Posted on 07/12/2006 9:02:53 AM PDT by CheneyChick
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 up more than $1 billion in questionable costs. Whistle-blowers told how the company charged $45 per case of soda, double-billed on meals and allowed troops to bathe in contaminated water.
Halliburton officials have denied the allegations strenuously. Army officials yesterday defended the company's performance but also acknowledged that reliance on a single contractor left the government vulnerable. The Pentagon's new plan will split the work among three companies, to be chosen this fall, with a fourth firm hired to help monitor the performance of the other three. Halliburton will be eligible to bid on the work.
The decision on Halliburton comes as the U.S. contribution to Iraq's reconstruction begins to wane, reducing opportunities for U.S. companies after nearly four years of massive payouts to the private sector.
Of the more than $18 billion Congress allocated for reconstruction in late 2003, more than two-thirds has been spent and more than 90 percent has been contractually obligated, according to the inspector general's office overseeing reconstruction work. The rest of the money, which is collectively known as the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, needs to be obligated by the end of September.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Cheers, CC
Sounds like some business political correctness...
And that will not help my stock in Halliburton..thank you very much, whoever made THIS decision.
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NOBODY can replace KBR. They are the best.
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Al Gore gushed over how well Halliburton performed during the Bosnia War.
cuz NOBODY does what they do...not real sure how many E&C companies are willing to operate in a combat zone, knowing they can't get business insurance...and will have to self insure. Not to mention having the actual capacity to perform the job.
This is all stupid political pressure from politicians that don't know squat, unless the military is getting shrewd and wants to negotiate better rates.
That sounds very reasonable to me for the service of shipping (flying?) a case of soda half way around the world in to a war zone in the desert.
That sounds very reasonable to me for the service of shipping (flying?) a case of soda half way around the world in to a war zone in the desert.
It probably was served cold too...................
That's what don't many critics don't understand. Before the war, the biggest company moving products into many Middle Eastern countries was KBR. They had the connections, will, and understanding of the sometimes bizarre logistics of that region. That's the main reason Halliburton bought them. Most other small companies doing similar things were home grown baksheesh companies who usually subcontracted to KBR and claimed they did it all.
Nobody in the engineering services business (Raytheon, Honeywell, Lockheed, et al) will perform the same services for the same fee. Halliburton did it for under 3% fee. No one else will touch it for less than 6%. Under government accouting rules there are a number of costs that MUST come out of that fee/profit including lobbying, contributions, wrongful termination lawsuit judgements, etc. Halliburton took a huge risk, gave DoD excellent value, and got trashed simply because Cheney was the former CEO. Know what the dims accomplished by attacking Halliburton? Every prospective contractor will now charge MORE FEE because of the political risk.
I am sure tons of other companies can do what KBR does. /sarcasm
You are correct. They changed procedure, outcome will be the same.
I could start on some of the KBR waste and fraud I've seen over here where they would s-over soldiers in order to get extra $ but I'm not going to start. Let's just say I've had to sleep on floor because of KBR removing all a base's 1-yr old furniture before the 'new contract' furniture arrived. I found an Army cot but when I left after 7 weeks the much promised 'new contract' furniture hadn't arrived yet the previous, (1-yr old) contract furniture had all been haulded away. The KBR employees had their own 'new contract' furniture from the start btw.
KBR needs competition and they need new or better management. Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. are not the places to pull the sole-source contractor billing scams.
Do you have a flame suit? You just put down Halliburton. That is a sin to some here.
Boy do I have news for you AAFES is no bargan AT ALL, they sell a case of soda (12 oz bottles)for $22 and every combat soldier needs a 42in Plasma tv in theater (not a movie theater I mean theater of operation, I.E. Iraq) I especially liked the diapers and vanilla extract in the Liberty exchange.
Their motto is "We go, where you go" and should say in fine print...
"We go, where you go"(and charge you 30% more than the exchange's in Washington DC)
Wow, another disgruntled KBR employee. I ahve worked with KBR for 16 months now, and I have still not understood why these contractors whine about everything. "I have to sleep in a tent. I have to sleep on a cot." Maybe they should get a kleenex company to come over here and work for KBR. All I hear is complaining. Get over it! You chose the job, close your mouth and do it. We work for the militray, so if that means they get a bed and we sleep on the floor, so be it. You are not entitled to the American standard of living.
A KBR employee whining over here is like dust in Iraq. It's everywhere and you can;t do anything about it.
KBR neds competition? Do you realize that pulling 40,000 employees out of Iraq and replacing them with a new company would be a huge mistake, money and business wise? I don't know where these complaints from Army officials are coming from claiming we aren't getting the job done. The numbers speak for themselves in that area. The bases were built by KBR. the elctricity is produced by KBR. HVAC, DFAC's, HAZMAT, CARPENTRY,. The list goes on and on! How are you continue to put down a company with so many accomplishments. I believe this is purely political and KBR will get the majority of the contracts again. Smoke and mirrors for the Liberals.
As I said, another disgruntled KBR employee. Wow, surprising. The military is over here outside the wire bsting their asses to keep us KBR employees safe back on the post, without a word. Grow up and do the damn job you signed up to do. Don't like it? Go home.
2) As for the furniture; as I wrote in my previous post: KBR intentionally carted away an entire base's living quarters furniture supposedly because it was purchased under a different contract. They stacked it up in 2 giant piles on the ground, outside a warehouse and posted guards on it. After a few weeks they banded it, loaded it on flat beds and hauled it off. The new occupants were left without furniture for months. It's not like the stuff wasn't there or in perfectly serviceable condition when it was removed.
This is just one example of KBR maleficence. The base's KBR management knew what they were doing and did it with a "F-YOU" in-your-face attitude to the base's Polish command. There are many more examples, particularly in the MNDs.
The only KBR employees I've dealt with who were worth a damn were the truck drivers. Rejecting and despising outcome-based performance standards doesn't work for them. And don't think KBR can't be replaced. Heck, most of their workers are actually sub-contracted 3rd-parties so replacing their management would be the only change. Flour-Daniels is already doing much of the facilities support on my base and they're far better than KBR. Since they took over support for our trailers we don't have to call and argue with to get our septic tanks pumped out and it's done before it floods the road. Flour Daniels will also respond within an hour to an emergency work order. They also don't pull-up the porta-johns from the pedestrian routes and cluster them together in one area -for ease of servicing no doubt. There are some very good reasons why KBR employees are nicknamed Karnies.
I can't complain though I'm at a major base now so I'm doing great. As for their slogan, yeah, 'we'll bleed your wallet where no one else can'. Their tactic of shutting down any private competition is really pathetic. It's like the soldiers money belongs to them.
LOL - coffee is not something to mess with. I had Mr. CC send Starbucks on a weekly basis....
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