Feral Jundi

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Industry Talk: Three DynCorp And DRS Technology LOGCAP IV Employees Killed In Afghanistan

    Rest in peace to the fallen.  This week has been a bad one for contractor deaths.  Thanks to Ms Sparky and Defense Base Act Comp for getting the word out and my heart goes out to the friends and family. –Matt

—————————————————————–

Dyncorp & DRS Technology employees killed in Afghanistan (Updated)

Ms Sparky

September 7, 2010

I have just received a confirmed report there was a a September 6, 2010  attack on a forward operating base Howz-e-Madad in Kandahar province Afghanistan. This attack took the lives of three DynCorp LOGCAP IV employees and wounded several others.

Dyncorp just released this:

September 7, 2010 – We are deeply saddened to report that a September 6 attack on a forward operating base in Howz-e-Madad, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, took the lives of three LOGCAP IV personnel and wounded several others.

William Allen, 51, of Munhall, Pennsylvania, worked as an electrician on the LOGCAP IV program and was killed at the time of the incident. Alan Herzel, 48, of Milton, Florida, who worked as a plumber foreman, received medical care after the incident but later passed away as a result of his injuries. A third subcontract employee who provided information technology support for the program also lost his life in the attack; DynCorp International will defer to his employer to release any personal details.

A number of individuals who were wounded in the attack were transported by medevac for hospital care.

In a condolence note to LOGCAP IV management, Colonel Cameron G. Holt, Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Commander, Afghanistan, wrote:

“As is too often the case in war, the cost of freedom extends not just to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines who have pledged their lives to defend their country; it is also borne by our civilians at home and among the ranks of American defense contractors like you who stand shoulder to shoulder with us in this struggle.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured or killed, with their families, and with all of our colleagues at FOB Howz-e-Madad.

*****

Updated: September 10, 2010

Javier de la Garza Jr, Killed in Attack in Afghanistan

Posted by defensebaseactcomp

September 10, 2010

Former Valley Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

HAVANA – The family of a former valley soldier is mourning tonight.

Lots of questions surround the death of UTPA alumn Javier de la Garza Jr.

His grandparents in Havana tell CHANNEL 5 NEWS he worked as a private contractor overseas.

De la Garza was killed during some kind of attack in Afghanistan earlier this week.

The 27-year-old lived in Austin for some time before joining the Army in 2000. He deployed to Iraq then settled in the Valley after his service. He attended UT-Pan American in Edinburg before deciding to return overseas. This time he went as a civilian and worked in the IT department for a private contractor in Afghanistan.

De la Garza’s family hasn’t been told when his body will return to the states. (click HERE for original article)

Link to blog here.

 

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Industry Talk: BLISS Could Be State’s New LOGCAP, And More Clarification About WPPS

     Thanks to David Isenberg for posting this on his blog and bringing it to everyone’s attention.  I think this is some interesting information that came out of this letter between Richard Verma and Sen. Claire McCaskill. If in fact BLISS becomes the new LOGCAP for DoS, this could be a pretty sizable contract.  That’s ‘if’ they cannot bring State under the current LOGCAP.  We will see how it goes.

     But what I thought was most interesting in this letter was the clarification as to the fact that contractors will be operating this war equipment that DoD will be loaning to State. That is great, and it will be cool to see Blackhawks and MRAPs rolling out into the skies and roads of Iraq under the control of contractors.  I wonder if they will paint this equipment a different color? Like DoS blue/white/yellow? lol

    Also, will these MRAPS or Blackhawks be stripped of all the life saving electronics and communications stuff that our troops were able to use for the survival of their units?  Probably not, but who knows.  Today’s military hardware has a lot of useful stuff in it that could really come in handy for the contractors that have to operate it.

     One thing that is missing in this letter, is a question and response about the 14 security related functions that State identified, that might have to be done by contractors.  Stuff like EOD or counter mortar/rocket team operations. Or QRF/rescue stuff or other military type activities.  I say this because I have yet to see any answers as to how the DoS will treat contractors if they actually had to fire their weapons and kill enemy combatants while doing any of these 14 security related functions.  Or worse yet, what about firefights that unintentionally ended up in the deaths of civilians? Because the enemy loves to attack from population centers with the hopes of creating such an incident.

     Like I have said before, we might want the war to be over in Iraq, but the enemy could care less about our wishes. If anything, with a limited military presence and an Iraqi government and security forces still trying to establish itself, a lot can happen during the transition and drawdown. DoS must understand that the enemy has learned much from the propaganda value of such incidents like the Nisour Square incident. If they can recreate such an incident again they will gain much, and DoS and the US mission in Iraq will suffer yet again from the consequences.

     There are still many questions that come to mind, and that is will DoS support their contractors if involved in a firefight that accidently resulted in civilian deaths, or will they treat the contractor as if they were criminals?  Worse yet, will they hand these individuals over to the Iraqis, or will they insure these men are afforded the same protections and rights that the military or even diplomats would have received in similar situations? Will DoS implement rules for the use of force that are realistic and give contractors the best chance of success for the defense of personnel and property? Or will DoS even allow the proper weapons and tactics required for an effective defense (that could include borderline offensive operations), or even rescues? Stuff to think about and it will be interesting to see how this turns out. –Matt

Edit: 08/02/2011- Hat tip to Ms. Sparky on this news. Supposedly KBR was chosen for this. Check the comment below for the entire post.

——————————————————————

On July 9, 2010 this letter was sent to Sen. Claire McCaskill, from Richard D. Verma, Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at DoS. (I posed the first question and answer, and the 5th question and answer. Follow the link to read the rest)

*****

1. Will private security contractors, including contractors under the State Department’s Worldwide Personal Protective Services contract, be operating the requested equipment, vehicles, and aircraft?

     The Department of State (DOS) does not presently maintain a cadre of qualified drivers/operators for some requested equipment, such as MRAPS, and, as such, would need to supplement current skill sets within its WPPS contract to ensure operational capability. If/when DoD provides the requested equipment, the Department will modify the relevant contracts to require that the equipment be operated and maintained by contractor personnel in accordance with manufacturer, DoD, or other applicable standards. Contract modifications will also require that contractor personnel possess the necessary qualifications and complete the requisite training to properly operate and maintain the equipment. An aircraft provided to the Department will be incorporated into an existing Department aviation support contract.

5. If the State Department’s request to use LOGCAP is denied, how does the Department plan to ensure that the next contract for life support services is as transparent, competitive, and accountable as possible?

     Should the LOGCAP [Logistics Civil Augmentation Program] be unavailable, the Department will follow Federal Acquisition Regulation competitive procedures in any separate procurement action. Due to long-acquisition lead-time involved, the Department has already initiated action to develop a competitive solicitation for the base life support requirements should it be unable to remain under the LOGCAP program. This solicitation is referred to as the Baghdad Life Support Services acquisition, or BLISS contract. If necessary, the Department could issue a Request for Proposals for the BLISS contract in a very short time.

—————————————————————–

Baghdad Life Support Services

Solicitation Number: SAQMMA10I0009

Agency: U.S. Department of State

Office: Office of Logistics Management

Location: Acquisition Management

(more…)

Friday, July 17, 2009

Industry Talk: Wall Street Goes to War

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 5:05 AM

     Well if you want to know the DynCorp story, read this sucker.  As a contractor, we are so removed from the world of the CEO’s, investors and upper level management, and reading this article made that reality very clear.  I wonder if these guys have any ‘shared reality’ with their company?  Do they visit with the guard force in Qatar, or hang out at the mechanics shop at some airbase in Afghanistan or Iraq?  Or how about hang with the police advisors that are all over the world, or drive along during a poppy eradication mission in Afghanistan? Who knows, and for those that have worked for DynCorp, this story is for you. (some reverse shared reality I guess)

   And if any of you bigwigs with DynCorp are reading FJ, all I would like you to know is that your contractors/employees are your best asset out there–take care of them.  You are making a lot of money off of their hard work and sacrifice, and the least you can do is show them some respect and take care of your people.  I understand the concept of free market capitalism, and completely support it.  But that is not everything in life, and please take note, the most respected companies in the world do an excellent job of taking care of their people while still remaining profitable and providing an excellent service/product.

    The goal of any company in the defense industry should be to achieve what Google or Toyota has accomplished, and that is acceptance and respect.  To have your company’s name stand for something good, and not bad, should be your goal.  Be the company that contractors want to work for and customers want to do business with. And because most of DynCorp’s work is US government related, be the company that taxpayers feel is a good value. Be the company that a reporter could write about, and be in awe of it’s operations and total dedication to Kaizen and customer service/satisfaction.  And if you are profitable, there is no reason in the world to not take a little of that and invest the time and money into the little details that could make you the best.

     Maybe Forbes will write an article about a defense company like that some day? Some day….. –Matt

——————————————————————

Wall Street Goes to War

Nathan Vardi

Forbes

For 19 years Robert McKeon and Thomas Campbell were inseparable. They raised money and struck deals together, buying and selling dozens of companies, often in the defense sector–smallish outfits such as Athena Innovative Solutions, Integrated Defense Technologies and Vertex Aerospace. Working 12-hour days out of next-door offices in midtown Manhattan, they could hear each other’s phone conversations and knew the most personal details about each other. They golfed together, went skeet and trap shooting, traveled together for meetings and once shared a hotel room in Mexico. On Fridays they would dine, just the two of them, at Harry Cipriani, the ritzy Manhattan restaurant. “I believe we were pretty close to best friends,” says Campbell.

They also hatched the most lucrative deal of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their 2005 purchase of DynCorp International, the Falls Church, Va. provider of services to the U.S. military, landed McKeon and Campbell at the center of a booming and controversial business. The leveraged buyout also helped rip apart their relationship. McKeon ended up very rich, personally earning $350 million, or seven times his investment, and in control of a company that has emerged as the biggest winner in the war game. Campbell, forced out of DynCorp, came away with very little and has started over. Today the two former friends are locked in mortal combat–trading accusations of greed and betrayal in protracted litigation and competing for $25 billion a year in battleground services contracts for the U.S. government.

Battlefield contractors have been around for years. But their importance has grown in post-Cold War defense spending. Roughly 240,000 contractor employees, many of them foreign nationals, support U.S. missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, outnumbering the troops they serve. They provide security, military and police training, logistics and air support, reconstruction and every mundane service it takes to feed, clothe and clean fighting forces–collecting some $100 billion of the $830 billion U.S. taxpayers are on the hook for in the two wars. Though they don’t operate under the same rules of engagement as the U.S. military, contractors risk their lives; 1,360 of them have been killed and 20,000 injured in the two war zones.

(more…)

Powered by WordPress