What will KBR be facing if they don trim their Iraq work force?
WASHINGTON – The Army’s primary support contractor in Iraq is being warned by Pentagon auditors to cut its work force there or face nearly $200 million in penalties for keeping thousands too many on the payroll. The Houston-based KBR Inc., responsible for everything from mail and laundry to housing and meals, has increased employee levels while U.S. troops steadily leave the country after more than six years of war, the audit says. As a result, the U.S. government is paying far more in labor costs in Iraq than it should as military resources are shifted to Afghanistan. “Each day that passes without taking action results in continued overstaffing and inefficiency,” the report from the Defense Contract Audit Agency says. The Oct. 26 audit, obtained by The Associated Press, opens a window into a behind-the-scenes battle over KBR’s billing and management practices. The company provides crucial battlefield services under a $33.8 billion, 10-year deal signed in 2001. There have been serious
We woke up this morning with images on cable news and the Internet of President Obama solemnly saluting as the casket of a fallen soldier was carried in honor from a C-17 in Dover back home into the United States. The president, through his visit, brought a national spotlight onto the grimmest reality of the war in Afghanistan. This return would’ve otherwise gone without much notice just like the thousands before it. The images of America’s troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in caskets have been few and far between in the eight years since the wars began. That fact has too often created distance between the American people and the military families who carry their grief. President Obama didn’t have to go to Dover. George W. Bush never went we’re told. Obama could’ve stayed back at the White House and kept some distance from the war–almost suggesting it is the responsibility of the former president. But instead he chose to put himself firmly in front as the Commander in Chief.
The Army’s primary support contractor in Iraq is being warned by Pentagon auditors to cut its work force there or face nearly $200 million in penalties for keeping thousands too many on the payroll. The Houston-based KBR Inc., responsible for everything from mail and laundry to housing and meals, has increased employee levels while U.S. troops steadily leave the country after more than six years of war, the audit says. As a result, the U.S. government is paying far more in labor costs in Iraq than it should as military resources are shifted to Afghanistan. Sources: http://news.yahoo.
