Shoddy wiring 'everywhere' (KBR contract) on Iraq bases, Army inspector says

[sabra]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Thousands of buildings at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan have such poorly installed wiring that American troops face life-threatening risks, a top inspector for the Army says.

"It was horrible -- some of the worst electrical work I've ever seen," said Jim Childs, a master electrician and the top civilian expert in an Army safety survey. Childs told CNN that "with the buildings the way they are, we're playing Russian roulette."

...

He said problems are "everywhere" in Iraq, where 18 U.S. troops have died by electrocution since 2003. All deaths occurred in different circumstances and different locations, but many happened on U.S. bases being managed by various military contractors. The Army has has reopened investigations in at least five cases, according to Pentagon sources.

Of the nearly 30,000 buildings the Army's "Task Force Safe" has examined so far, Childs said more than half "failed miserably." And 8,527 had such serious problems that inspectors gave them a "flash" warning, meaning repairs had to be completed in four hours or the facility evacuated.

He said the majority of those buildings were wired by contractor KBR, based in Houston, Texas. KBR has faced extensive criticism from Congress over its performance in the war zone. KBR has defended its performance and argued it was not to blame for any fatalities.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/03/26/military.elec...

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[sabra]

3. how many troops have died due to KBR? :-(

[Solly Mack]

4. probably more than we know : (

and they've made many, many very sick.

My husband got a bug, usually found in "3rd world" countries, from a KBR mess hall. It took 6 weeks to recover from it and he dropped a lot of weight.

[msongs]

2. gee we could use a commander in chief who does something about this, yes? nt

[Andy823]

5. On Countdown last night

Keith talked about this, but he most outrageous thing was that not the pentagon is going to give a contract out to go in and fix the electrical problems to "KBR"!!!!!!!!!

Now how in the hell does that make any sense at all? They are being investigate on numerous issues, and yet the pentagon has the gall to give them a contract to fix the mistakes they made in the first place that have cause hundreds of accidents and and even the deaths of our soldiers! We need to get on the ball and write to congress and protest this. It's simply INSANE! KBR should be banned from ever getting another government contract, period!

[saigon68]

6. majority of those buildings were wired by contractor KBR

They are Criminals

[Mudoria]

7. Isn't about time for a little prosecution and barring KBR from govt contracts?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

8. Wasn't their contract recently renewed?

Time to put the bid system back into play, Mr. President, and ban KBR from participation before anyone else is killed because of laziness, incompetence, and greed.

[benld74]

9. No DUH Sherlock!

[Turbineguy]

10. 9 people died here of salmonella

and the offending company was driven into bankruptcy.

"Support the Troops"

[GETPLANING]

11. Send the Troops a Gift

I have seen many organizations that raise money to send phone cards to the troops so they can call their families back home. This is the kind of "support" the troops need.
A photo I saw in another article about the KBR electrical installations gave me an idea. The photo was taken by a KBR whistleblower, and shows her putting a digital voltmeter into a stream of water coming out of a sink faucet. The voltmeter reads 180v.
How about sending the troops some inexpensive digital voltmeters so they can check the showers and sinks for voltage in the water looking for a ground? It might save a few lives.

[tanyev]

12. And they only charged us a hundred times more than it could have been done correctly!

Ain't no-bid outsourcing grand?

[librechik]

13. death penalty?

seems appropriate.