has inspired legislation. Jones even plays a starring role in the new documentary Hot Coffee [2], about efforts to limit access to the justice system.
Jones’ charges fell on fertile ground, compounding KBR’s reputation as a corporate scofflaw—all the more so when it came out that the firm’s contract had included a mandatory arbitration clause [3] intended to block employees from suing it. Jones spent years fighting for a jury trial, and now, six years after the alleged attack, she is finally getting her day in court in a civil suit that accuses KBR of knowingly sending her into a hostile workplace. The verdict could come as early as Thursday. And—in a twist that’s likely to shock her numerous supporters—there’s a good chance she will lose.

(more…)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Legal News: Sexual Assault Is The Act Of Cowards–The Story Of Jamie Leigh Jones

There is so much about this story that is wrong and unjust. The men who did this to Jamie, and the way KBR staff treated this woman afterwords is despicable. Sexual assault/rape is the act of cowards, and I truly hope those that are responsible will pay. For that, I totally endorse Jamie and her legal fight to seek justice.

I am also highly disappointed in the management of that camp at that time. Locking Jamie into a conex box to ‘protect her’ was a cowardly act. (Big Boy Rules?–pfffft…) It sounds like what they were really trying to do, is lock her up so it would buy that management team at that camp some time to figure out how to deal with the case. Pathetic…..

There is something severely wrong with a management team that locks up the victim, as opposed to locking up the rapists.  How many other women did these men assault, and did the management lock up those victims as well? Talk about a total failure of leadership.

For that, I certainly hope Jamie and Tracy (the other woman in this video) who were sexually assaulted or harassed in the war zones, will get the justice they deserve. These women, also define what Jundism is all about. They have the courage to do what is right, and come forward publicly about what happened to them. Any company that refuses to hire these women because they came forward with their cases against KBR, should strongly reconsider. These are the kind of brave employees or contractors you would want in your organization! –Matt

Edit: 07/08/2011- After news came out about the details of this case, and after the ruling in the courts, I would like to personally apologize to KBR and the men that were accused of rape in this deal. I have also removed the ‘Jamie Leigh Jones foundation’ from the links section. Although I still stand by my statement up top that sexual assault is the act of cowards, I also believe that lying about sexual assault is equally despicable. I truly hope that this particular case will not stop women who were truly raped and sexually assaulted, from coming forward and pursuing justice. My heart will always lean towards the true victim. In this particular post, I was only reacting to the available information.

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