Contractors Still Electrocuting Troops

by: Brandon Friedman

Sat May 03, 2008 at 23:33:01 PM EDT

If we want soldiers to be able to shower without the fear of death, perhaps KBR could offer us a Premium Package for another $20 billion or so, that could guarantee troops their safety when they try to do seemingly standard things: like cleaning up after all-night missions.

The accidental deaths and close calls, which are being investigated by Congress and the Defense Department's inspector general, raise new questions about the oversight of contractors in the war zone, where unjustified killings by security guards, shoddy reconstruction projects and fraud involving military supplies have spurred previous inquiries.

American electricians who worked for KBR, the Houston-based defense contractor that is responsible for maintaining American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, said they repeatedly warned company managers and military officials about unsafe electrical work, which was often performed by poorly trained Iraqis and Afghans paid just a few dollars a day.

One electrician warned his KBR bosses in his 2005 letter of resignation that unsafe electrical work was "a disaster waiting to happen." Another said he witnessed an American soldier in Afghanistan receiving a potentially lethal shock. A third provided e-mail messages and other documents showing that he had complained to KBR and the government that logs were created to make it appear that nonexistent electrical safety systems were properly functioning.

The New York Times piece goes on to explain:

The Army has provided little detailed information about the electrocutions, other than to say late Friday that 10 soldiers had been electrocuted in Iraq. A House committee has also reported that two marines died similarly.

One former KBR electrician was quite frank about what's going on:

And Mr. Bliss, who saw a soldier standing next to him in Qalat, Afghanistan, receive a severe shock from an electrical box that was not supposed to be charged, said his KBR bosses mocked him for raising safety issues. They were "not giving the Army what it needed," he said, "and not giving the soldiers what they deserved."

I understand that accidents happen in combat zones.  I know that nothing ever runs perfectly under these conditions.  But that's not what bothers me.  What bothers me is the fact that taxpayers are funding these clowns to the tune of $30 billion and counting.  And they're not capable of producing work remotely close to what the government could do for itself in terms of quality and speed.  

And when a dozen troops turn up dead in Iraq on account of it, it really shows.