Yet another contractor accused of negligence resulting in soldiers’ deaths
Contractor accused of negligence in soldier deaths
Richard Lardneer - (Associated Press) – WASHINGTON - July 12, 2011 – Nasir Ahmad Ahmadi was hired to work as an interpreter alongside American troops in Afghanistan. But soldiers were alarmed by his strange behavior, his inability to do the job and the foul condition of his living quarters, and they suspected he used drugs.
Just a few months after he arrived at an Army Special Forces base near Kabul, Ahmadi was ordered to pack his bags and leave. Instead of getting ready for the next flight out, Ahmadi grabbed an AK-47 assault rifle from another interpreter’s room on the base and started shooting. He killed two unarmed soldiers and wounded a third.
On Monday, nearly 18 months after the January 2010 shootings, the survivor and family members of the slain soldiers filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Mission Essential Personnel, the U.S. defense contractor that hired Ahmadi as it rushed to put more interpreters to work in Afghanistan.
During the rampage at Firebase Nunez, Ahmadi killed Specialist Marc Decoteau, a 19-year-old just a few weeks into his first tour of duty, and Capt. David Johnpaul Thompson, a veteran soldier and the father of two young girls. At close range, Ahmadi shot Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Russell, hitting him in the legs. Russell survived.
An alert Army sergeant ended the rampage when he drew his pistol and killed Ahmadi, a 23-year-old native of Afghanistan who had immigrated to the United States in 2009.
In their lawsuit, filed in federal court in North Carolina, Russell and the families of Decoteau and Thompson accuse Mission Essential Personnel of negligence and breach of contract for failing to look into Ahmadi’s background and not properly testing him to ensure he was psychologically sound before giving him a job.
Mission Essential Personnel, based in Columbus, Ohio, and better known as MEP, was founded in 2004 and is the U.S. government’s primary supplier of linguists, with more than 8,200 personnel in Afghanistan and a dozen other countries, according to the company’s website. The company had $629 million in revenue last year, up from $6.7 million in 2005.
In a statement Monday, MEP said Ahmadi’s actions were “entirely unforeseeable” and said the incident at Nunez was shocking and tragic.
The company said Ahmadi “was thoroughly vetted for his deployment, including medical, psychological and counter-intelligence screening, and was approved by the U.S. government to deploy to Afghanistan.” It said Ahmadi “exhibited no signs of mental distress nor were there any other indications he might commit this criminal act.” The company also said the interpreter was under the operational control of the soldiers at Nunez and no one at the base ever raised any concerns to company managers about his performance or conduct.
The company said the military has consistently rated MEP’s performance as outstanding. “The big picture is clear: MEP is a good company that has grown because of its good work and commitment to supporting the troops.”
MEP’s interpreters in Afghanistan were not authorized to carry weapons, the military said. Another MEP interpreter at Nunez had an AK-47 in his living quarters, violating the requirements of the contract, the lawsuit said.
Other Related Posts From Ms Sparky
- Long Path to Courtroom for War Contractor Accused of Bribery
- Accused contractor on the defensive – KBR blames Army for ill guardsmen
- Contractor Deaths Accelerating in Afghanistan as They Outnumber Soldiers
- No Contractor Left Behind Part II: KBR’s Negligence
- No Contractor Left Behind Part I: KBR, the Pentagon and the Soldiers Who Paid
Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at 12:49 pm |
There are crazies even in the United States that do this. Who medically cleared him that he wasn’t on drugs ?
So we have an interpreter ( Muslim ?? ) who had access to an AK-47 ( that wasn’t locked up in an armory ) and we have women who are running around unarmed in the face of how many assaults a week on FOBs and bases in Iraq and Afghanistan ?
While we are on the subject of radical crazies that need putting down ( like dogs ). I suggest that all Americans write their Congressmen and Congresswomen and tell them enough is enough. We are there to deal with the radicals that scurry to their mosques on Fridays and it is time to take on Pakistan from border to border and once-and-for-all. Predators are not enough. We need to take the fight to them and kill them in their back yards, their bedrooms, in front of their wives and children. If they want to practice being extreme Muslims – let’s grant their damn wish that they see those 72 virgins and take out every radical that Pakistan has hiding in it. Bin Laden supporters are in every corner [read: Pakistani mosque ] there and I for one am all for not wasting taxpayer money going back a second time. Why should only the Predators be striking when we have an entire Air Force. These radical Pakistani’s need their nukes taken away and then it is time to put them back to the century where they are most comfortable – the 6th century. Stoning women and chopping off heads and hands and blasphemy (another product of an IMAM) . Oh, Saudi is still doing that except they have the slaves thing going on too. : – ) I give that maid an atta-girl and if any others get abused – I hope they hand out the same medicine to the Saudis – it is the only thing they understand.
Pakistan – cutting your funding is step one. Hopefully Congress can actually band together on this one and vote to declare war on Pakistan.
1 Karzi down and 1 to go.
Come on Congress – Declare war on Pakistan. You heard it here on Ms. Sparky first. It is time to take the heathans and bring them into the 21st century where we don’t slap burkas on women and we don’t have slaves and WE don’t tolerate terrorists in Pakistan. Maybe we should be helping India colonize Pakistan. It is not a bad idea.
Happy Hunting.
Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at 2:05 pm |
Yeah, I worked for those guys…they don’t vet their Linguists AT ALL and they (like other contract companys: HONEYWELL-IRAQ & AFG, SOC, etc.) treat their U.S. expats like Hebrew slaves.
It’s not surprising that a disgruntled worker would end up hurting other people because of the poor treatment and/or not being vetted well enough to know that the person shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
MEP should be watched a lot closer for the things they do—-so much corruption, tsk, tsk, tsk
Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at 2:11 pm |
For those of you who might be interested in going to work for HONEYWELL in Iraq, Afghanistan or Kuwait—think again. HONEYWELL says all kinds of wonderful things about how they are always in compliance with the laws, and that they treat people better than any of the other companies….yeah, yeah, yeah. HONEYWELL is a wolf in sheeps clothing. They pay A LOT LESS than other companies that treat you like crap, and their HR Director, Paul Garver is a piece of crap who smile his toothy smile while he baits you into taking a job that you think you are going to get, and then you end up in a job that wasnt at all what you were promised. Their HR department in Alexandria totally sucks, and they really don’t have any idea what they are doing. Gaver hires people who don’t know what they are doing, so that he can look smarter to the decision makers who are relying on him to keep them out of hot water. (yeah right). Anywya, you have been given fair warning about HONEYWELL—if you are smart, you will steer clear of them and go with a company who doesn’t lie behind your back. Good luck fellow contractors!
Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at 2:17 pm |
A contractor was killed about a month ago in Iraq because of a faulty sprung while they were taking one of the tents down. HONEYWELL does nothing to protect its contractors from harm and does even less when a contractor gets hurt in Iraq. They don’t advertise the things that go wrong in that company, but if you ask anyone who has worked there, they can tell you–there is A LOT OF COVER UP!
Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at 2:45 pm |
Theres a woman who used to work for ITT in Kuwait. She’s a party girl from a looong time back. Shes working for HONEYWELL now as their HR Manager and doesnt have the credentials to hold the job! How does that happen? Dave Cote, the president of Honeywell is padding his pockets with government funds and doesnt care at all what is happening overseas to good people who know what they are doing. I also know that the Deputy Program Manager for the ILSS contract is actually the Quality Assurance person and was given the position by the Project Manager who calls himself the Program Manager) and that there was an investigation into time card fraud on their contract that probably cost the government over $3 million dollars, but they tried to fire the person who conducted the investigations (she left the company instead) to help with the cover up. Honeywell hides their misdeeds behind these “secret investigations” and nothing ever comes of them because they end up pushing the employees out before anyone ever hears about it. Shame on you Honeywell!!! >:/
Monday, July 25th 2011 at 6:23 am |
Dude! I know that, chick! Angela, right? Nasty
Tuesday, July 12th 2011 at 4:28 pm |
Correction: Apparently the man in the accident didn’t die–but he was severely injured.
I wonder if Honeywell corporate knows that….hmmmm
Wednesday, July 13th 2011 at 4:49 am |
The truth about Honeywell is that they don’t practice what they preach. A friend of mine got a offer letter that had one amount on it and when he got in country, they paid him something different. Honeywll says that they hire the best of the best which might be true but that’s only becuase Paul Garver and his band of HR idiots trick them into going overseas thinking that they are going to make one amount of pay and then reduce it while they are there. Honeywll sucks
Friday, July 15th 2011 at 7:42 am |
Honeywell’s problem might be because of one of their upper management choices is the Infamous MAJ GEN (Ret) Jerome Johnson who :
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/ap_armyrecant_071207/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/washington/10contractor.html
http://www.army.mil/article/30954/ARMY_BIDS_MAJ__GEN__JOHSON_FAREWELL/
http://www51.honeywell.com/honeywell/news-events/press-releases-details/8.17.10HTSIEagle.html
Sunday, July 17th 2011 at 7:36 pm |
I know what you mean about Honeywell’s leadership. (No longer General) Johnson, (No longer General) Bennie Williams, Paul Garver (the fat slob), Angela Carrigan (the “Ho”) JC Gerald (the racist), Alan Hendrickson (the one responsible for over 3 million dollars in time card fraud) are all crooked. They hire all the wrong people mainly because they need bodies to fill positions whether they have experience or not because the longer a position remains vacant the more money they lose (contracts are paid in part according to the number of filled positions) Honeywell can’t keep people because the hard workers are forced to make up for the lazy “friends” and butt buddies of these so called “leaders”. The government should look a lot harder at supposed “reputable” companies like Honeywell, if they did they would certainly uncover a lot of grimey dirt, lies, and lost funds
Tuesday, July 19th 2011 at 2:48 pm |
Curious. I applied at Honeywell today before tripping across this site. I think most contract companies are more or less the same. Anyway was curious what the moneys like. Besides being told one amount and then paid another. Is this because of having to pay for clearence or other paperwork required to work there? I applied as a mechanic so any help would be good.
Monday, July 25th 2011 at 6:20 am |
I spent over $600 on my physical just to get hired by them, and never got reimbursed. The HR Director told me that the medial insurance would pay for it, but it never happened. As for pay, they pay a lot less than BAE or KBR. They had also decreased peoples pay and told them if they didn’t like it, then leave
Wednesday, July 20th 2011 at 11:55 am |
Mission Essential Personnl is the worst contractor in the world. They treat the linguist’s like animals, and the site manager’s in theater treat the linguist’s like animal’s because the corporate MEP employees in the states are too busy counting their cash.
Mission Essential Personnel sucks. They claim to recruit pashto linguists and dari linguist’s to help build their country, but really they are there to take advantage of the money that is being handed out so the young guys that own the company continute to get rich. Nothing wrong with that really. The American dream. If you work for MEP Mission Essential Personnel. I’m sorry.
Wednesday, July 27th 2011 at 4:39 am |
Ok, I have a question for the security gurus out there. A friend of mine told me that there are companies out there like Honeywell, and MEP that “label” employees (especially Linguists) as “Persona Non Grata”, when an employee leaves them after complaining about being buillied or harassed at work. I worked for Honeywell and before them had no problems at all finding work when I left a company, but after working really hard for them, I left because I got mistreated by my manager and they didn’t do anything about it. When I left I was told good luck finding work because now Honeywell would blackball me. Can anyone tell me if that is true. It feels true now because I get contacted by recruiters all the time but then they back off like something scared them. If companies are allowed to “flag” people in JPAS somehow, then the government should do something about it, because it is not legal for them to do things like that and prevent people from working.
Tuesday, February 21st 2012 at 12:05 pm |
I used to work for one of the companies mentioned in these comments and I can tell you first hand:
When linguists protest or piss off their gov. contract employer unethical FSO/Security Specialists will put in “Security violation” or “Adverse Action” reports in JPAS. Once that is done the person’s name is changed from purple to Red. It’s called “redlining”. Then the poor contractor gets let go because they are ‘redlined’. The contractor believes they have a clearance in good standing applies to other companies and then the recruiter eventually gets around to having their security department run the SSN to check the clearance status. They see the ‘redlined’ name and drop you from consideration. Honeywell and MEP do it all the time. Nothing personal it’s just the size of the bureaucracy and the lack of accountability that enables it.
It is legal but the way the JPAS database works and the personnel security process you really need a Security Specialist pulling for you on the other side (meaning your potential new employer) to get it resolved.
Find an FSO or Security specialist you trust and then you can get some straight answers as to what is going on with your clearance post separation from your job.
Most previous employers do not want you to know how they have jacked up your clearance once you walk out the door. Assume they will and act accordingly. Sorry but that is just the way it is.
Friday, August 12th 2011 at 3:21 pm |
Honeywell over the past two years has used the econmy to take advantage of it’s employees. Great excuse, but in the meantime they are buying companies for 143 million, and has had great reviews in all of the business journals. They seem to only be doing bad when it comes to lying to their employees about benefits and pay raises.
2008 offered 2% pay raises to be distributed across the company. Some got increases, and some didn’t. During 2009, the company forced employees to take 3 weeks unpaid leave, and cut their 401K company match benefits by 50% (suppossedly a temporary cut… ya right). Now in 2010, the company is playing games with the employees saying no pay increase guidelines have been set. It looks like NO PAY INCREASES, across the board, will probably be the outcome for the year 2010.
In review of the CEO’s salary the past two years: Dave cote netted 28.7 Million in 2008 and 12.8 million in 2009. I’m so glad he took such a pay cut. What a guy. But you have to wonder what he really does. Does he actually make the money. Does he manufacture anything, sell anything, show up on customer sites to handle emergencies. One thing he does do is hob-nob with Pres Obama, being he’s a good Democrat. But like most rich Democrats, he portrays the “good of all”, while he lines his own pockets by screwing the people that make him rich. Let’s help the world… as long as it doesn’t cost me anything. I wonder what his pay bonus wil be this year?
Honeywell employees are also treated unfairly just because of where they live. If they live in Minneapolis or Morristown, they get more vacation time and Holidays than field employees, even if they are doing the same job.
Honeywell has some real issues that are unfair, and they are obviously taking advantage of their employees, using the scare tactic of” “be glad you have a job” to keep everyone quiet. I’m not a big fan of unions, but I’m coming to the realization of their purpose, and it’s leadership like Dave Cote’s that drives employees to do such things. How do you sleep at night Mr Cote?
Friday, August 12th 2011 at 3:22 pm |
I’ve worked for honeywell for two n a half years and couldn’t stand it anymore. Management sucked, they would make rules as they go along, lie to employees, scare them with policy that I’ve never even seen or heard before. All the sudden we were on a three days work week. Get this we get work share for that two days off. They had us fill out paper work for work share and tells us ( the employees) we will be on a two weeks waiting period and ” not to call department of labor ” to ask about when we’re getting our work share benefits. Sound fishy to me!
And then a question was ask from one of the employee, ” what happens if work starts picking up again?” HR answers, well if it starts picking up again the supervisors or manager can not take you off your three days work week until the 30 days of ur work share of block one has ended!” Well guess wat happen I was takin off my three days work share and it has not even been thirty days of when my work share period ended. I was so furious and frustrated so went to human resource and told her the situation and she told me that they are allowed to do that! So I restated what she said at the all hands meeting… You know what she said? You will only be disqulify from work share for this week! I looked at her and said well it’s not gonna affect the other week when I was the work share benefit? She told me no… Guess wat happened I was lied to, now come to find out I was not getting paid for that three days work week because they had takin me off work share too early while it was still in process! This whole situation lead me to quit! The management system I believe are trained to manipulate people and play with our minds to make it seems like there are no other jobs out there for us because of the economy! Do not work for honeywell Woonsocket rhode island!
Friday, August 12th 2011 at 3:25 pm |
A career at Honeywell is a sad joke… They demoted everyone except one ass kisser. And “raises” are usually zero — rare just to keep up with inflation. Best to go somewhere – anywhere else to work.
(Sounds like they should have gone fishing for another job a long time ago)
Friday, August 12th 2011 at 3:27 pm |
The Honeywell design facility in Clearwater Florida, plant 1 has very bad management. They lie and cheat employees. Allied Signal bought the company and has been killing the division. Very demoralizing. Most engineers are depressed and want to leave. Caution: do not take job from them… you will be sorry!
Friday, August 12th 2011 at 3:28 pm |
The Honeywell management is a bunch of lieing cheating arrorgant pompus butt heads. They don’t care about anyone but them selves and their bonus. They made my manager change my review from a 5(average) to a 8(below average) and then put me on a writen warning for not having good performance just so they don’t have to give me a raise. The H.R department is a joke. They are in on the lies. A big company game to crap on it’s employees.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Friday, August 12th 2011 at 3:42 pm |
*Sung to the tune of “Beat it”
They told me don’t you ever come around here,
Cuz Honeywell will cheat you
and you’ll disappear
They’re lying to your eyes
and their words are never clear
So beat it (before you’re fired)
Just beat it
Whooooo!
They told me wait and I would get a raise
They make me charge my time all wrong
And then they get afraid
So they make me look real bad
And then they fire me anyway
Just beat it, just beat
Cuz, it really is sad, just Beat it (beat it), Beat it! (beat it)
No one wants ever wants to be cheated!
Sure they make money,
It’s all just a game
It’s the poor employees,
Who are taking all the blame
Just beat it, just beat—
LEAVE!
The song is far removed from the harsh reality of utter arrogant pompus attitude that streams from the top to bottom how having a black belt in sixth sigma emmigrates to being competant in your field of work jeepers only knows corporations that dont listen usually end up with profit streams far short of there potential stop the rot and exodus of your most valuable assets your employees.
Friday, August 12th 2011 at 3:43 pm |
Honeywell is the most unethical and disgraceful organisation on the planet. I personally witnessed Australian Honeywell managers using corporate funds to hire prostitutes during their kick-off meeting in Phuket. I would never have anything to do with this orgainisation. -Jimmy Sweeney (87 days ago)
Saturday, August 13th 2011 at 2:29 pm |
I take it you don’t like Honeywell
Thursday, August 18th 2011 at 4:00 am |
I don’t like the way Honeywell does business. They say the right things to hire the right people, but when it comes to actions, they fall short. Their HR department is crooked not very knowledgeable, and filled with HR people who smile at you while they stab you in the back. The company and its players are rotten with time card fraud, and favoritism and they tend to get away with their corruption because they have been around so long. So, anyway, to answer your question, no, I don’t like Honeywells methods and the way that they manage the business. So, I decided to step up and say something, and isn’t that why Ms Sparky is here? To present the truth? (Answer: Yes)
Tuesday, November 22nd 2011 at 7:57 am |
Ok, so Mission Essential Personnel has been managing the linguist contract in Afghanistan for a really long time, but they still haven’t figure out that they are not only a part of the problem with the Linguist contract, but they ARE the problem with the Linguist contract. I worked for them and I am here to tell you that they are a TERRIBLE COMPANY- If there are any linguists out there that are currently working for MEP or used to work for them, then now is the time to let your voices be heard: SHOULD MEP LOSE THE CONTRACT? WOULD YOU KEEP WORKING FOR THEM FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? Let your voices be heard in the land of the free!!
Tuesday, February 21st 2012 at 12:11 pm |
I would have to agree with your comment. A company their size should be much better in managing their contracts but they are not. They have a lot of turn-over in certain departments and that affects overall delivery.
Don’t worry. They are falling apart though. They have laid people off in Columbus and Chantilly so the gravy train is ending for them. The linguist contracts are drying up and they now have to compete against much better companies for a smaller slice of a smaller pie.
Tuesday, November 22nd 2011 at 2:56 pm |
I worked for MEP, they suck. Too much nepotism ALOT of favoritism and they treat the linguists like children I think they should go away
Tuesday, November 22nd 2011 at 6:11 pm |
MEP!
In December 2007 I start working for MEP.
1-The managers are not professionals from other countries.
2-The MEP company never realized which linguist have how mach capabilities, how good is he or she in Pashtu or Dari.
3-The interoperation job is not an essay job and non of the linguist including myself had any linguistic degree, but let me tell you something a retorted man was about to sign for 2 star general while grate linguists are serving on the mountains.
4-The managers think they are the one doing the job
5-Military can replace 100s of the managers per day and will not going to make any deferent, but the jobs are getting Doan by interpreters
6-The MEP Company for 13 month collects my brother’s insurance payment from my paycheck when we find out they send me a check but deduct tax from the check.
7-I was requested by name to work for 3 star general and I did, but the MEP company was so slow to process my paper work and they assign a man just got to the US and after getting Green card start working there
8-I burned and raised in Afghanistan nothing is wrong with that but would you trust a man who spent all his life in the US or you are trusting the people you don’t know them very will
9-Your Company will lose contract , talk to you managers let them know to show some respect to linguists specially the US heir American linguists
10-DO NOT mix them with local nationals , some of them paid tax when you’re not burn at that time
11-I know some of the linguists are not very good and they like to keep their job that’s why even if a manager insult and humiliate them they will stay quiet and keep silent.
12-We are Americans and we all know the value of our great country, we are raising our children here and as much as you think you are an American we have the same filling, that’s why we are going to the dangers areas to protract our nation.
13-I don’t have any recalcitrance against MEP company, I just wrote what I think
14-Please take my opinions as a friendly advice.
Your former employee
Wednesday, November 30th 2011 at 4:19 am |
When I was there they had a LSM Sebrena mintar and she was discriminate against linguist. she talk down to us and treat us like small children i have children at home an I wont like being treated like that
Saturday, February 18th 2012 at 10:36 am |
hi as you can read my name above I used to be one of the interpreter at L3 Titan and then Agies and after that MEP came up but then I resigned.
The reasons I resigned are so many but I going to declare some of them in here
1- in each company when an employer is working the salary getting increase based on experience and serving time but in MEP it is totally different this company decreasing the salary year by year.
2- as we all know the NATO troops under the command of USA came in Afghanistan based on a deal which says they NATO troops must respect Afghan culture, religion, elder and etc. but when they coming in combat zone they acting completely variously totally opposite of that contract.
3- also when MEP hires interpreters in KABUL or any other city of Afghanistan says that all transportation of interpreters are on troops but troops not accept it there is no co ordination between MEP and armed force on the ground.
the armed force expecting interpreters to go home and come back by taxi and don’t care if it is dangerous or not.
4- they other reason which really made me tired and can be the main reason of my resignation is the process of VISA process that day by day armed forces are making their own rules to give a hard time for interpreters and MEP personals are not even asking why they do these? I am not saying they have not to do it but if they do these kind of staff then company must ask them why because it wast the time of a interpreter VISA process.
I hope MEP pay more attention on that and solve these problem.
regards
Sunday, May 6th 2012 at 7:04 am |
Doing business in Iraq, where is the oversight now?
Corruption is running rampant in Iraq, reducing the chances for positive change and influence in Iraq.
Working as an independent contractor in a foreign country is difficult enough without the added burden of being an Expatriate working for a foreign company that does business unscrupulously. The fact is, that because the U.K., U.S. and other International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) no longer maintains a significant military presence in the Middle East, Independent contractors who accept work with foreign companies, particularly in Iraq, should take heed—as there is no oversight for employees or contractors who are mistreated or do not receive compensation from the foreign entity that employs them in the Middle East.
One such company is MediCorp, a partner of INTERMEDIC, which has been doing business in Iraq for several years and is based out of Jordan.
MediCorp CEO/President, Gabriele Muntean and Robert McVickers, owner of Morris Corporation, in Australia, once ran the examination clinics at Camp Victory, Iraq. When the soldiers left, they paid over $400,000 U.S. dollars to have the entire operation moved to Basrah, Iraq. They hired Third Country Nationals from different countries, and then began working as a subcontractor for Global Linguist Solutions, and KBR to provide physical examinations to contractor’s who are working in Iraq.
MediCorp hires expatriates to run their business; however, they are not legally registered to do business in Iraq. Expatriates and Third Country Nationals who take positions with MediCorps’ Al Zubair, location are not issued the proper VISAs to travel throughout Iraq to perform the physical exams, which puts them in jeopardy of being arrested. Recently, four Nepalese contractors were arrested when they attempted to return home.
Contractors who complained to the owners were erroneously terminated, and subsequently denied their final paychecks. One expat was refused re-entry to the Al Zubair camp, and remains in Iraq with no money to return home. He has contacted the U.S. Embassy, with no luck, and has complained to the Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG), who has not contacted him, to date.
“All I want is to the money they owe me”, stated the stranded U.S. Expat, who asked not to be identified. “The guy that worked for MediCorp before me never got paid, either”, he continued. “I have some Iraqi friends that I have done business with in the past, that are helping me out, but their generosity only goes so far”, he continued. “MediCorp doesn’t even pay its Iraqi vendors, which makes all of the other companies who do business in Iraq look bad to the Iraqi people. They keep complaining to me, but I can’t do anything about it, because I am just trying to figure out how I am going to live day-to-day until I can figure a way home”.
KBR, and Global Linguist Solutions are using MediCorp as a subcontractor to perform physical examinations for their employees to meet the contract requirements required in their Statement of Work, and have been notified that MediCorp has been performing the physical examinations using a janitor to perform the X-rays, and then submitting false claims to the insurance companies for reimbursement.
The Department of Defense has been notified that MediCorp is violating the human trafficking laws by not allowing their employees the freedom to come and go as they please. “MediCorp won’t pay for your VISA until it is time for you to return home”, the Expat continued. “The VISAs are written in Arabic, and most of the people who work for the company don’t read Arabic. The reason that the Nepalese people were arrested is because they didn’t know the name of the company that was written on the VISA”, the Expat stated.
It is common practice in Iraq to have different companies who are already doing business in Iraq to sponsor individuals for other companies.
“I entered Iraq to work for MediCorp, but my VISA says that I work for XYZ Company. If I can’t read my VISA and I am trying to move about the country, or want to exit Iraq. I have to know to say that I work for XYZ Company, and not MediCorp, or I will be arrested”, he said.
Corruption is running rampant in Iraq, and Iraqi government officials who have developed business relationships with companies, like MediCorp are protecting these companies and adding to the corruption and reducing the chances for positive change and influence in Iraq.
“The owners of MediCorp have over $113 million dollars, and would rather pay hush money to the allies that they have in the Iraqi government than to do the right thing and get properly registered in the country, and run their company legally”, the Expat continued.
“It would cost me over five thousand dollars just to get a lawyer to get fifteen-thousand dollars back. There is no oversight; the companies over here reek with corruption; because there is no one watching them”, he stated.
Oversight in Iraq is desperately needed. The Iraqi people are trying to rebuild their country after a decade of war, and they need companies that are ethically strong, and legally bound to a higher standard of ethical behaviors. Until then, employees and contractors should closely scrutinize overseas job offers and have an attorney review an employment contract before accepting a position with a foreign company.
Sunday, May 6th 2012 at 7:18 am |
American K-9 Detection Services, a K-9 company out of Lake Mary Florida is a HORRIBLE company to work for. Marc Whalman, self-professed “ruler” of K-9′s in Afghanistan, and an EGOMANIACAL BIGOT rules his roost like a a lead hog rules the trough. He acts all sweet, and adorbale with his “Big-daddy is watching”, and his chubby anecdotes about “the good ol days” in the Army, while in the background, he and his toady, Ryan Leneweaver strut throughout Camp Eggers as though they are the rulers of the (not so free) world (Afghanistan). These “men” (I use the term loosely) hire White South Africans thinking that by doing so, they meet the requirements for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when it comes to diversity. They have strategically placed a few African Americans into site lead positions (although, they don’t call them site leads), just to give the appearance that they don’t discriminate, and then turn around and use the “N” word as though they were sitting in their back yard spitting tobacco and speaking to their mindless, toothless bigot friends. They spend the governments money on 42 inch televisions for everyone that lives with them, and have very little controls over the government money that they are spending. Their Vice President of Operations, believes that because he wears a Masonic ring, and holds a high-level position, that he can sexually harass female workers and invite them to his room as though he were above the law. AMK9 is a relatively new company that has not yet learned that the good ol boy system is no longer allowed in a civilized world and that psuedo-intellectuals like Ryan Leneweaver, who reads books, and then quotes them as though he actually knows what he is talking about, and disgustingly bloated Ex-1st sergeants like Marc Whalman, cannot not, and should not be allowed to run a company in a primitive-cave like- “howdy do, ya’ll” existence and survive, in spite of the fact that some moron decided to award them a contract. If you want a real company–go to RONCO–they are doing it right. AMK9–you are on notice—Clean up your act, or face the audit!