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The number of fires and deaths caused by faulty wiring at U.S. bases in Iraq is larger than the military has admitted, The New York Times reports. The newspaper said it obtained internal documents put together for congressional and Defense Department investigations on the work done by contractors. The documents show that many soldiers have suffered non-lethal shocks in their barracks, the report said. The work was done by KBR, one of the largest military contractors and a former subsidiary of Halliburton. Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth died from an electrical shock while taking a shower in January. The death focused...

KBR Corp. said today it would buy BE&K, the 48th largest general construction contractor in the country with 9,000 worldwide employees, for $550 million. KBR, the nation's fourth largest general contractor, was spun off last year as its own publicly traded company from Houston-based Halliburton Corp., the largest contractor for military services in Iraq.

In October 2004, the U.S. Army issued an urgent bulletin to commanders across Iraq, warning them of a deadly new threat to American soldiers. Because of flawed electrical work by contractors, the bulletin stated, soldiers at U.S. bases in Iraq had received severe electrical shocks, and some had even been electrocuted.

An Illinois woman who says she was raped while working for a contractor in Iraq recounted the experience in a congressional hearing Wednesday. A woman who made similar allegations before Congress last year listened and fought back tears. Dawn Leamon of Lena, Ill. said at a Senate subcommittee hearing she was sodomized and forced to have oral sex by a soldier and a co-worker after she drank a cocktail that made her feel strange. She worked as a paramedic for Service Employees International Inc., a foreign subsidiary of KBR Inc., at Camp Harper near Basra, Iraq. Leamon said the base...

Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog says. A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq. The Defense Department's inspector general's report, which could be released as early as Monday, found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites...

Shell companies in Cayman Islands allow KBR to avoid Medicare, Social Security deductions CAYMAN ISLANDS - Kellogg Brown & Root, the nation's top Iraq war contractor and until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton Corp., has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies based in this tropical tax haven. More than 21,000 people working for KBR in Iraq - including about 10,500 Americans - are listed as employees of two companies that exist in a computer file on the fourth floor of a building on a palm-studded...

Homeland Security Contracts KBR to Build Detention Centers in the US Sources:New America Media, January 31, 2006 Title: “Homeland Security Contracts for Vast New Detention Camps” Author: Peter Dale Scott New America Media, February 21, 2006 Title: “10-Year US Strategic Plan for Detention Camps Revives Proposals from Oliver North” Author: Peter Dale Scott Consortiium [sic], February 21, 2006 Title: “Bush's Mysterious ‘New Programs’” Author: Nat Parry Buzzflash Title: “Detention Camp Jitters” Author: Maureen Farrell Community Evaluator: Dr. Gary EvansStudent Researchers: Sean Hurley and Caitlyn Peele Halliburton’s subsidiary KBR (formerly Kellogg, Brown and Root) announced on January 24, 2006 that it...

KBR has sent an e-mail to employees disputing allegations by a former worker from the Conroe area who said the military contractor tried to cover up her alleged rape while in Iraq two years ago. In the e-mail with the subject line titled "Recent media coverage," KBR President and Chairman Bill Utt said the company has disputed allegations by Jamie Leigh Jones. "While the allegations raised by Ms. Jones are serious, after a review of the case KBR noted inaccuracies in the accounts of the incident in question, and disputes portions of Ms. Jones' version of the facts," Utt wrote...

A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.

For the second time in as many months, a multinational engineering and construction firm is recruiting Kenyans for jobs in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. US-based firm KBR, formerly Kellogg Brown and Root, has placed advertisements in a local newspaper seeking people to work in “contingency operations” for US and coalition forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. The company wants recruits with expertise in transport. supply chain management, food service, information management and network/telecommunications, logistics, sports and recreation, maintenance, business/support projects among other fields. Although the company admits there are significant challenges, it promises great pay, excellent benefits including paid vacations...

KBR - formerly Kellogg, Brown and Root – is an American construction and engineering company, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, and a long-standing private contractor to the US military. Their successful collaboration with our military dates all the way back to World War II and continues up to today, including valuable and productive partnerships in Iraq and Afghanistan. KBR is based in Houston. On October 27, 2007, a very small group of civilian contractors converged upon Houston for another “conference” of former contractors in Iraq. The group of approximately 20 – 25 attendees, many who have various claims against KBR’s...

The Geopolitical Foundations of Blackwater By George Friedman For the past three weeks, Blackwater, a private security firm under contract to the U.S. State Department, has been under intense scrutiny over its operations in Iraq. The Blackwater controversy has highlighted the use of civilians for what appears to be combat or near-combat missions in Iraq. Moreover, it has raised two important questions: Who controls these private forces and to whom are they accountable? The issue is neither unique to Blackwater nor to matters of combat. There have long been questions about the role of Halliburton and its former subsidiary,...

Before the smoke cleared from the attack on a Blackwater security detail in Iraq on September 16, 2007, the mainstream media began its relentless attacks on the security contractors who have risked their lives – and in some cases given their lives - to serve our country in Iraq. Their assignment, among other things, is to protect their principals - reporters, ambassadors, Senators, Congressmen and even Secretary of State Condolezza Rice - in war-torn Iraq. It is not lost among those of us who endured the same frenzied and sensational journalism while driving trucks in Iraq for KBR in 2004/2005...

Houston-based KBR, formerly the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton Co., has a contingency contract in place with the Department of Homeland Security to construct detention facilities in the event of a national emergency. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, spokeswoman Jamie Zuieback confirmed yesterday in a telephone interview that the KBR contract for $385 million was awarded initially in January 2006 for a one-year base period with four one-year options. It has been extended into 2007. KBR held a previous emergency detention contract with ICE from 2000 to 2005. Zuieback told this writer the primary intent of the KBR...

HOUSTON, Texas – Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) today announced that its board of directors has approved a plan under which Halliburton will dispose of its remaining interest in KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) through a split-off exchange offer to Halliburton’s stockholders. Under the anticipated terms, Halliburton will offer the 135,627,000 shares of KBR common stock that it owns to Halliburton’s stockholders in exchange for shares of Halliburton common stock at an exchange ratio to be determined by a specified formula. If the exchange offer is completed but not fully subscribed, Halliburton will distribute to its stockholders by means of a special...

Sept. 4, 2006 — He's tackled Wal-Mart and Fox News with his scathing documentaries. Now, filmmaker Robert Greenwald is releasing a documentary which argues that private companies helping to fight the war in Iraq don't have the nation's best interests in mind. "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers" debuts in limited release this week, and presents an assault on companies that provide the kinds of services in Iraq that the military once handled itself, such as supplying food, water and mail delivery for the reconstruction. In the film, former KBR/Halliburton water purification specialist Ben Carter is interviewed and says when...

I'm looking for advice from anyone here who's worked for Halliburton. I'm thinking about applying for a job in Afghanistan doing Information Technology work. This is a civilian position, and does not require security clearance. I don't have any military background but I have never been in trouble, I'm 26 and am in good physical shape. Can anyone tell me about the length of these contracts, how much they pay, what the work is like, basically any information? I did some research and didn't find much. I've been on FR since about 2000 and this is the first vanity I've...

The Army is discontinuing a controversial multibillion-dollar deal with oil services giant Halliburton Co. to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide, a decision that could cut deeply into the firm's dominance of government contracting in Iraq. The choice comes after several years of attacks from critics who saw the contract as a symbol of politically connected corporations profiteering on the war. Under the deal, Halliburton had exclusive rights to provide the military with a wide range of work that included keeping soldiers around the world fed, sheltered and in communication with friends and family back home. Government audits turned...

Tuesday, May 02, 2006 Halliburton, Halliburton! Summary: A lot of people in the media and in the Democratic Party have insinuated that one of the main reasons that we are in Iraq is because Dick Cheney profits from Halliburton, and Halliburton wants to make a lot of money. I want to give you my perspective on what Halliburton is contributing to Operation Iraqi Freedom.There are very few companies that could take on the logistical responsibilities that Halliburton takes on. Providing all of the services that Halliburton does for approximately 150,000 soldiers all over the country is remarkable. Never once have...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - The US Army has decided to reimburse Halliburton most costs incurred in a 2.4 bln usd no-bid contract in Iraq despite challenges by auditors of more than 200 mln usd of the costs, officials confirmed. The controversial contract to deliver fuel and repair oil facilities after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq has been at the center of a long-running controversy over allegations of inflated fuel costs and other problems. Auditors from the Defense Contract Audit Agency questioned more than 206 mln usd in costs submitted by Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), the Halliburton subsidiary awarded the...

Halliburton plans to make shares availabe to public in KBR, its engineering and construction subsidiary, in a spring offering. Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar made the IPO announcement this morning on a conference call with analysts and the media while talking about 2005 profits and 2006 plans. "Our current plan is to file for an IPO soon after we file our 10-K," Lesar said, referring to annual financial report with regulators. In the past Halliburton has filed that report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March. During the call, Halliburton's Chief Financial Officer Chris Gaut said the company may...

IT'S enough to make the hippies and peaceniks of Byron Bay choke on their organic muesli. Byron Bay Shire Council has awarded a contract to a subsidiary of Halliburton, the multinational formerly headed by US Vice-President Dick Cheney and condemned by anti-war activists as a major profiteer in the Iraq war. The hip northern NSW beach town, long a haven for anti-war activists, made history in 2004 by becoming the first place in NSW to elect a Green mayor, Jan Barham. But Ms Barham, one of three Green councillors who voted in favour of awarding a contract for a sewage...

A U.N. auditing board has recommended that the United States reimburse Iraq up to $208.5 million for contracting work carried out by KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, in the last two years. The International Advisory and Monitoring Board of the Development Fund for Iraq said in a report that the work, paid for with Iraqi oil proceeds, was either overpriced or done poorly by the Virginia-based company. Compiled from an array of Pentagon, United States government and private auditors, the report did not specify how or what work has been done poorly. Halliburton said its subsidiary had cooperated with the...

Four U.S. Contractors Killed in Iraq Sun Oct 23, 6:41 AM ET BAGHDAD, Iraq - An angry mob of insurgents attacked a convoy of American contractors last month when they got lost in a town north of Baghdad, killing four and wounding two, the U.S. military said on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT The Sept. 20 attack in the mostly Sunni Arab town of Duluiyah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, was reported for the first time on Saturday by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph and confirmed by the military on Sunday. The convoy, which included U.S. military guards riding in Humvees,...

In light of the global outrage surrounding burning Taliban corpses, I found this story particularly enraging: U.S. Confirms Killing Of Contractors in IraqExcerpt from Washington Times article: The commander said the four men -- identified by the Telegraph as employees of the Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root -- realized their convoy had taken a wrong turn and were desperately trying to escape from the town when their vehicle was attacked by insurgents. Two contractors who were not killed in the initial firing were dragged from their vehicle, and one was shot in the back of the head, the...

Four Were Slain by Angry Mob Last Month BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 -- Four U.S. contractors were killed last month when their convoy took a wrong turn, drove into a town north of Baghdad and was attacked by an angry mob, a senior U.S. military official said Saturday. The incident, which occurred Sept. 20 in the town of Duluiyah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, was first reported Saturday by Britain's Daily Telegraph. The senior U.S. military commander confirmed the account to The Washington Post. There was no explanation for why the military did not report the deaths earlier. The commander...

BAGHDAD (AP)--The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that four U.S. contractors were killed and two wounded in Iraq last month when their convoy got lost and was attacked by insurgents and a mob north of Baghdad. The attack happened Sept. 20 in Duluiyah, about 75 kilometers from Baghdad. It was first reported Saturday by the U.K. newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The paper said the contractors were employees of the Halliburton Co. (HAL) (HAL) subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root, the biggest U.S. military contractor in Iraq. But Maj. Richard Goldenberg, a spokesman for Task Force Liberty in north-central Iraq, said he could...

A letter to the editor September 21, 2005 Dear Editor: Looks like the federal government really can respond fast to a national disaster after all. Someone at a high level in Washington gave a contract for cleanup to Halliburton about as fast as they got troops to New Orleans. Are there no federal bidding processes? No contractors in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who'd like work cleaning up their own home territory? No displaced skilled workers who'd love a chance to rebuild their community? At least in the days after Katrina, Dick Cheney was likely to be found -...

In Houston, Scott Parkin lived a mostly inconspicuous life as a part-time history teacher and peace activist. But in Australia, he has become a media sensation, a symbol of dissent and a topic of fervent Australian senate debate. When he was arrested this month after participating in a Sydney protest against the Houston-based company Halliburton, some Australians started describing him as the country's first "political prisoner." "It's crazy," Parkin, 36, said in an interview Friday, hours after his return to Houston. He said he was not accustomed to being the subject of a "media frenzy." And though he has vowed...

Firms with Bush ties snag Katrina deals Sat Sep 10,11:03 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President George W. Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast. One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg...

Houston Business Journal - 11:10 AM CDT Tuesday Halliburton's KBR unit gets contract to repair Gulf Coast facilities Halliburton Co.'s Kellogg Brown & Root subsidiary has begun work on a $500 million U.S. Navy contract for emergency repairs at Gulf Coast naval and marine facilities that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina, according to an Associated Press report. KBR has been under fire for receiving a five-year, no-bid contract to restore Iraqi oil fields shortly before the U.S. went to war against Iraq in 2003. The subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root Services Inc. of Arlington, Va., won the competitive-bid contract last...

The "Blame Bush" crowd will be thrilled with this bit of news. Halliburton subsidiary KBR has begun to repair port facilities for the Navy along the Gulf Coast after Katrina. Some of the details from the KPRC-TV/Associated Press story: The subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root Services Inc. of Arlington, Va., was awarded the competitive bid contract last July to provide debris removal and other emergency work associated with natural disasters. (emphasis added) This is also not the first time KBR has done post-storm cleanup: The company has provided similar work after major disasters in the United States and abroad for...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 - Facing extensive damage by Hurricane Katrina to naval installations in Mississippi, the Navy turned immediately to the Halliburton Company's KBR subsidiary for tasks like restoring electricity, repairing roofs and clearing debris at bases that are urgently needed for response efforts. It is a familiar role for KBR, which under longstanding contracts has delivered the engineering equivalent of first aid to the Navy and other military and government agencies after natural disasters for more than 15 years. This time, the Halliburton unit's performance is likely to be watched especially closely, as its work under separate contracts in...

Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Storm Repair Contracts POSTED: 5:19 pm EDT September 4, 2005 WASHINGTON -- A Halliburton Company subsidiary was awarded a $12 million contract for work at Naval Air Station Pascagoula, Naval Station Gulfport and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown and Root Services Inc., of Arlington, Va., also will get $4.6 million for work at two smaller Navy facilities in New Orleans and others in the South.

The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Halliburton subsidiary KBR will also perform damage assessments at other naval installations in New Orleans as soon as it is safe to do so. KBR was assigned the work under a "construction capabilities" contract awarded in 2004 after a competitive bidding process. The company is not involved in the Army Corps of Engineers' effort to repair New Orleans' levees.

TAMPA - Silver-bearded Vietnam veteran Pete Howatt, more drill sergeant than job recruiter, slowly paced the dimly lit Crowne Plaza hotel ballroom and addressed 36 men and four women seeking a career change Thursday. Nobody shifted in their armless chairs when Howatt spoke. They hung on his soft, deep voice that delivered a strong opening message in a deliberate style. ``This job is not for everyone. ... We have lost 68 men in 2 1/2 years. ... It is work in a combat zone.'' His trenchant words began a job-recruitment seminar for KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton Inc. that employs...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. Army procurement official said on Monday Halliburton's deals in Iraq were the worst example of contract abuse she had seen as Pentagon auditors flagged over $1 billion of potential overcharges by the Texas-based firm. ADVERTISEMENT Bunny Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers' top contracting official-turned whistle-blower, said in testimony at a hearing by Democrats on Capitol Hill that "every aspect" of Halliburton's oil contract in Iraq had been under the control of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. "I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to contracts awarded to KBR (Kellogg Brown...

WASHINGTON -- A top Army procurement official said today Halliburton's deals in Iraq were the worst example of contract abuse she had seen as Pentagon auditors flagged over $1 billion of potential overcharges by the Texas-based firm. Bunny Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers' top contracting official-turned whistle-blower, said in testimony at a hearing by Democrats on Capitol Hill that "every aspect" of Halliburton's oil contract in Iraq had been under the control of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. "I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to contracts awarded to KBR (Kellogg Brown and Root) represents the...

17 minutes ago A Halliburton Co. unit will build a new $30 million detention facility and security fence at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States is holding about 520 foreign terrorism suspects, the Defense Department announced on Thursday. The announcement comes the same week that Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the jail after U.S. lawmakers said it had created an image problem for the United States. Critics have decried the indefinite detention of Guantanamo detainees, whom the United States has denied rights accorded under the Geneva Conventions to prisoners...

It seems 300 Filipinos contracted to work for Prime Projects International and Kellog Brown and Root at Camp Cooke in the province of Taji, Iraq have went on strike after a contract dispute. Prime Projects International supplies Kellog Brown and Root with manpower. 500 other nationals joined the strike as well. Khaleej TimesIt was not specified what their complaints were, but the ministry said the Filipinos and the agencies that employed them failed to agree on certain demands prompting the strike. The Filipinos were to have been repatriated amid the deadlock, but the Philippine charge d’affaires Ricardo Endaya managed to...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army said today it had awarded $72 million in bonuses to Halliburton Co. for logistics work in Iraq but had not decided whether to give the Texas company bonuses for disputed dining services to troops. Army Field Support Command in Rock Island, Ill., said in a statement it had given Halliburton unit Kellogg Brown & Root ratings from "excellent" to "very good" for six task orders for work supporting U.S. troops in Iraq. The Army said its Award Fee Board in Iraq had met in March and had agreed to pay KBR bonuses for work it...

This is only my second post. I apologize for any mistsakes with the topics, keywords or any other ancillary info. If this is more appropriately posted in some other forum I apologize for posting it here. Today the II MEF PAO asked for folks on Camp Fallujah to have dinner with radio personalities and reporters from around the US. Two places that caught my attention were Kansas City, Missouri and Washington D.C. I was born in the former and live near the latter. Normally I would not care to have any interaction with any reporters but given the controlled environment...

The oil services conglomerate Halliburton Co. will wind down its operations in Iran and seek to separate its engineering and construction subsidiary KBR from the parent, chairman and CEO Dave Lesar said today. Lesar made the disclosures today to analysts in a conference call after the company disclosed its fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $201 million from a loss of $947 million in the same period a year ago. Halliburton does business in Iran through a foreign-owned subsidiary, which is allowed as long as Americans don't participate in or direct that business. But a federal grand jury is investigating whether the...

Seven Halliburton employees were among the those killed in deadly bomb attack on a U.S. military installation in Mosul yesterday, a company spokeswoman said. "We regret to confirm the death of four KBR employees and three subcontractors who were killed by multiple explosions in Mosul," spokeswoman Wendy Hall told reporters. "This is a grueling and difficult development." Kellogg, Brown & Root [KBR] is a Halliburton subsidiary. The new deaths bring the number of Halliburton employees killed while attempting to deliver goods and services to U.S. troops and coalition forces in Iraq to 62. Despite the extraordinary human sacrifice by a...

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Halliburton's (NYSE:HAL - news) engineering and construction unit KBR expects its billing dispute over meals for U.S. troops in Iraq (news - web sites) to be settled soon, a senior KBR executive said on Tuesday. "We expect a decision in the not too distant future," Alfred Neffgen, KBR's chief operating officer for government operations for the Americas told reporters. "It's a big issue for us." About $160 million in payments has been withheld for the under the food services agreement in KBR's LOGCAP (Logistics Civil Augmentation Program) contract with the Pentagon (news - web sites), pending a...

"U.S. Labor Against the War" (USLAW) and other anti-Halliburton unions ask American workers to contribute money to Iraqi Labor Movement.

Labor Unions of "U. S. Labor Against the War" (known as USLAW) declare "Million Worker March" in Washington, D.C. on October 17 as "fully consistent" with the their anti-Halliburton/KBR, anti-war mission. And what is USLAW's mission?.....

Halliburton/KBR is a long-time adversary of organized labor...and now Halliburton/KBR stands in the way of union expansion into Iraq. Halliburton owns Kellogg Brown & Root (KB&R) which is coming under fire by the Democrats. Since its origin in Houston, Texas during World War II, Brown & Root has successfully battled attempts to disrupt Brown & Root operations in the United States and throughout the world. It's interesting to note that a coalition of U. S. unions have formed a coaliton which they call "U. S. Labor Against the War", along with a task force called the "Labor Solidarity Task Force...

...By sheer force of repetition the vague accusations hurled at Halliburton have unfairly dragged the company's good name down to the level of Enron. It's an article of faith among Democrats that Vice President Dick Cheney, who was Halliburton's CEO from 1995-2000, is somehow funneling contracts its way and is being compensated by the company for these services.... Mr. Cheney had to forfeit millions of dollars worth of stock options to avoid any conflict of interest. And he has zero control or even input regarding Halliburton's Defense contracts. But the attacks have gone on for so long despite no evidence...

In one home, a group of American soldiers made a surprising discovery: Yaltchin Kaya, a Turkish truck driver kidnapped about two weeks ago by insurgents. The Americans found him when they snapped the padlock on a stifling room. He had worked for KBR, the American military contractor. "Chalk one up for the good guys," said Specialist Jess Escamillas of the Army.