Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Army to reopen bidding on $4.6 bn. Iraq translation services contract
Contracts
(Washington Business Journal) - The Army will reopen the bidding process on a five-year translation services contract awarded to DynCorp International Inc. last year for work in Iraq. The contract is worth more than $4.6 billion. L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., which had the contract before DynCorp, protested the bidding process. The General Accounting Office sided with L-3 Communications in March and ordered the Army to rebid the contract.
Global Linguist Services, a joint venture of Falls Church-based DynCorp and McNeil Technologies Inc., was awarded the contract Dec. 18. L-3 has continued to do the work under an extension granted in March for its original contract. "We are pleased that this procurement is moving forward in a serious manner that will address the concerns raised by the GAO [Government Accountability Office] and ensure a timely decision," DynCorp chief executive Herbert Lanese said in a statement. "We look forward to an expedited conclusion of this procurement."
The rebidding process will consider both companies' experience and ability to provide personnel on a timely basis. DynCorp had agreed to hire up to 6,000 local translators in Iraq and provide up to 1,000 more American linguists. DynCorp (NYSE: DCP) and L-3 (NYSE: LLL) have until Aug. 24 to resubmit bids.
Global Linguist Services, a joint venture of Falls Church-based DynCorp and McNeil Technologies Inc., was awarded the contract Dec. 18. L-3 has continued to do the work under an extension granted in March for its original contract. "We are pleased that this procurement is moving forward in a serious manner that will address the concerns raised by the GAO [Government Accountability Office] and ensure a timely decision," DynCorp chief executive Herbert Lanese said in a statement. "We look forward to an expedited conclusion of this procurement."
The rebidding process will consider both companies' experience and ability to provide personnel on a timely basis. DynCorp had agreed to hire up to 6,000 local translators in Iraq and provide up to 1,000 more American linguists. DynCorp (NYSE: DCP) and L-3 (NYSE: LLL) have until Aug. 24 to resubmit bids.
Labels: DynCorp International, GAO, Global Linguist Services, L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., McNeil Technologies Inc.
Monday, July 02, 2007
DynCorp Kuwaiti LOGCAP IV partner's shares up by 6.6 per cent
Contracts
(Gulf Daily News) - Kuwaiti logistics provider Agility said yesterday it was part of a group with US firm Dyncorp International which won a $50-billion (BD18-billion) deal from the US military. Agility shares rallied 6.6 per cent after the news. Agility said in a statement on the Kuwait bourse Web site it would provide various logistics, supply and warehousing services as part of the deal.
The contract would run 10 years, of which 9 were optional, and would have a value of $50bn for the whole period, it added. The deal, which included food and oil supply services, would be worth $5 billion for each year. Agility, which is diversifying its business and expanding abroad, said it could not currently determine its exact share of the deal.
The total deal also includes US firms KBR, a former unit of Halliburton, and Fluor Corporation with a combined potential value of up to $150 billion to provide services to the US military in the Middle East. Agility said on June 16 the US military had renewed a five-year deal worth $1.5 billion, extending the deal to its third consecutive year. The contract is up for yearly renewal.
The US government said on June 1 it had awarded Agility another supply and food deal worth up to $2.8 billion. Agility has said it was expanding in the Middle East, Africa or Eastern Europe to diversify its business and lower its exposure to US military deals, a key source of income.
Agility, previously known as Public Warehousing Co., has bought at least seven smaller rivals this year including New Zealand-based LEP International and Chinese freight company Guangzhou Runtang International Transport Company Limited.
Kuwait's money supply rose 15.6pc in the year to May, according to data on the Central Bank of Kuwait Website. M3, the broadest measured of money supply, rose to $60.36 billion. Money supply rose 18.3pc in the year to April.
The contract would run 10 years, of which 9 were optional, and would have a value of $50bn for the whole period, it added. The deal, which included food and oil supply services, would be worth $5 billion for each year. Agility, which is diversifying its business and expanding abroad, said it could not currently determine its exact share of the deal.
The total deal also includes US firms KBR, a former unit of Halliburton, and Fluor Corporation with a combined potential value of up to $150 billion to provide services to the US military in the Middle East. Agility said on June 16 the US military had renewed a five-year deal worth $1.5 billion, extending the deal to its third consecutive year. The contract is up for yearly renewal.
The US government said on June 1 it had awarded Agility another supply and food deal worth up to $2.8 billion. Agility has said it was expanding in the Middle East, Africa or Eastern Europe to diversify its business and lower its exposure to US military deals, a key source of income.
Agility, previously known as Public Warehousing Co., has bought at least seven smaller rivals this year including New Zealand-based LEP International and Chinese freight company Guangzhou Runtang International Transport Company Limited.
Kuwait's money supply rose 15.6pc in the year to May, according to data on the Central Bank of Kuwait Website. M3, the broadest measured of money supply, rose to $60.36 billion. Money supply rose 18.3pc in the year to April.
Labels: Agility Defense and Government Services, CH2M Hill, DynCorp International, Fluor Intercontinental, KBR, Kuwait, LOGCAP IV, Public Warehousing Co.
Friday, June 29, 2007
DynCorp to team up on LOGCAP IV contract
Contracts
(BUSINESS WIRE) - The U.S. Army Sustainment Command has selected DynCorp International as one of three providers of logistics support to the U.S. Army under the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) IV contract. The LOGCAP IV contract has a term of up to 10 years and a potential annual value to DynCorp International of $5 billion in gross revenue.
Under this contract, DynCorp International will support U.S. forces worldwide with immediate focus on those deployed in the Middle East. DynCorp International holds several important logistics and contingency contracts for the U.S. military, and was the sole holder of the LOGCAP II contract from 1997-2002. Dyncorp International is teamed with CH2M Hill and Agility Defense and Government Services (formerly PWC Logistics) for LOGCAP IV.
Under this contract, DynCorp International will support U.S. forces worldwide with immediate focus on those deployed in the Middle East. DynCorp International holds several important logistics and contingency contracts for the U.S. military, and was the sole holder of the LOGCAP II contract from 1997-2002. Dyncorp International is teamed with CH2M Hill and Agility Defense and Government Services (formerly PWC Logistics) for LOGCAP IV.
Labels: Agility Defense and Government Services, CH2M Hill, DynCorp International, LOGCAP IV, PWC Logistics
Thursday, June 28, 2007
LOGCAP IV awarded to Fluor, DynCorp and KBR
Contracts
(Washington Post) - The Army awarded a contract worth up to $150 billion to feed, house and provide other services to U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, spreading among three companies work that recently had been linked to a single, controversial contractor: Halliburton.
Fluor Intercontinental of Greenville, S.C., DynCorp International of Fort Worth and KBR of Houston were chosen from among a half-dozen competitors. Each company's part of the contract is worth up to $5 billion a year and can be extended for up to nine more years. The contract award was a particular victory for KBR, Halliburton's former contracting arm, after the firm was accused of misdeeds under the past contract, one contracting expert said.
"This is potentially the biggest battlefield services contract that any company is going to win for the remainder of this decade," Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute, a defense research organization in Arlington.
Known as the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, or LOGCAP IV, the contract is considered one of the biggest deals in the contracting services industry. It has ballooned in value from $2 billion when it was first awarded in 1992 to $23 billion under the most recent LOGCAP III contract.
Two of the new winners have a history with the contract. KBR won the initial LOGCAP contract when support services were needed mainly in Bosnia. DynCorp won it in 1997 to do work in East Timor and the Philippines. And in 2001, it was again awarded to KBR to provide services in Afghanistan, Kuwait and, after the 2003 invasion, Iraq. Since then, the contract has come under scrutiny by members of Congress, and critics have alleged that KBR had an advantage in winning the 2001 contract because Vice President Cheney had been Halliburton's chief executive.
There have been other allegations of overcharging and poor record-keeping by KBR and lax oversight by the government. Government auditors turned up more than $1 billion in questionable costs. As of the end of May, KBR -- the largest single contractor in Iraq -- had been paid $19.7 billion for its work under the contract.
About 50,000 contractors work for KBR directly or as subcontractors to deliver services, and 500 government employees provide oversight of the logistics contract, according to Army officials.
Fluor Intercontinental of Greenville, S.C., DynCorp International of Fort Worth and KBR of Houston were chosen from among a half-dozen competitors. Each company's part of the contract is worth up to $5 billion a year and can be extended for up to nine more years. The contract award was a particular victory for KBR, Halliburton's former contracting arm, after the firm was accused of misdeeds under the past contract, one contracting expert said.
"This is potentially the biggest battlefield services contract that any company is going to win for the remainder of this decade," Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute, a defense research organization in Arlington.
Known as the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, or LOGCAP IV, the contract is considered one of the biggest deals in the contracting services industry. It has ballooned in value from $2 billion when it was first awarded in 1992 to $23 billion under the most recent LOGCAP III contract.
Two of the new winners have a history with the contract. KBR won the initial LOGCAP contract when support services were needed mainly in Bosnia. DynCorp won it in 1997 to do work in East Timor and the Philippines. And in 2001, it was again awarded to KBR to provide services in Afghanistan, Kuwait and, after the 2003 invasion, Iraq. Since then, the contract has come under scrutiny by members of Congress, and critics have alleged that KBR had an advantage in winning the 2001 contract because Vice President Cheney had been Halliburton's chief executive.
There have been other allegations of overcharging and poor record-keeping by KBR and lax oversight by the government. Government auditors turned up more than $1 billion in questionable costs. As of the end of May, KBR -- the largest single contractor in Iraq -- had been paid $19.7 billion for its work under the contract.
About 50,000 contractors work for KBR directly or as subcontractors to deliver services, and 500 government employees provide oversight of the logistics contract, according to Army officials.
Last year, the Army decided to award the logistics contract to more than one company after concerns were raised about a lack of competition in giving such a large contract to one company. Under the new contract, the three companies will have to compete for each individual task order.
Labels: DynCorp International, Fluor Intercontinental, Halliburton, KBR, LOGCAP IV, Logistics Civil Augmentation Program
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Security companies challenge army over $475 mn contract
Business, Contracts
(Washington Post) - Two private security contractors have lodged formal protests against the Army, claiming they have been unfairly excluded from competing for one of the largest security jobs in Iraq, according to government documents and sources familiar with the matter.
The contract, potentially worth $475 million, is for providing intelligence services to the Army and wide-ranging security for the Army Corps of Engineers during reconstruction work in Iraq. It will replace another agreement that was to expire by month's end but is now being extended for up to six months while the challenges are resolved.
The Defense Department's process for acquiring weapons and other equipment has been rocked by recent scandals and the scrutiny of the "revolving door" that can benefit former Pentagon officials. The protests come at a time when members of Congress are demanding more scrutiny of private security contractors. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, said she has been frustrated in attempts to seek information about Aegis Defense Services, a British firm that holds the current security contract in Iraq. She has requested an audit of the firm by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
"When [the Defense Department] refuses to provide information that should be public, I am -- what's the word? -- incensed," she said. The special inspector general has agreed to launch an audit, said spokeswoman Denise Burgess. Three years ago, DynCorp International challenged the awarding of the first security contract, worth $293 million, to Aegis, a firm led by Tim Spicer, a former lieutenant colonel in the Scots Guards whose previous firm, Sandline International, had been hired by warring factions in Papua New Guinea and Sierra Leone in the 1990s.
Aegis is in the running for the new contract, but Blackwater Security Consulting is challenging the Army over the process. The Government Accountability Office, which is reviewing the protests, declined to provide a copy of Blackwater's written challenge, but in a copy obtained independently, Blackwater wrote that the Army's decision to exclude it was "defective" and "meaningless," in part because the military did not explain how it evaluated the contractor's offer.
Blackwater, which is based in North Carolina, also wrote that it "never had an opportunity to ask relevant questions" about how the Army eliminated its proposal. Blackwater provides security in Iraq under a State Department contract but does not participate in the Iraqi operations centers that fall under the new Army contract. Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell declined comment.
Erinys Iraq is also challenging the Army's decision to exclude its offer; in its protest, the British contractor contends that the Army did not thoroughly review its proposal and failed to follow procurement rules, according to a source familiar with the protest. Erinys already provides security for some military personnel in Iraq under a separate contract. Robert Nichols, Erinys's outside counsel, declined comment.
Christopher Krafchek, an attorney for the Army assigned to the case, also declined to comment. Under the Army's bidding guidelines, it can exclude contractors from what it calls the "competitive range" because it is using a negotiated procurement process, meaning that it will base its decision not on the lowest bid price but on what it determines is the best value.
Several other firms are competing for the new Army contract, sources say, in addition to Aegis, which works side-by-side with Erinys in Baghdad's Green Zone on similar but separate contracts. Aegis came under fire two years ago when the special inspector general found that the firm could not prove that its armed employees received proper weapons training or that it had vetted Iraqi employees to ensure they did not pose a threat. Aegis said that the government's audit was done shortly after the firm arrived in Iraq, before proper procedures were in place.
While Aegis declined to discuss its bid, it defends its work in Iraq. "Aegis has a very good track record," said Kristi M. Clemens, the company's executive vice president. "We've served the U.S. government very well in our current capacity."
The contract, potentially worth $475 million, is for providing intelligence services to the Army and wide-ranging security for the Army Corps of Engineers during reconstruction work in Iraq. It will replace another agreement that was to expire by month's end but is now being extended for up to six months while the challenges are resolved.
The Defense Department's process for acquiring weapons and other equipment has been rocked by recent scandals and the scrutiny of the "revolving door" that can benefit former Pentagon officials. The protests come at a time when members of Congress are demanding more scrutiny of private security contractors. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, said she has been frustrated in attempts to seek information about Aegis Defense Services, a British firm that holds the current security contract in Iraq. She has requested an audit of the firm by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
"When [the Defense Department] refuses to provide information that should be public, I am -- what's the word? -- incensed," she said. The special inspector general has agreed to launch an audit, said spokeswoman Denise Burgess. Three years ago, DynCorp International challenged the awarding of the first security contract, worth $293 million, to Aegis, a firm led by Tim Spicer, a former lieutenant colonel in the Scots Guards whose previous firm, Sandline International, had been hired by warring factions in Papua New Guinea and Sierra Leone in the 1990s.
Aegis is in the running for the new contract, but Blackwater Security Consulting is challenging the Army over the process. The Government Accountability Office, which is reviewing the protests, declined to provide a copy of Blackwater's written challenge, but in a copy obtained independently, Blackwater wrote that the Army's decision to exclude it was "defective" and "meaningless," in part because the military did not explain how it evaluated the contractor's offer.
Blackwater, which is based in North Carolina, also wrote that it "never had an opportunity to ask relevant questions" about how the Army eliminated its proposal. Blackwater provides security in Iraq under a State Department contract but does not participate in the Iraqi operations centers that fall under the new Army contract. Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell declined comment.
Erinys Iraq is also challenging the Army's decision to exclude its offer; in its protest, the British contractor contends that the Army did not thoroughly review its proposal and failed to follow procurement rules, according to a source familiar with the protest. Erinys already provides security for some military personnel in Iraq under a separate contract. Robert Nichols, Erinys's outside counsel, declined comment.
Christopher Krafchek, an attorney for the Army assigned to the case, also declined to comment. Under the Army's bidding guidelines, it can exclude contractors from what it calls the "competitive range" because it is using a negotiated procurement process, meaning that it will base its decision not on the lowest bid price but on what it determines is the best value.
Several other firms are competing for the new Army contract, sources say, in addition to Aegis, which works side-by-side with Erinys in Baghdad's Green Zone on similar but separate contracts. Aegis came under fire two years ago when the special inspector general found that the firm could not prove that its armed employees received proper weapons training or that it had vetted Iraqi employees to ensure they did not pose a threat. Aegis said that the government's audit was done shortly after the firm arrived in Iraq, before proper procedures were in place.
While Aegis declined to discuss its bid, it defends its work in Iraq. "Aegis has a very good track record," said Kristi M. Clemens, the company's executive vice president. "We've served the U.S. government very well in our current capacity."
Labels: Aegis Defense Services, Blackwater Security Consulting, DynCorp International, Erinys Iraq, private security contractors, Tim Spicer
