The New York Times reported that Sioux Manufacturing of Fort Totten, North Dakota agreed to pay $2 million to settle a federal lawsuit for shortchanging the armor in up to 2.2 million military helmets - including those for troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. But here's the rub: Twelve days before their settlement with the Justice Department was announced, Sioux Manufacturing was given a new contract of up to $74 million to make more armor for helmets to replace the old ones, produced from the late 1980s to last year. Even though their helmets failed to meet U.S. Military standards, the company was awarded another contract!
The Times reported that in a conversation secretly taped, Rhea Crane, Sioux's quality assurance officer, expressed concern about "if we ever had someone get killed and they decided to investigate because they thought maybe the helmet wasn't any good." "If we ever got audited," Crane said, "you know what they would do to us. Shut us down and fine us big time. Probably never see another government contract."
Sioux Manufacturing should not have been awarded another contract. Please consider signing the VoteVets petition to demand Congressional hearings on the government's purchases of inferior helmets. Why would the government inexplicably reward the producer of substandard helmets with another contract worth millions??!!
i'm sure they sleep well at night!! dreaming of millions bulking into their cash flow...
Posted by: marita | 16 February 2008 at 12:53
I don't know how they sleep at night, knowing soldiers are risking their lives to protect THEM and what's left of their rights - with shoddy equipment that THEY provided...
Aye-ya-aye...
Posted by: tinker | 16 February 2008 at 09:58
The mind boggles.
What kind of day are we living in that human life is worth a contract for $$$$. No human life has a price. We are all worth so much more than this...
Posted by: Gillian | 16 February 2008 at 04:15
I was waiting to read that some friend of W or Dick was involved with this company. So discouraging. Bob Dylan wrote, if you steal a little they put you in jail, if you steal a lot they make you a king.
Posted by: kris | 15 February 2008 at 19:45
Amazing. I am sans words.
Posted by: ally bean | 15 February 2008 at 17:11
Harvey and I were just discussing this morning the fact that big corporations get away with things that small businesses would be shut down for. Nothing makes sense to me anymore.
Posted by: Di Overton | 15 February 2008 at 16:10