FederalDaily.com > Iraq Contractors to Submit Personnel Info

FederalDaily - May 23, 2006

Iraq Contractors to Submit Personnel Info

The U.S. Army Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a request to military service components to fully account for all contractors working or residing within Iraq, a May 16 Office of Management and Budget memorandum said. CENTCOM, acting on a request from the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNFI), needs information on contractor employees, defined as U.S. nationals or third country nationals working on Department of Defense (DoD) contracts. Services also must provide information on Iraqi nationals working under DoD contracts. Required information includes the:

contract number;

company name;

contracting officer or contract point of contact;

location of the contractor employees;

number of contractor employees that carry a weapon as part of contract performance or for personal protection.

Army Weight Program Goes Online

The Army has launched an online version of “Weigh to Stay” to improve the Army’s weight management program’s accessibility and convenience. The Weigh to Stay program is an Army requirement for soldiers who have been “flagged” for weight. The program comprises three one-hour sessions and three half-hour follow-up sessions with a dietitian. The online site duplicates the standard version, offering the same number of sessions and content, which includes nutrition basics and myths, supplement use, menu planning, behavior modification and the importance of exercise. The only difference is that participants attend sessions online rather than in-person. Although soldiers, families and retirees can use the site, only reservists are able to forego the traditional program for the online one. For more information or to register for the Weigh to Stay Web site, call Lt. Col. Danny Jaghab at (410) 436-8856, DSN 584-8856 or e-mail danny.jaghab@apg.amedd.army.mil.

Company Charged for Cheating Military

A federal grand jury has returned a 13-count indictment against Parmatic Filter Corporation, a Branchville, N.J., military contractor, its president and three senior managers on fraud charges, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. According to the indictment, the Defense Department awarded two contracts to Parmatic in 1996 and 1997 to make tank filters used to protect servicemembers from nuclear, biological and chemical contaminants, such as nerve, blood and blister agents and radiological particles. The filters were primarily used by the Army and Marines. The value of the 1996 contract was more than $1 million for just under 2,000 filters; the value of the 1997 contract was more than $5 million for approximately 9,600 filters. After alleged fraud and deficiencies in the filters’ manufacture were detected, the filters were all removed from military stock and from any vehicles or other application in which they had been installed. “This was a fraud with potentially grave consequences for military personnel,” said DOJ’s Christopher J. Christie. For more information, go to www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/publicaffairs/NJ_Press/files/parm0518_r.htm.

Border Shooting Shows Need for LEO Status

Two federal employee unions responded to last week’s shooting at the San Ysidro U.S.-Mexico border by calling for federal law enforcement officer (LEO) status for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), stated, “There is no supportable rationale for denying them the LEO designation they earn by their performance in an environment where dangerous situations can and do arise on a moment’s notice.” In a similar statement, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) said, “If the officers had been injured or killed in the line of duty, the CBP officer’s family would not have received the same benefits as the Border Patrol agent’s, even though they were engaged in the same conflict.” AFGE and NTEU both support legislation in the House that would give full LEO benefits to each federal agent that carries a gun and badge.