Feral Jundi

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Legal News: Court Dismisses Iraqi Contractor Torture Case

Filed under: Iraq,Legal News — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:15 AM

“During wartime, where a private service contractor is integrated into combatant activities over which the military retains command authority, a tort claim arising out of the contractor’s engagement in such activities shall be preempted,” Judge Laurence Silberman said in the ruling. 

   This is big, and this is the kind of good news the contracting community needs.  Precedents like this are what we need for further protection in the future for similar cases.  I would be interested to hear what some of our legal experts that read FJ have to say about this one. –Matt

Edit:  By the way, for all of Scahill’s readers that have come to FJ from his blog, welcome.  If you would like to have a rational discussion about the positives or negatives of this ruling, I am all for that. That even includes Jeremy Scahill, if he is game.

    I thought it was good news,  because it symbolizes that we do fall under the authority of the military.  Since 2007, we have fallen under UCMJ, and this ruling further enforces that concept.

   Oh, and don’t forget to check out my latest post on my thoughts about the ruling.  I am interested in what you guys, or any of my readers have to say about it and here is the link.

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Court dismisses Iraqi contractor torture case

Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:50pm EDT

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against two U.S. defense contractors by Iraqi torture victims, saying the companies had immunity as government contractors.

The lawsuit was filed in 2004 on behalf of Iraqi nationals who say they or their relatives had been tortured or mistreated while detained by the U.S. military at the Abu Ghraib prison.

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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Training: We Have Shooting, First Aid, Driving, and EP Courses, But Where Are the Leadership Courses?

Filed under: Leadership,Training — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 10:42 PM

Training:  We Have Shooting, First Aid, Driving, and EP Courses, But Where Are the Leadership Courses?

09/11/2009

     You know, I really dig all the action schools out there.  That stuff is fun, and they are also vital to our core skill set for working in this industry.  But something is severely lacking in the training industry, and that is leadership training.

     It is not enough anymore to say ‘I was an NCO or Officer in the military’, or ‘I was a Police Sergeant at my old PD’.  Nope, what we need is industry specific leadership/management training, and I just don’t see it out there.

     Better yet, we need to see companies putting more of an emphasis on good leadership out there, by setting up training for their contractors, managers and regional managers.  So much money these days is spent on shooting and all the other sexy stuff for overseas spin ups, but you see absolutely no training at all for leadership stuff. The companies make a god awful amount of money on these contracts, and the least they could do is spend the money for this training, and go over what they expect out of their leaders and aspiring leaders. To actually institute some system of management that will give the contractors out in the field, a better chance at doing well out there.

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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Industry Talk: Congressman Announces Plan to Reform U.S. System to Care for Injured Civilian Contractors

Filed under: Industry Talk,Medical — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:10 PM

    Interesting stuff, and I hope Rep. Cummings can produce something that is supported on both sides of the isle. –Matt

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Congressman Announces Plan to Reform U.S. System to Care for Injured Civilian Contractors

by T. Christian Miller, ProPublica – September 9, 2009

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said Wednesday that he will introduce legislation later this year to improve the delivery of medical care to civilian contractors injured while working with the military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cummings declined to provide details about his proposal but said he hoped it would reduce the $300 million a year paid by defense contractors to insurance companies.

“The system is broken, and the insurance companies have reaped the benefits,” said Cummings, who pushed for hearings [1] earlier this year after investigations [2] by ProPublica, ABC News and the Los Angeles Times found that insurance carriers routinely denied claims by injured contractors.

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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Industry Talk: Triple Canopy Contractor Electrocuted in Shower

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 8:10 PM

   This sucks.  I certainly hope some heads roll for not fixing this shower unit, because this is terrible.  My heart goes out to the family and friends. –Matt

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AP NewsBreak: Contractor electrocuted in shower

By KIMBERLY HEFLING

09/09/2009

WASHINGTON — A State Department contractor apparently has been electrocuted while showering in Baghdad even as U.S. authorities in Iraq try to remedy bathhouse wiring problems that have led to the deaths of American troops there.

The contractor, Adam Hermanson, 25, died Sept. 1, his wife, Janine, said Tuesday. She added that a military medical examiner told her that preliminary findings indicate her husband died from low voltage electrocution.

Electrical wiring has been an ongoing problem in Iraq. At least three troops have been electrocuted in the shower since the start of the Iraq War. Inspections and repairs are under way at 90,000 U.S.-maintained facilities there.

Hermanson grew up in San Diego and Las Vegas. He joined the military at age 17, and did three tours in Iraq with the Air Force before leaving at the rank of staff sergeant. He returned to Iraq as an employee of the Herndon, Va.-based private contractor Triple Canopy.

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Industry Talk: With U.S. Forces in Iraq Beginning to Leave, Need for Private Guards Grows

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 7:15 AM

   Hey, I finally found a story about security contractors that did not mention the Nisour Square deal or the fiasco in Kabul.  In fact, this story only highlight’s the increased use of security contractors in this war. You know, the reality of the situation.

   The two things that interested me, beyond the obvious intent of the article, was the amazing use of security contractors.  Contractors were the ones used to back fill when the Georgian troops had to ditch back in August.  Security contractors will be taking over security at Camp Victory in Iraq as well–which is huge! (it will require 2,600 guards).  This is the story that the MSM refuses to recognize, and I continue to be amazed at how we are used.

   I think the other reason why the Kabul fiasco story wasn’t mentioned here, is because it looks like the military is dealing with alcohol related issues in Afghanistan as well. (if the military does the same jackass thing as contractors, then it kind of loses some oomph…. you would think)  So it looks like General McChrystal tried to get a hold of some folks after the latest tanker bombing incident that resulted in some dead civilians, and his ‘goto guys’ were all hungover from partying the night before. –Matt

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With U.S. Forces in Iraq Beginning to Leave, Need for Private Guards Grows

By Walter PincusTuesday, September 8, 2009

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.

Under this contract, the firms will bid against one another for individual orders at specific bases or locations. These “task orders” in the past have ranged from supplying one specialist to providing as many as 1,000 people to handle security for a major base.

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