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Show HERALD DAILY A8 Friday, June 13. 2008 Too many dollars, too few Army investigators Richard Lardner corrupt officials has stayed about the same, according to Associated Press interviews and research. FORT BELVOIR, Va. Double-billing- . Bribes. KickArmy investigation chiefs told the AP they need a drabacks. Military contracts are matic increase in agents to big targets for serious crimes and there aren't nearly fight contract fraud. In combat zones, deals can enough investigators to catch be made quickly, often with them alL The Army's contracting foreign companies in countries where bribes are a routine budget has exploded since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan part of doing business. Yet to monitor those billions in began from $46 billion in 2002 to $112 billion in 2007. Yet contracts, just under 100 civilthe number of people who hunt ian agents are assigned to the down crooked companies and Army Criminal Investigation ASSOCIATED THE Command's procurement fraud office. 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An additional faces an increasingly com500 fraud cases have been launched in the United States, plex workload that requires awards and manages conbut most of those are not refrequent overseas travel and tracts, especially overseas, also specialized training to spot foul lated to wartime contracts. need repairs to curb criminal Under a proposal now beplay in mountains of arcane activity. paperwork. ing reviewed by senior Army "It's sort of like an assembly "There's obviously more officials at the Pentagon, : line for cars and having more going on out there today than Kilgore's staff would increase checkers at the end of the line there was five years ago, but by 143 agents and 30 support when the people arent building I have the same number of personnel between 2010 and the cars right," said Jacques 2015. Army leaders approved a people," said Wes Kilgore, director of the command's Major request last year to add 36 emGansler, a military acquisition Procurement Fraud Unit. expert. 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Another pitfall of overseas contracting known in military circles as contingency or expeditionary contracting is the expectation of bribes. In the Middle East and other parts of the world, they're often assumed to be part of the deal. "The threat and the opportunity of money passing hands is always there," Ethridge said. "So it's a pretty tough environment to do contracting in, and it's a pretty tough environment to do oversight." , , v Ethridge and other com- mand off icials said they didn't anticipate how reliant the Army would be on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Private companies get paid to provide base security, drive trucks, operate warehouses and serve meals. Contracts for these and other services can be difficult to manage. "This is a change in how we operate and creates threats that we're going to have to address," Ethridge said. The investigation command has procurement fraud offices in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. The Iraq office opened in December 2005, two years after the U.S.-le- d invasion, and the others followed. In retrospect, the command should have dispatched its fraud agents more quickly, says Quinn, the command's chief of staff . "They (didn't) have to be with the 1st Armored Division moving up the highway," he said. "But we probably should have sent our fraud guys in there early on." The concern, and need for more people, is shared by other oversight organizations. In a March 31 report to Congress, the office of the Pentagon inspector general said its ability to adequately audit and investigate military activities and budgets has become strained because staff ing levels haven't increased. The gap, the report said, means a greater chance for fraud, waste and abuse. The Pentagon inspector general and the Army criminal investigation command are separate organizations, although their agents often work together. The March report was made public last month by the Project on Government Oversight, a public interest group in Washingtoa Each new agent costs about $130,000 a year in salary, benefits, training, and equipment. Army investigation command officials say the investment pays big returns. With fewer than 100 agents, the procurement fraud unit now generates about $ 130 million a year ,, in recoveries, about $10 million (4E). COMFORT Billarcl's The Style of Your Life. ing hired or trained, however. Overall, the 166 new agents would cost about $21.5 million a year. If the latest request is approved, Kilgore's unit would eventually have 260 agents to uncover and prevent contract fraud. "We're concerned, and that's why we've pushed so hard on getting these numbers ramped up rather than sitting on our hands," said Daniel Quinn, the command's chief of staff. "It's the same reason why police departments will put cops out on a beat or patrol cars flooding an area. If you have a higher chance of getting caught, you're not going to be out there committing a crime." Criminal Investigation Command officials rarely grant interviews. The decision to speak with a reporter reflects how critical the new hires are to them. It's not just the enormous flow of wartime money, it's the speed with which contracts are awarded that lures the cheaters. Location is key, too. In Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, supplies such as bottled water, shipping containers, food and transportation might be needed qi tickly from local vendors. If only a few suppliers can fill the order, the choices may be limited. But the potential for a crooked deal is not. Army Col. Joe Ethridge, commander of the 701st Military Police Group, likens the situation to buying a plane ticket for travel to a remote location the day before a holiday weekend. "The vendors know going in the customer is going to want this really fast and there's not going to be a lot of competition," said Ethridge, whose military police group includes Kilgore's procurement fraud DELUXE DMX IWntibliWio(lwMlln REEBOK WALK DMX1 TECHNOLOGY oflwi nwiiiij Hr ajsMonlno C0OOI 9kMl AhM MMDMonll LM M imdiMMcKtallylgrMlkltig. Tin hHl4(hlDrff(M lir InmMr IVoMt wr M DW n r9irM RmkvmI tndmwtl o( fciWi IMwnMloml more than the command's annual operating budget. The pitch for more investigators has to be weighed against an ongoing effort to expand and improve the Army's contracting corps. In October, an independent panel sharply criticized the Army's ability to award and manage contracts, especially for overseas combat forces. |