Posted on 03/27/2008 2:18:19 PM PDT by primeval patriot
Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
But to arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the U.S. military has relied since early last year on a fledgling company led by a 22-year-old man, Efraim Diveroli, whose vice president was a licensed masseur.
With the award last January of a federal contract worth as much as nearly $300 million, the company, AEY Inc., which operates out of an unmarked office in Miami Beach, Fla., became the main supplier of munitions to Afghanistan's army and police forces.
Since then, the company has provided ammunition that is more than 40 years old and is in decomposing packaging, according to an examination of the munitions by The New York Times and interviews with U.S. and Afghan officials.
~snip~
Public records show that AEY's contracts since 2004 have been worth more than a third of a billion dollars. Mr. Diveroli set the value higher: he claimed to do $200 million in business each year.
Several military officers and government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the investigations, questioned how Mr. Diveroli, and a small group of men principally in their 20s and without extensive military or procurement experiences, landed so much vital government work.
"A lot of us are asking the question," said a senior State Department official. "How did this guy get all this business?"
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
I shoot decades old ammo I buy surplus all the time, usually old NATO 7.62, and have no problem with it. On the other hand, I wouldn’t give you a dime for any eastern block ammo regardless of age, very corrosive.
Bush’s fault /sarc.
Seriously, the MSM doesn’t care about whether our troops get good ammunition. They’re just looking for something to embarass the President. I’m calling BS on this.
Don’t we play to win any more?
Well manufactured ammo doesn't expire in 40 years.
ditto!
Yeah, that's all the "State Dept" does is ask questions. They never accomplish anything, but they ask a lot of questions.
Just why the hell is State concerned about military procurement anyhow?
There was a pic of this stuff in the paper, boxes broken open, jumbled up, and lot’s of it corroded.
It was clearly old combloc 7.62x54R and in nasty shape.
Much of the old ammo I’ve shot up worked fine, but was in much better shape than this stuff.
We’er talking here about surplus ammo floating around on the world market being supplied to the Afghans. It’s most likely the same stuff the Taliban is shooting.
It seems like it is being supplied in huge quantites to the Afghans who can easily discard any bad rounds and use the rest. Nothing wrong with most of this stuff, perfectly adequate. Who cares if it’s commie surplus. We may not let it into the US for sports shooters but that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful for third world militaries.
Save the primo ammo for our guys...
If a supplier is exporting, State is involved.
This is a small business set aside gone bad. Looks like little to no government or QA oversight.
I don’t have a problem with it if we are not paying full price for this old commy refuse.
But since this is a government contract I doubt that is the case.
If the old ammo isn’t reliable, and if our troops go on joint patrols with Afghan forces, then the Afghans should have reliable ammo as well.
Link to entire NY Times article:
I would imagine the contractor is paying market rate for the ammo. Why would he pay more?
The company involved sounds like something out of that Nicholas Cage film, Lord of War... only working as a DOD contractor or sub.
I’m shooting 40 to 50 year old FMJ 30-06 and never have a misfire.
Military ammo is manufactured and packaged to remain usable after long storage.
Of course I only buy non-corrosive and don’t buy abused, dirty or corroded rounds to begin with.
One would think two or three hundred million U.S. tax dollars would buy some decent ammunition.
Thanks.
I'd like to know the specifics of the contract. Was it to provide brand new production ammo? Or just the right caliber ammo?
If it's old surplus, it should have been CHEAP.
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