Army needs more contracting personnel

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Army needs more contracting personnel

By RICHARD LARDNER and LOLITA BALDOR,
Associated Press Writers
46 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Army, stung by a contracting fraud
scandal that has generated more than 80 criminal
investigations, needs 1,400 more personnel to deal with
the demands of supplying troops in combat, said U.S.
officials familiar with a report by federal procurement
experts.

The group's report, to be released Thursday, also calls
for creating general officer positions within the Army's
contracting work force — a move to attract talented
men and women to a field most would otherwise avoid
because of dim prospects for career advancement.

Collectively, higher numbers, better quality and more
clout within the Army's contracting ranks are expected
to reduce opportunities for fraud, waste and abuse as
tens of billions of dollars continue to be spent on the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. officials told The
Associated Press. They described the report on condition
of anonymity because it has not been released.

The report, "Urgent Reform Required: Army Expeditionary
Contracting," proposes adding 400 military and 1,000
civilian personnel with contract-signing authority to an
Army contracting work force that now has just over
10,000 people.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/army_contracting

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Also: Panel Faults Army’s Wartime Contracting - New York Times

[Eugene]

1. NYT: Panel Faults Army’s Wartime Contracting

Source: New York Times

Panel Faults Army’s Wartime Contracting

By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: November 1, 2007

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 — An independent panel has sharply
criticized the Army for failing to train enough experienced
contracting officers, deploy them quickly to war zones like
Iraq and Afghanistan and ensure that they properly manage
billions of dollars in contracts to supply American troops
in the field, according to officials briefed on its findings.

In a wide-ranging report to be made public on Thursday, the
panel said these and other shortcomings had contributed to
an environment in Iraq and Kuwait that allowed waste, fraud
and other corruption to take hold and flourish.

The report does not address any suspected crimes by
soldiers or civilian contractors; those are being pursued
by investigators from the Army and the Justice Department.
Nor does it single out individuals for blame.

But the six-member panel, appointed in August by Army
Secretary Pete Geren, levels a stinging indictment of how
the Army oversees $4 billion a year in contracts for food,
water, shelter and other supplies to sustain United States
forces in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. The panel also
blames senior Army leaders for not responding more swiftly
to the problems, despite warning signs like severe shortages
of contracting officers in the field. “The Iraq-Kuwait-
Afghanistan contracting problems have created a crisis,” the
report states.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/washington/01army.html?ref=world

[nosmokes]

2. NO.

Enough is enough.And as far as the contractors go there's been too much.Too much money, toomany killings of civilians,Too much unaccountability, too much cowboying, too much bad feeling generated,too much blood lust from people all too willing to kill for a buck,too much harm done to any hope for peace. Too much of everything except professionalism.