Houston you have a problem & other news
…In April 2003, Dyncorp dropped its appeal against the verdict, and three days later announced an award by the US state department for a contract to police Iraq…
…”These crimes are perpetrated by individual men who rape and torture girls on mission, then go home to their wives. And it’ll carry on until there’s a knock at the door and they find themselves getting arrested in front of the wife and kids.” ~ Ed Vulliamy – Has the UN learned lessons of Bosnian sex slavery…
Soldier faces hearing at Afghan base over suicide
Associated Press – (Wall Street Journal) – KABUL, Afghanistan – January 15, 2012 – An American soldier charged with abuse that led to the suicide of a 19-year-old fellow soldier in Afghanistan is facing a preliminary hearing Sunday on a base in the country, the military said.
The hearing came as two more members of the international force in Afghanistan died of what NATO described as “non-battle-related” injuries.
Spc. Ryan J. Offutt is charged with offenses including maltreatment, involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Pvt. Danny Chen, the military statement said. Offutt is one of eight infantrymen charged in connection with the suicide.
Chen shot himself in a guardhouse Oct. 3 in Afghanistan after what investigators say were weeks of racial slurs, humiliation and physical abuse.
Offutt, 32, of Greenville, Pa. was charged in December along with seven others in the same unit. He joined the Army in 2006 and served 14 months in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan. An attorney for Offutt could not immediately be contacted. (Click HERE for article)
DISA Obscures Contract Award to SAIC
Bob Brewin – (Nextgov) – January 13, 2012 – The Defense Information Systems Agency awarded SAIC a $7.5 million, 12-month sole source contract to continue to support the Joint Global Command and Control System (GCCS-J), according to what seems to me a deliberately obscure FedBizOpps notice posted Wednesday.
The description of the award did not even mention GCCS-J, instead it referred only to a sole source “Deployment & Sustainment” contract, which did not identify the awardee.
Clicking on the Justification and Analysis link reveals that the award is for continuing work on GCSS-J and that only SAIC — the current contractor — has the “specialized expertise” to do the work under a task order that expires Jan 15.
That link did not provide the dollar value of the contract, which DISA spokeswoman Laura Williams provided after a query from Nextgov. (Click HERE for article)
Former Dow Research Scientist Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Stealing Trade Secrets and Perjury
(DoJ) – WASHINGTON – January 13, 2012 – A former research scientist was sentenced late yesterday to 60 months in prison for stealing trade secrets from Dow Chemical Company and selling them to companies in the People’s Republic of China, as well as committing perjury, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. for the Middle District of Louisiana.
U.S. District Court Judge James J. Brady also sentenced Wen Chyu Liu, aka David W. Liou, 75, of Houston, to two years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $600,000 and pay a $25,000 fine. A federal jury in Baton Rouge, La., convicted Liu on Feb. 7, 2011, of one count of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft and one count of perjury.
According to the evidence presented in court, Liu came to the United States from China for graduate work. He began working for Dow in 1965 and retired in 1992. Dow is a leading producer of the elastomeric polymer, chlorinated polyethylene (CPE). Dow’s Tyrin CPE is used in a number of applications worldwide, such as automotive and industrial hoses, electrical cable jackets and vinyl siding. (Click HERE for article)
Henderson, Ky., man killed in crash on I-164
Richard Gootee – (Evansville Courier & Press) - EVANSVILLE – January 13, 2012 – A Henderson, Ky. man died Thursday from injuries sustained in a crash on Interstate 164 when his car was struck by a sport utility vehicle that had crossed the median.
Marvin Lawson, 87, was transported to Deaconess Hospital for treatment but died about 10:30 p.m. An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday.
According to the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, weather conditions Thursday afternoon likely contributed to the crash, which remains under investigation. The driver of the SUV, Evansville resident Wajdi Birjas, 40, was not injured.
Birjas told investigators that he was attempting to pass another vehicle while traveling northbound on I-164 when he lost control and drove through the median, hitting Lawson’s southbound car. Emergency personnel extricated Lawson from his vehicle. (Click HERE for article)
US Labor Department settles charges of racial discrimination with Houston-based defense contractor JacintoPort
Agreement includes $219,000 in back wages and interest for 69 African-American and Caucasian applicants plus job offers for some
(DoL) – HOUSTON – January 12, 2012 – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs today announced that government contractor JacintoPort International LLC has agreed to settle allegations of hiring discrimination on the basis of race involving 48 African-American and 21 Caucasian job applicants who were rejected for longshoreman positions at the company’s cargo facility in Houston.
“In this day and age, it is shocking that any company would allow race to be a factor in determining who gets hired,” said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. “This settlement should put all federal contractors on notice that, in the Obama administration, we will be persistent when it comes to rooting out workplace discrimination and will vigilantly monitor employers who violate the law until they get it right.”
OFCCP previously cited JacintoPort for violating requirements of Executive Order 11246 by failing to implement an applicant tracking system for new hires, and to develop and execute action-oriented programs to recruit women and African-Americans. That matter was settled on June 6, 2006, with a conciliation document in which JacintoPort agreed to correct the violations and produce semiannual reports on the company’s progress in employing women and minorities. (Click HERE for article)
Unaccountable: Private Military Contractor Abuses
Stephen Lendman – (OpEd News) – January 11, 2012 – Since the 1990s, as troop levels fell, PMCs increased. From 2000 – 2005, DOD spending doubled from around $134 billion to $270 billion. In war theaters, the ratio of PMCs to troops escalated dramatically. In the 1991 Gulf War, it was one to 50. For the 1999 Yugoslavia conflict, it was one for every 10, and by the 2003 Iraq War, PMCs comprised the second largest force after the US military.
They’ve also been used in numerous civil wars globally in nations like Angola, Sierra Leone, the Balkans throughout the 1990s, Papua New Guinea, and elsewhere. From 1990 – 2000, they participated in 80 conflicts, compared to 15 from 1950 – 1989.
Widespread PMC Abuses
In April 2011, the University of Illinois Law Review published a study titled, “The Absence of Justice: Private Military Contractors, Sexual Assault, and the US Government’s Policy of Indifference.”
In Iraq alone, mercenaries like Blackwater (renamed Xe, then Academi to disguise its scoundrel history), DynCorp, CACI, Titan, and others operate unaccountably off the congressional radar.
Many know about Abu Ghraib torture and abuse. Some recall Blackwater’s Nisour Square rampage, murdering 17 Iraqis in cold blood. Prosecutions never follow. Nor when other appalling crimes are committed, including sexual abuse and human trafficking. (Click HERE for article)
Retired GI is denied bail in $918,000 theft
He’s accused of duping Fort Sam with forged letter
Guillermo Contreras – (San Antonio Express News) – January 11, 2012 – A retired Army soldier forged a letter that allowed him to trick a unit at Fort Sam Houston to release computers and uniforms to him, which he and his then-wife sold for $918,000, according to testimony at his bail hearing Tuesday.
Because retired Army Master Sgt. Francisco Javier de la Maza has close ties to Mexico and “substantial” assets, U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Mathy called him a flight risk and denied him bail.
De la Maza, 47, was arrested Friday after returning from a visit with his family in Mexico. He and his now ex-wife, Gabriela, are charged in a federal case alleging he stole the surplus items from an area formerly known as the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office at Fort Sam. (Click HERE for article)
Former Army Solider Charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to al Shabaab
(FBI) – GREENBELT, MD – January 9, 2012 – A criminal complaint was filed today charging Greg Benedict Baxam, age 24, of Laurel, Maryland, with attempting to provide material support to al Shabaab, a foreign terrorist organization. Baxam was arrested on Friday, January 6, 2012, upon his return to Maryland after traveling to Africa.
The complaint was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Lisa O. Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“The complaint alleges that Greg Baxam intended to travel to Somalia and join the terrorist organization al Shabaab,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Mr. Baxam was caught in Kenya before he reached Somalia, and there is no allegation that anyone assisted him.”
“This arrest is highly illustrative of the progress the international law enforcement community has made in working together to rapidly share resources and information in order to stop terrorism,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard McFeely. “FBI special agents in Africa, working alongside our Kenyan police partners, worked together to stop an individual who is now alleged to have been on his way to join a major terrorist group. This spirit of cooperation in fighting terrorism continues to transcend borders around the world.”
According to the affidavit supporting the complaint, Baxam joined the U.S. Army in 2007 and completed eight months of advanced training for cryptology and intelligence. Baxam was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq and upon completion of his deployment, he reenlisted. In August 2010, he deployed for a one year assignment in Korea. One month prior to completion of his deployment in Korea, Baxam separated from the Army and returned to Maryland in July 2011. (Click HERE for article)
Anti-G suit questioned in crash that killed Nellis pilot
Keith Rogers – (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL) – January 8, 2012 – Air Force investigators who probed the June 28 crash of an F-16C fighter jet that killed Capt. Eric Ziegler should have focused more on the life-support garment he was wearing when he blacked out over the Nellis training range moments before the crash, according to a lawyer for a company that makes the anti-G suits.
The lawyer said he fears some anti-G suits in the military’s inventory are flawed because a Defense Department agency changed specifications for fibers in the garments, making some of them defective over time. The suits are designed to reduce the effects of high gravitational forces on pilots.
“While no one can know with 100 percent certainty why Captain Ziegler experienced G-LOC (loss-of-consciousness), unless action is taken to correct the anti-G suit defect, similar unexplained tragedies will befall other service members,” Steven Karalekas, an attorney for anti-G suit manufacturer Derm/Buro Inc., said Thursday.
Air Force investigators concluded in a final report released in November that Ziegler, a 30-year-old pilot from West Fargo, N.D., blacked out because he didn’t adequately perform a muscle straining exercise in the cockpit. The maneuver prevents loss of consciousness from high gravitational forces. (Click HERE for article)
Service contractors are “increasingly unaffordable”
Nick Schwellenbach (Battleland Blogs) – January 5, 2012 – President Obama didn’t mention them. Nor did Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. No word on them by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey either. Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter? Didn’t happen. Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy? Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs James Winnefeld? Nope. Nada.
Who wasn’t mentioned at today’s big press event announcing a defense strategic review, A.K.A. the plan to shrink and prioritize different parts of the military?
So what, you might ask. Well, internal Pentagon experts see service contractors as eating the defense budget alive. Out-of-control outsourcing with inadequate controls on cost over the years has created an expensive “total force” at the Defense Department. The total force is the mix of uniformed personnel, federal civilian workers and contractor employers. (Click HERE for article)
Cover-Up Alleged in Georgia National Guard
Lisa Coston – (Courthouse News) – MARIETTA, Ga. – December 8, 2011 - The former director of the Georgia National Guard says he was fired after blowing the whistle on “highly disturbing ethical issues and misconduct” of the Adjutant General and the Commander of the state Guard.
Brig. Gen Larry Dudney also claims that Gov. Nathan Deal’s office simultaneously announced the “unscheduled” retirement of both Dudney and the man he criticized, in order to halt any investigation.
Dudney sued his immediate supervisors, Adjutant Gen. William Nesbitt and Commander Maj. Gen. Maria Britt, alleging “violations of standing laws, rules and regulations, to include inappropriate and unethical conduct by senior officials, abuse of authority and discretion, undue command influence, improper endorsement of a product and services, misuse of government property, false statements, preferential treatment, suppressed investigation of a criminal matter, improper hiring practices, failure to maintain good order and discipline, and misappropriation of government property.” (Click HERE for article) (Click HERE for Complaint)
Other Related Posts From Ms Sparky
- That bird won’t fly and other news
- Marine general defends Dakota Meyer Medal of Honor; You got a problem with that?
- Non-compliance, no problem keep on doin’ whatcha do to US
- Air Marshals take down Robert Wade Prince on flight to Houston (updated 2/20/2010)
- Houston National Guard troops file suit over Camp Taji burn pits
