KBR’s Sad Pathetic Attempt To Defend Themselves In Pittsburgh

William C Bodie "courtesy of google"

I find it sad and pathetic that because KBR has been unable to find a news outlet that would print the companies lies, the president of KBR’s G&I division had to stoop to writing a letter to the editor in the same city as the potential jury pool for the highly publicized wrongful death civil suit of SSG Ryan Maseth. No KBR!! That little stunt of attempting to influence the potential jury pool did not allude me. Isn’t that somehow illegal?

This letter from KBR’s William C Bodie came out in The Pittsburgh Post Gazette today. I will attempt to debunk it paragraph by paragraph. My comments will start with Ms Sparky’s Response: and will be in italics.

KBR is not to blame

Our company had nothing to do with electrocutions in Iraq

Ms Sparky’s Response: Bullsh*t!!

Friday, April 17, 2009
By William C. Bodie

The Post-Gazette’s April 13 editorial, “Showers of Peril: Report Shows the Extent of Dangerous Iraq Wiring,” demonstrates a lack of understanding of the electrical issues in Iraq and KBR Inc.’s level of responsibility as a contractor working there. Further, the piece mischaracterizes the September 2008 “report compiled by a military safety team.” The editorial implies that the report finds fault with KBR. That is false.

Ms Sparky’s Response: Really? On page 2 of the September 8, 2009 Assessment of Electrical Hazards it clearly states: “The USACRC team concluded widespread use of uncertified electrical devices, inconsistent enforcement of any standard, inconsistent and inadequate standards for using electrical devices, incomplete application of electrical codes, and lack of thorough contractor oversight result in unmitigated electrical related hazards through out the OIF theater.” So…just what does that mean in “KBR speak”? To me it says….KBR is not doing their job and are at fault. Click HERE to read the entire September 2008 Report and you decide.

KBR’s name does not appear once in the report upon which the editorial is based. One contractor is mentioned, but that contractor is not KBR. The report expressly states that “the main source of electrical shock” in Iraq is “uncertified electrical devices” provided primarily by “local vendors,” not by KBR, as implied.

Ms Sparky’s Response: So you tell us, who else was there? Do you think those uncertified electrical devices just fall out of the sky? NO, KBR buys them. It sounds like you haven’t ever been to Iraq so let me tell you how it works. We (electricians) tell our foreman we need a specific part. They order it and 99% of the time it is order from a “local vendor” in Iraq or Turkey. Primarily because it’s cheaper. We had seavans full of crap that couldn’t be used because it was the wrong item or just poor quality. So that’s what “local vendor” means. KBR approves the “local vendor”. KBR has also bought parts and material from “local vendors” at the bazaars set up inside the camps like the one at Camp Victory.

Most importantly, the report states that “varying electrical codes and standards have resulted in many instances of improper grounding and bonding.” Nowhere in the report does it state that such varying codes, standards and improper grounding and bonding were caused by KBR.

Ms Sparky’s Response:If KBR installs something and it is not properly bonded and grounded then it’s caused by KBR. If bonding and grounding deficiencies were brought to the attention of management and they were disregarded as “this is a warzone, the NEC doesn’t apply” then it’s not only caused, but perpetuated by KBR. KBR had ample warnings of the electrical deficiencies and chose to ignore them. This problem was systemic. It didn’t happen in just one camp. This was Theater wide. (Iraq, Afghanistan & Kuwait)

The report itself and an attachment to the report establish that eight electrocutions involved contact with power lines and that other electrocutions were the result of “inattentiveness” or “inadequate planning” by the military personnel involved. KBR had no involvement with or responsibility for those electrocution incidents.

Ms Sparky’s Response: What I am hearing you say here is that “KBR had no involvement with or responsibility for those electrocution incidents.” Which would imply that you did have involvement and responsibility for the other electrocutions. Or are you saying that Ryan Maseth and Chris Everett somehow caused their own death?

KBR also had no maintenance responsibilities in connection with any of the facilities at which electrocution deaths occurred, with one exception where KBR had only limited, reactive, maintenance responsibilities. For that one facility that housed Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, KBR was not authorized under its contract with the military to perform the re-wiring of the building that would have been necessary to properly ground and bond the electrical components in the building.

Ms Sparky’s Response: You are trying to BS an electrician here. Not working. You didn’t have to rewire the building. A couple hours worth of work and $20 in parts, and that pump could have been grounded and Ryan would be alive. So, I want to make sure I’m clear. You’re telling me it’s OK to send someone out on a service order for electrical shock and just walk away from it because it’s “too hard” or “we say it’s not in our contract”. So answer me this. This was a very very small building and if I’m not mistaken KBR was paid millions to maintain the RPC. Just what did that entail? Walking by it everyday and making sure it hadn’t fallen over? In the States, disregarding a report of electrical shock would be negligent.

Conditions in a war zone such as Iraq and the challenges faced by the military in housing personnel are very different from those in the United States. Except for temporary facilities, the buildings discussed in the report were constructed by Iraqis without grounding or bonding. Simply put, the “dangerous Iraq wiring” noted in the editorial was just that — dangerous wiring installed by Iraqis, not KBR.

Ms Sparky’s Response: Although electricians need to be trained and licensed in most States, electrical work is not rocket science and all parts and material needed to repair this “dangerous Iraq wiring” was readily available in the United States and Europe. Many planes flew in and out of Iraq everyday that could have delivered those parts. It always amazed me that we never seemed to run low on steak, lobster, crab legs, prime rib, pork loin, Baskin Robbins ice cream, 10 different kinds of pie and all the Coke and Pepsi products you could drink when most of the time I couldn’t get any damn electrical tape, the good stuff, Scotch 33!

KBR has not been charged with any crime and is not aware of any facts that would support a finding of any responsibility, criminal or otherwise, in connection with any electrocution in Iraq, including that of Sgt. Maseth. A military “investigation” does not constitute a finding of responsibility, as the editorial implies.

Ms Sparky’s Response: It is my understanding the CID’s recommendation was to change Ryan’s cause of death to “negligent homicide”. Whether or not that will be done or criminal charges will be filed remains to be seen.

Sgt. Maseth’s accidental electrocution was an unfortunate and tragic event, but it was not caused by KBR. KBR worked quickly to remediate problems when authorized to do the work.

Ms Sparky’s Response: Let me ask you this. If someone drives to a bar and gets drunk and then gets in the car and kills someone, is that accidental. If you leave a loaded handgun on the counter and your child gets it and kills another person, is that accidental. No one stated, “I am not going to properly repair this pump because I want to kill Ryan Maseth” but this was no accident. Any qualified electrician who knew what they were doing could have seen this coming. If you weren’t hiring qualified electricians then whose fault is it? KBR’s. KBR had several service orders authorizing them to make these simple repairs. This is basic electrical repair.

KBR remains proud of the work it performs in Iraq. Our employees perform their jobs in austere, unpredictable conditions at great sacrifice to themselves and their families. We remain committed to engaging in a transparent and, more importantly, a fact-based dialogue on this issue while pledging continued full cooperation and support to the military.

Ms Sparky’s Response: Just what exactly is KBR proud of? The two Level III Corrective Action Requests (CARs)? The countless Level II & Level I CARs? The contaminated water, food & ice? Knowingly exposing soldiers and civilians to toxins? Locking rape victims in a conex? Sending drivers on doomed missions after warnings? Human Trafficking? The fraud waste and abuse? And just general employee abuse? KBR needs to stop using the “it’s a war zone” as an excuse. KBR has some very qualified and dedicated employees in the Middle East. The problem is the management structure. If management would get out of the way and let people do their job like they are trained to do we would not have these problems. (Let me know if I missed anything.)

A personal note to William C. Bodie. There’s no need to beg some newspaper to print your lame statements. You could start your own blog and just pubish your opinions on the Internet like the rest of us!! You could call it “Bodie’s Blog”! I think that’s catchy…don’t you? Is this why Bruce Stanski quit? He wouldn’t do this?

William C. Bodie is interim president of KBR Inc. for government and infrastructure (www.kbr.com).
First published on April 17, 2009 at 12:00 am (click HERE for the original article)