Federal Daily - September 8, 2009

Embassy Whistleblower Forced Out, POGO Says

A whistleblower responsible for bringing to light questionable activity within the private security force at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, has been forced out, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) said on Sept. 3. The alleged forced resignation came days after POGO released reports of alleged lewd and drunken behavior at Camp Sullivan, the security force’s self-contained facility in Kabul. POGO said the whistleblower was pushed out, while at the same time, three contractor supervisors who POGO said are responsible for allowing the misconduct have been allowed to resign. The force is provided by ArmorGroup, which furnishes 450 guards to the embassy under a five-year, $189 million contract that was extended in June. The State Department, which has launched investigations into the alleged behavior, said that those who participated will be dismissed. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the agency should have done a better job overseeing the ArmorGroup contract. “There were some things going on in Kabul which we were not aware of, but frankly, we should have been aware of,” Kelley said. However, at no point was security at the embassy compromised, Kelley said. A group of current and former State Department employees, the Concerned Foreign Service Officers, said the lack of contractor oversight is a byproduct of the internal corporate culture of the agency’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. “Complaints of improprieties in investigations and other activities are routinely ignored,” the group said in a statement. To see more, go to: www.pogo.org/pogo-files/alerts/contract-oversight/co-gp-20090903.html, www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2009/sept/128597.htm or
www.worldcrafters.com.

:: Back to Top ::

Army Announces Troop Rotation in Afghanistan

The Army on Sept. 3 announced the deployment to Afghanistan of a division headquarters with recent Operation Enduring Freedom experience, and said it would extend the tours of a division headquarters and a combat aviation brigade currently in Afghanistan. The moves are part of an initiative to put units with knowledge of the Afghan battlefield environment on a habitual rotation, the Army said. The units being extended are the 82nd Airborne Division Headquarters, Fort Bragg, N.C., (to be extended 50 days), and the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Stewart, Ga., (to be extended 14 days). The Army said the extensions are necessary to allow follow-on units to accrue one year of time at home before redeploying—and that the process will be managed to avoid any stop-loss for personnel. The follow-on forces will deploy in the late spring of 2010. They are the 101st Airborne Division Headquarters, Fort Campbell, Ky., which now will deploy six months sooner than previously planned, and the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Drum, N.Y.  To see more, go to: www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12949.

:: Back to Top ::