School of Americas Connection to Honduras coup

Coup in Honduras the narcosphere:

"The crisis in Honduras began when the military refused to distribute ballot boxes for the opinion poll in a new Constitution. President Zelaya fired the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Romeo Orlando Vasquez Velasquez, who refused to step down. The heads of all branches of the Honduran armed forces quit in solidarity with Vasquez. Vasquez, however, refused to step down, bolstered by support in Congress and a Supreme Court ruling that reinstated him. Vasquez remains in control of the armed forces.

Vasquez, along with other military leaders, graduated from the United States' infamous School of the Americas (SOA). According to a School of the Americas Watch database compiled from information obtained from the US government, Vasquez studied in the SOA at least twice: once in 1976 and again in 1984."

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See related coverage at School of Americas Watch > http://www.soaw.org/

School of Americas Connection to Honduras coup

Coup in Honduras the narcosphere:

"The crisis in Honduras began when the military refused to distribute ballot boxes for the opinion poll in a new Constitution. President Zelaya fired the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Romeo Orlando Vasquez Velasquez, who refused to step down. The heads of all branches of the Honduran armed forces quit in solidarity with Vasquez. Vasquez, however, refused to step down, bolstered by support in Congress and a Supreme Court ruling that reinstated him. Vasquez remains in control of the armed forces.

Vasquez, along with other military leaders, graduated from the United States' infamous School of the Americas (SOA). According to a School of the Americas Watch database compiled from information obtained from the US government, Vasquez studied in the SOA at least twice: once in 1976 and again in 1984."

Read rest of article

See related coverage at School of Americas Watch > http://www.soaw.org/

New Frontiers in Military to Military Conversion

Not to worry -- apparently there's plenty of jobs to be had in producing OTHER TYPES OF MILITARY AIRCRAFT. Oh brother.

Wonk Room » F-22: Won’t Win Wars, Won’t Preserve Jobs:

"A year ago the industry was worried about huge labor shortages. Shutting down the Raptor line would see thousands of workers snapped up for active production lines churning out F-16s, F-35s, C-130s and modernized C-5s for Lockheed, not to mention the prospect that industry rivals Boeing and Northrop might lure Lockheed workers for their own active production lines for the F-15, F/A-18 and others.

Even in the New Depression, the U.S. has the world’s biggest and most diverse aerospace industry. Trimming a few dozen aircraft from one production line, and shuttering that line a few years early, will not put nearly 100,000 people out of work."

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War bill to benefit P&W, Sikorsky- The New Haven Register - Serving Greater New Haven, CT

Speaking of regional dependence on military spending...

War bill to benefit P&W, Sikorsky- The New Haven Register - Serving Greater New Haven, CT:

"Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for DataCore Partners in New Haven and chairman of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s Council of Economic Advisors, said the funding will “make a big difference” for keeping jobs in the state, of which 2,500 are connected to F-22 engine production.

“To the degree that we can preserve manufacturing jobs, particularly when it comes to the F-22s, it’s going to be good for the state economy,” Klepper-Smith said."

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We Don’t Need the F-22

Editorial - We Don’t Need the F-22 - NYTimes.com:

"Lockheed Martin and its partners parceled out work on the plane widely to ensure maximum political protection. And we deeply regret that jobs will be lost by phasing out the F-22. But the United States cannot keep paying for redundant and dubious systems. There are too many other compelling demands on the country’s battered budget — some of which will certainly create new jobs. It is up to House Democratic leaders to make this case to their members and ensure that the committee’s decision on the F-22 is overturned."

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Insurance claims mount for paramilitary fighters, insurance companies pocket the profits

Wars test limits of law requiring insurance for overseas contractors (6/19/09) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com:

"Between 2003 and 2007, an average of 11,000 civilian contractors annually filed injury claims with the Labor Department under the Defense Base Act, Fay said. Total payments for health care and benefits related to these claims rose fourteenfold during the first four years of the Iraq war, to more than $170 million annually, he said.

But, profits for insurance carriers also have skyrocked. Subcommittee investigators found that since the wars began insurers have collected more than $1.5 billion in premiums under the Defense Base Act -- all paid by taxpayers -- but paid out only $900 million in benefits.

'The single biggest cause of these failures is the insurance carriers' practice of seeking to profit in every way possible from our fight for national survival instead of becoming part of the forces united against our enemies,' said Timothy Newman, a former DynCorp contractor who lost his leg when an improvised explosive device detonated in Iraq.

Other injured contractors testified that insurance carriers refused to pay for treatment, medication and surgeries despite orders from the Labor Department or judges.

'We demand that we receive the care that was promised us and we deserve,' said Kevin Smith, a former truck driver for the Defense contractor KBR who was severely injured in Baghdad in 2004 when his convoy was ambushed by insurgents and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. 'We are not asking for ... [extravagant] bonuses, or lavish parties or even parades. We just want what we are entitled to under the Defense Base Act like medical care, disability pay and retraining if necessary.'"

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DynCorp gets Blackwater's service contracts for U.S. diplomats in Iraq

DynCorp gets Blackwater's service contracts for U.S. diplomats in Iraq:

"The State Department has contracted DynCorp International to provide aviation and support services in Iraq. Under the award, DynCorp would replace the former Blackwater, which was the only major U.S. security contractor with an aviation fleet in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

'This award is a tremendously important opportunity for DynCorp International to support the safety and security of U.S. diplomatic personnel serving in Iraq,' DynCorp International chief executive officer William Ballhaus said.

In May 2009, DynCorp replaced Blackwater as the leading security contractor for the State Department. Blackwater, responsible for aviation services as well, was banned from operating in Iraq in wake of the prosecution of six former security officers linked to a shootout in Baghdad in 2007 in which 16 civilians were killed."

Defense Aerospace: Long-Term Contribution Trends | OpenSecrets

Over the last ten years, military contractors have given $66 million to candidates for Congress to try to influence current and future contracts -- see here for details:

Defense Aerospace: Long-Term Contribution Trends OpenSecrets

Defense Aerospace: Background

The hundreds of billions of dollars the federal government spends each year on defense are the reason defense aerospace firms make millions of dollars in campaign contributions, a majority of which has gone to Republicans since 1989. Defense aerospace contractors concentrate their political donations on members of the House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees that allocate federal defense money. Prime targets of defense aerospace money also include members of the Armed Services committees, who influence military policy and have the power to create demand for this industry's commodities.

Lockheed Martin is the industry’s top campaign contributor. The company’s political investment paid off in 2001 when it secured a $220 billion deal to build the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter combat jets. The contract was the largest ever awarded by the Pentagon, and at $ 44.8 million for the basic version, the fighter costs 60 percent less than the F/A-22, Lockheed's most advanced jet.

Other top contributors in the industry include United Technologies, best known for its Sikorsky “Black Hawk” helicopters, and Boeing, the commercial airplane maker that has recently expanded its line of fighter jets, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles

Washington’s Afghan Shadow Army

Washington’s Afghan Shadow Army by Jeremy Scahill -- Antiwar.com:

"...Contractors are playing a key role in the drawdown of U.S. military forces in Iraq. As military units withdraw from bases, the number of contractor employees needed to handle closing or transfer tasks and to dispose of government property will increase… preparations for this major shift out of Iraq and into Afghanistan or other areas are sketchy."

"As the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have progressed, the military services, defense agencies, and other stakeholder agencies… continue to increase their reliance on contractors. Contractors are now literally in the center of the battlefield in unprecedented numbers."

"From fiscal years (FY) 2001 through 2008, the Defense Department’s reported obligations on all contracts for services, measured in real-dollar terms, more than doubled — from roughly $92 billion to slightly over $200 billion. In fiscal year 2008, this figure included more than $25 billion for services to support contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. These figures do not include State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts..."

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Special Operations' Oversight of Contractors Is Faulted

Special Operations' Oversight of Contractors Is Faulted - washingtonpost.com:

"...Federal government rules and regulations prohibit the hiring of contractors who perform actions reserved for government employees, yet a Special Operations Command unit managing the contract with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems permitted contractor approval of such matters as overtime and acceptably completed work, according to a report by the Pentagon inspector general released this week."

"The contracts called for L-3 Communications to provide logistic support for Special Forces equipment including repair, maintenance and support that between 2003 and 2008 involved 2,148 separate tasks. The Special Operations Forces Support Activity, which administered the contract, designated one government employee to be the contracting officer for the contract. But the IG report noted that 'it is not feasible for one individual to effectively oversee 2,148 task orders requiring surveillance in 20 locations.' "

"No L-3 Communications official was available to comment on the report."

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US audit faults security spending in Afghanistan

The Associated Press: US audit faults security spending in Afghanistan:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The military command overseeing $15 billion in U.S. programs to develop Afghanistan's security forces cannot be sure the money is being managed effectively, a top government watchdog warned Tuesday.

In its first audit report since being formed a year ago, the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction says the Combined Security Transition Command 'lacks effective contract oversight capabilities.'

It is the command's responsibility to ensure U.S. tax dollars are spent properly, the audit says. That means command staff must visit locations where contractors are working to verify that contractors are following the terms of their deals with the government.

'This is not happening,' the audit said.

Arnold Fields, the special inspector general, said during a telephone interview with reporters there is no substitute for firsthand inspections.

'Those folks need to be on site for an extended period of time,' said Fields, a retired Marine Corps general.
He acknowledged that tough conditions in Afghanistan can make long-term visits difficult. But the huge sums of money being spent require that level of oversight, he said.

Fields' office examined one training contract worth $404 million and found the official responsible for monitoring contractor performance was located at an Army office in Maryland — nine time zones away.

The report does not name the contractor because the auditors did not assess the vendor's performance. But in comments from command authorities in an appendix to the report, the company is identified as MPRI. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., MPRI is a large consulting firm led by retired U.S. military officers.

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Top Federal Contractors in New York (FY 2007)

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP
$1,823,389,828
HARRIS CORP.
$957,689,401
BECHTEL GROUP, INC.
$568,605,776
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP.
$548,822,742
BROOKHAVEN SCIENCE ASSOC LLC
$489,610,091
SYRACUSE RESEARCH CORP
$366,025,806
MCCANN-ERICKSON WORLDWIDE INC
$316,943,299
BAE SYSTEMS
$204,247,670
MITSUI AND COMPANY PRECIOUS ME
$171,717,094
LAWMAN HEATING & COOLING INC
$112,549,603
URS CORP.
$111,360,323
MASCARO INCORPORATED
$104,351,500
L-3 COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS
$87,710,797

Top 5 Known Congressional Districts where Work is Performed
New York 28 (Louise McIntosh Slaughter)
$1,152,698,810
New York 22 (Maurice D. Hinchey)
$1,058,336,856
New York 21 (Michael R. McNulty)
$965,417,279
New York 2 (Steve Israel)
$807,510,758
New York 14 (Carolyn B. Maloney)
$724,463,622

Note: these are contracts performed in New York -- some companies headquartered here have many contracts around the country.

Source: www.FedSpending.org