GovernmentExecutive.com

Return to Article: Shoddy standards blamed for electrocutions in Iraq

• 77002
  

  i know for a fact that there are employees working in iraq as elecitician that are't license. check out ethan garrett 03/14/59 who claim to have license in charles county check their listing he has no record or license information ...will someelse died???

  DELK Posted May 6, 2009 7:53 PM
• 55812
  

  Whether you use a 240V or a 115V appliance shouldn't affect whether or not you get shocked. Faulty wiring is faulty wiring regardless of the voltage. Some people just don't understand electric power, obviously these people were in charge of wiring facilities.

  Paul Smith Posted August 5, 2008 1:43 PM
• 55151
  

  There other side of this story is that most of the facilities use the existing Iraqi 240V infrastructure. The guy complaining about getting shocked from his converter didn't mention that his converter was needed for the 115V comfort items he brought from the US - TV, DVD player, etc. The standard Iraqi 240V provided the necessities. It's a war zone - leave the PS2 at home and quit complaining when they turn the grid off to perform needed maintenance!

  Randy Smith Posted July 28, 2008 9:23 PM
• 55026
  

  KBR's Generators were pumping 550 volts AC when I reached down to the floor in my Conex office that was not properly grounded and got electrocuted from the Voltage Converter. It knocked me back and I woke up 30 minutes later. Ever since that happened I have been having heart problems and I currently have a Pacemaker which was installed by the Army on my return trip from Iraq to the Army Base Ft Bliss in El Paso Texas. At Scania, when any electrical work was performed there was one KBR electrician supervising 6 workers of unknown nationalities that performed the work and did not inspect there work. He sat in his truck until they were done and then they left the worksite, ie. my office. So I would say that there was no standard being followed in Iraq.

  Mark Boilore Posted July 26, 2008 11:04 AM
• 54394
  

  Once again KBR is the villian, first for malfeasance, fraud to the tune of Billions and now for manslaughter via faultly wiring causing the death of at least 13 people and shocking how many others? What is DOD doing about this. It's time for firing and prison sentences

  Mary Fisher Posted July 17, 2008 7:57 AM
• 54381
  

  What a way for the Military and American Contractors to tell the troops who are daily risking their lives "Thanks for all you do, now go have a hot meal and shower before we ask you to risk you're life again. Can't wait for the next commercial telling me how much the contractors care.

  Rick Posted July 17, 2008 6:31 AM
• 54156
  

  If you contract out all of your base support to a US contractor who hires third world nationals and doesn't provide training, equipment, or oversight what do you expect? Someone is getting rich off of this war by cutting corners. When you consider that some US contractors establish overseas shell offices to avoid taxes, it all sounds plausible. Then you read about Charles Smith, a CS employee, who was berated for trying to hold contractors accountable (see: Lawmaker assails Pentagon for inaction on contractors- 10 Jul 08). You have to shake your head. I would rate this as another home run for the Iraq War Feather Merchants and a sudden death elimination for the unfortunate affected soldiers along with a strike out for the taxpayers. Patriotism for American Business has come a long way since WWII.

  Paul Saunders Posted July 14, 2008 11:23 PM
• 54123
  

  "In other testimony, two former KBR electricians accused the company of shoddy and negligent management practices in its war-theater operations." Someone should check up to see if these former KBR employees have mysteriously disappeared.

  Kellogg Brown Root will probably be rewarded with more billion dollar no-bid contracts. Apparently, there is no competition and no accountability.

  Don Posted July 14, 2008 1:06 PM
• 54078
  

  Inexcusable. The incremental cost to properly wire a building vs. improperly wiring it is so small as to be roundoff error, and teaching the proper methods takes at most a day or two, unless we are building an entire power substation, and even that doesn't take that long.

  I'm an electrical engineer who is also familiar with the National Electrical Code, and who has done a fair amount of power-related electrical wiring himself. This is an outrage.

  It is not "not supporting the troops" to demand that the incompetent, lacking-integrity folks behind this be severely punished. I do so demand!

  arclight Posted July 14, 2008 8:17 AM
• 54073
  

  The "good old boy" system kills a lot of soldiers and even some people in the civilian work force. For the uninitiated, a "good old boy" system is when a group of people have an understanding to circumvent the system of checks and balances. They often cover up each other's wrongdoings. This is business as usual in DOD. Some commander, general, ect. was negligent. But, no one is being held accountable and the one responsible probably never will be. If I did these things, wouldn't I be held responsible?

  Robert M. Posted July 14, 2008 7:34 AM