G4S, the security company which has lurched from crisis to crisis over the past two years, is facing an investigation by international authorities into its alleged activities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Sources said the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) UK staff have indicated that it will be investigating the company’s work supplying Israeli security services.

It is alleged that G4S provides Israel with surveillance equipment at its checkpoints in the occupied territories, although the precise nature of the equipment is not known. The OECD, which operates under the umbrella of the Department of Business in the UK, is expected to investigate whether the supply of such kit is in contravention of its guidelines for multinational enterprises – a set of Government-backed recommendations for “responsible business conduct” overseas.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District awarded a task order contract for transient quarters and dining facility in Manama, Bahrain, on Sept. 11. ECC CENTCOM Constructors, LLC, of Burlingame, Calif., was awarded the task order contract for $40.3 million.

Contrack International, Inc. (CI), of McLean, Virginia, protested the issuance of a task order to ECC CENTCOM Constructors, LLC, of Burlingame, California, under request for proposals (RFP) No. 35 MATOC MED 33 2012, issued by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers for the construction of transient quarters, and an enlisted and officer dining facility, in Bahrain. CI maintains that the agency improperly excluded its proposal from consideration for award.

At least one in every six dollars of U.S. spending for contracts and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade, or more than $30 billion, has been wasted. And at least that much could again turn into waste if the host governments are unable or unwilling to sustain U.S.-funded projects after our involvement ends.

Those sobering but conservative numbers are a key finding of the bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, which will submit its report to Congress on Wednesday. All eight commissioners agree that major changes in law and policy are needed to avoid confusion and waste in the next contingency, whether it involves armed struggle overseas or response to disasters at home.

WASHINGTON — Air Force leaders announced force management programs designed to reduce the force by thousands of Airmen over the next five years as a result of sequestration. Fiscal 2014 force management initiatives are in addition to the announcement made in July, stating the Air Force will implement several force management programs to meet budget reduction requirements.

“The difference from years past is that we announced voluntary programs first, then involuntary,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Cox, the deputy chief of staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services. “This year, due to the limited time frame, we’re announcing all programs at once to allow Airmen time to consider their options and ensure their personnel records are up to date.”

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Mideast military forces are ramping up investments in command, control, communications and computer (C4) equipment and systems to increase situational awareness and achieve greater collaboration in the face of proliferating threats, which range from sophisticated electronic warfare to unpredictable asymmetric tactics.

“Connection to the network is only becoming more critical for mission success,” said John Urias, executive vice president of Oshkosh Corporation and president of Oshkosh Defense. “Oshkosh’s unique C4 integration process improves the ability of forces in the field to reliably share information. We are committed to using our expertise in design and integration to offer the best value to our global customers.”

According to the Justice Department announced today that Northrop Grumman Corp. has paid the United States $11.4 million to settle a government claim for penalties provided under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and False Claims Act allegations stemming from its failure to abide by a 2002 settlement agreement with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The government alleged that Northrop charged to its federal contracts certain costs for deferred compensation awards to key employees, even though it had promised not to do so as part of the earlier 2002 settlement.

“Federal contractors must abide by the obligations they accept when contracting with the government, including compliance with federal regulations restricting the types and amount of costs they can charge to their federal contracts,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery. “The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing these fundamental obligations using every available tool, including FAR penalties assessed under the contract and, where appropriate, fraud-based counterclaims.”

WASHINGTON — Four ex-Blackwater guards are pleading not guilty to multiple manslaughter charges stemming from a deadly 2007 shooting on the streets of Baghdad.

Prosecutors say the heavily armed Blackwater convoy launched an unprovoked attack. Defense lawyers argue their clients, who entered their pleas Wednesday, are innocent men who were ambushed by Iraqi insurgents.

The guards were first indicted in 2008, but one of them, Nicholas Slatten, was dropped from the case the following year. A judge then dismissed the indictment against all defendants, but an appeals court reinstated the case. The men were charged in October in a new indictment.

Keith Johnson, 46, and his wife, Angela Johnson, 44, of Maryville, Tenn., pleaded guilty today to their roles in a $9.7 million procurement fraud scheme. The Johnsons were indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud charges. Keith Johnson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and Angela Johnson faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when they are sentenced on Feb. 14, 2014.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Keith Johnson admitted to serving as the program manager for a Department of Defense contractor that operated a central maintenance facility (CMF) in Kabul, Afghanistan, and other facilities in that country to maintain and repair vehicles used by the Afghan National Army. In his position during 2007 to 2008, Keith Johnson was involved in purchasing vehicle parts from vendors.

The Navy said Wednesday that it had suspended a ship-supply company for significantly overcharging on a contract, the second such suspension since mid-September. The company, Inchcape Shipping Services, owned by the Dubai-based Istithmar World, mainly supplies Navy ships in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The Navy is already grappling with a criminal investigation of its main ship supplier in the Pacific, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, whose owner, Leonard Glenn Francis, was arrested in September on charges of conspiring to bribe Navy officials with prostitutes and gifts.

Erik Prince is done working for the U.S. government, he said. He has invested millions in setting up a Frontier Resource Group, a private-equity firm that operates in more than a dozen African countries. The company raised $100 million to invest in infrastructure Africa in conjunction with Chinese companies. The firm is building an oil refinery in South Sudan, owns a cement factory in the Democratic Republic of Congo, conducts aerial gas and oil surveys across the continent, and is looking at taking over idle oil wells damaged by insurgents in Nigeria, he said.

“Africa is so far the most unexplored part of the world, and I think China has seen a lot of promise in Africa,” Prince, who served with SEAL Team 8 in Haiti and the Balkans, said during a visit to Hong Kong, later telling the South China Morning Post: “The problem is if you go alone, you bear the country risk on your own. You have to get support and maintenance there.”

Help is on the way to areas of the Philippines devastated by Typhoon Haiyan, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development and humanitarian relief groups. USAID provides support for natural disaster preparedness and relief by working in close partnership with the Government of the Philippines, the Red Cross, NGOs, the private sector, and the U.S. military.

The U.S. Government (USG) is providing $20 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to benefit typhoon-affected populations, including the provision of emergency shelter, food assistance, relief commodities, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) support.

CONTRACTOR SUPPORT OF U.S. OPERATIONS IN THE USCENTCOM AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY TO INCLUDE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

BACKGROUND:

This report updates DoD contractor personnel numbers in theater and outlines DoD efforts to improve management of contractors accompanying U.S. forces. It covers DoD contractor personnel deployed in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)); Iraq; and, the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR).

KEY POINTS:

In 4th quarter FY 2013, USCENTCOM reported approximately 111,500 contractor personnel working for the DoD in the USCENTCOM AOR. This total reflects a significant decrease from the previous quarter. The number of contractors in other USCENTCOM locations make up about 17.4% of the total contractor population in the USCENTCOM AOR. A breakdown of DoD contractor personnel is provided below: