Project on Government Oversight has the news that will brighten the heart of every pro-war advocate who just wants to make a buck from endless conflict:
A top government contractor’s failure to meet contractual agreements with the U.S. government put the entire mission of the Afghan National Police (ANP) training program at risk, according to a new joint audit by the Inspectors General (IGs) for the Department of State and Department of Defense (DoD).
The purpose of the audit was to review the transition of contract administration for the ANP training program from the Department of State to DoD.
The IGs found that DynCorp, the U.S.-based firm that won the billion-dollar contract to provide training personnel and life support (e.g.: food, lodging, and security services) for the ANP, fielded only about 40 percent of the training personnel it was supposed to bring in. From Al Jazeera:
“Under a $1 billion, two-year contract signed between the Defence Department and DynCorp International in December 2010, the firm was required to have instructors in place within a 120-day deadline.
“Defence officials “reported that the incoming contractor did not have 428 of the 728 required personnel in place within the 120-day transition period,” said the audit.
“The most notable discrepancy was in the number of police mentors that DynCorp was supposed to provide to the Afghan forces.
“The audit said that 213 of the 377 required “Fielded Police Mentors” were not in their positions during the transition period.”
But it wasn’t just DynCorp that the IGs faulted. According to the audit, State and DoD failed to put together a comprehensive plan for the transition. Instead, both Departments developed their own plans independently.
The Departments ended up relying heavily on the contractor’s plans, components of which the IG found to be “not feasible.” Furthermore, the contractor plans did not address inherently governmental tasks, i.e. tasks that only federal employees can perform because they are so intimately tied to the public interest.