» U.S. Army Ms Sparky

Caching in and other news

Posted on: February 19th, 2012 at 3:47 pm — by Forseti

We the People Petition - War profiteering has never been so profitable for the wrongdoer and so dangerous for our troops and the taxpayer! (SIGN HERE)

First Iran exiles leave Ashraf camp in Iraq
About 400 Iranian exiles have been transferred from their long-held camp in north-western Iraq.

They are members of the People’s Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) , based at Camp Ashraf since the 1980s.

It is the first step of a process that aims to see the entire 3,400-strong community expelled from Iraq.

But members of this advance party are complaining bitterly that their treatment has fallen far short of that promised by the UN and US.

The exiles, who are opposed to Iran’s Shia clerical rulers, were welcomed by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein but have fallen out of favour with Iraq’s new Shia-dominated leadership.

Relations with the Iraqi government deteriorated still further last April, when an Iraqi army raid on the camp left 34 residents dead, according to the UN.

At first, they refused to countenance leaving Camp Ashraf, but the UN has been trying to broker a compromise. In December the group’s Paris-based head Maryam Rajavi agreed that a first contingent of 400 would move in what she called a “goodwill gesture”.

The Iraqi government has extended a deadline for the camp to be shut down to the end of April.

‘Degrading’
On Saturday, the first group arrived at Camp Liberty near Baghdad, but complained that they had been searched for almost an entire day before they were allowed to leave Ashraf, and had been searched again on arrival at Camp Liberty. (Click HERE for article)

Ex-soldier gets 15 years for sexual abuse of minor in 1990s
Army investigated in 1996, but no charges were filed
Casey Grove – (Anchorage Daily News) – February 17th, 2012 – An Anchorage man who admitted to sexually abusing a girl in the 1990s while stationed in the Lower 48 and Germany was sentenced Wednesday to serve 15 years in federal prison.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in Civilian Contractors, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, Politics, Rape, Hazing, Discrimination & Harassment, Reports & Investigations, U.S. Army. Tags: AMG Marketing, Anita M. Gust, Anthony Cibelli, Antonio Bates, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Bonny Island LNG, Bruce McColm, Camp Ashraf, Carl Bernstein, CH2M Hill, Contractors, Dennis Hastert, Director Louis Freeh, DoD*, DoE, DOS*, FCPA, FCPA Violations, Fluor Hanford, Fluor*, Fort Hunter-Liggett, Fort Riley, Gen. George W. Casey, Gen. Hugh Shelton, Governor Howard Dean, Halliburton, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Jr., KBR, Lt. Gen. David Deptula, Massoud Habibion, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Mohsen Motamedian, Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), Mustafa Aljaff, MVP Micro, Neil Felahy, Online Micro LLC, Paul Kempf, People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran(PMOI), PVT Nicholas A. Solt, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, Ronald Kurjanowicz, SEC, Security and Exchange Commission. No Comments »

Army Reservist Sgt. Amasha King pleads guilty to contracting crime at Arifjan

Posted on: February 15th, 2012 at 3:13 am — by Forseti

U.S. Army Reserves Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the United States Related to Contracting in Support of Iraq War

Defendant Accepted $20,500 Related to the Processing of Bottled Water Invoices in Kuwait
(DoJ) – WASHINGTON - February 14, 2012 – A sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States for receiving money from a local contractor in return for preferentially processing its invoices for payment outside of the proper procedures and protocols, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, U.S. Army. Tags: Camp Arifjan, Sgt. Amasha M. King. 5 Comments »

Paper or plastic and other news

Posted on: February 5th, 2012 at 7:21 pm — by Forseti

Fed / Contractor Compensation Issues Are Burning Red Hot
Scott Amey – (POGO) – February 3, 2012 – Compensation was a hot topic this week–here’s a recap of the biggest developments:

Monday: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a study that found that federal employees, on average, are paid 16 percent more than employees in the private sector with the same education.

Tuesday: The White House blogged that the contractor executive compensation cap of $693,951 should be reduced to a “level on par with what the Government pays its own executives – approximately $200,000.”

Wednesday: The House passed a bill (H.R. 3835) freezing federal salaries through 2013.

Thursday: The Senate proposed a bill to freeze civilian pay through 2014 and cut the civilian workforce.

You might recall that in 2011, the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540) included a provision that extended the reimbursable compensation cap to all defense contractors (with a large loophole for top-talented scientists and engineers that is ripe for abuse). This might sound good, however the cap is expected to jump to approximately $750,000 (see p. 21) in 2012. Although, one might question that cap because it was based on “commercially available surveys of executive compensation,” which included the “5 most highly compensated employees in management position.” With the new cap applying to defense contractor employees, it seems top-heavy to use the old formula. (Click HERE for article)

13th ESC commander dies of apparent natural causes in Afghanistan
Brigadier General Terence J. Hildner
(Fort Hood Press Center) – FORT HOOD, Texas – February 3, 2012 – Fort Hood officials have released the name of a Soldier who died of apparent natural causes Feb. 3 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Active Duty Army Recruiter Pleads Guilty in Texas for Role in Scheme to Illegally Obtain Military Recruiting Bonuses

Posted on: January 26th, 2012 at 11:17 am — by Forseti

(DoJ) – January 26, 2012 – A U.S. military recruiter pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain approximately $190,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Sergeant First Class Jesus Torres-Alvarez, 31, of El Paso, Texas, was indicted on Sept. 13, 2011, along with former Specialist Xavier Aves, 40, of San Antonio; former Corporal Christopher Castro, 30, of San Antonio; former Staff Sergeant Grant E. Bibb, 40, of Eagle Pass, Texas; Specialist Paul Escobar, 31, of San Antonio; and Specialist Richard Garcia Jr., 28, of San Antonio.

According to court documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, between approximately 2005 and 2008, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Reserves and the National Guard Bureau entered into contracts with Document and Packaging Broker Inc., to administer recruiting bonus programs designed to offer monetary incentives to U.S. soldiers who referred others to join the U.S. military. In addition, the Army managed its own recruiting programs that offered bonuses to soldiers who referred other individuals to join the Army or the Army Reserves.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, U.S. Army. Tags: Christopher Castro, Ernest Gonzales, Grant E. Bibb, Jesus Torres-Alvarez, Packaging Broker Inc., Paul Escobar, Richard Garcia, Xavier Aves. 1 Comment »

You’ll pay for that & other news

Posted on: January 22nd, 2012 at 8:09 am — by Forseti

“When I served four years in the military, it wasn’t so that Bechtel, KBR, Halliburton and all the other corporations could make money and buy politicians to further drag out the war and create policies that support all that,” Bodell said. “I fought for the Constitution, for representation and for freedom of the American people.” ~ Kole Bodell, Salt Lake City, UT

Ex-officer indicted for coercing soldiers
(Windsor Star) – January 21, 2012 – A former Danish officer has been indicted for threatening to send troops under his command to the Afghan front line if they refuse to pay a fine for certain errors, website Politiken said Friday.

The 33-year-old, in charge of a royal guard unit in Afghanistan, “put pressure on a number of soldiers in Afghanistan daily to contribute to a system of illegal financial penalties,” said the website.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in Agility/PWC/GCC, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests, KBR, LOGCAP III - KBR, Politics, Security Contractors, U.S. Army. Tags: ADS Tactical Inc., Agility DGS Holdings, Agility/PWC/GCC, Anham LLC, Bechtel, Bob Dix, Boeing, Bonny Island LNG, Camp Bastion, Carl Icahn, CIA, Corezing International Pte Ltd, DHS, Dick Cheney, DoD*, FCPA, FCPA Violations, George W. Bush, Guantanamo Bay, Halliburton, Icahn Partners LP, JGC Corporation, Judge Pablo Rafael Ruz Gutierrez, Juniper Networks, KBR, Kole Bodell, Lockheed Martin, Luke Hillier, Mabey & Johnson, Mabey Engineering Holdings Ltd., Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert, Marubeni Corporation, Michael W. Tutwiler, Move One Logistics, Navistar, Northrop Grumman, Osen-Hunter, Oshkosh Corp., Pentagon, PIPA, Rudolf L. Cheung, SOPA, Technip S.A., Triple Canopy, Virginia Army National Guard. No Comments »

Charles O. Finch & Gary M. Canteen sentenced for bribery scheme at Bagram

Posted on: January 20th, 2012 at 6:14 pm — by Forseti

US Army Sergeant Major and Former Sergeant Sentenced to Prison for Bribery Conspiracy at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan

(DoJ) – WASHINGTON – January 20, 2012 – A former sergeant and a sergeant major in the U.S. Army, who were deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, were sentenced to 51 months and 31 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a bribery scheme involving the award of a Department of Defense (DOD) trucking contract, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced.

Former Sergeant Charles O. Finch, 45, of Milalani, Hawaii, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in the District of Hawaii to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to the DOD. Sergeant Major Gary Canteen, 42, of Delaware, was sentenced today by Judge Kobayashi in the District of Hawaii to 31 months in prison and three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Defense.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Houston you have a problem & other news

Posted on: January 15th, 2012 at 10:43 am — by Forseti

…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.

(Read the rest of the story here…)