Intercepts

CACI troubles?

Two defense contractors best known for their work in information technology are ensnared by the growing scandal about alleged atrocities at Iraqi prisons.

CACI International Inc. and Titan Corp. were mentioned in a February report written by an Army two-star general who investigated U.S. troops' abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison. The 53-page document called for the company to reprimand or fire two CACI employees because of their physical abuse of detainees.

CACI officials must act fast and fire any employees involved with the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq if the company wants to preserve its vital military business, according to an industry official who follows government vendors.

"If these allegations are true, ultimately it would cast a very bad mark on CACI," the industry official said.

The company, based in Arlington, Va., posted fiscal 2003 revenue of $843 million last June, of which $536 million came from the Defense Department. DOD business accounted for 64 percent of its revenue last year, according to an Aug. 13 company statement. Furthermore, the company recently agreed to buy the defense and intelligence business from American Management Systems Inc.

The Army report was first mentioned in last week's issue of The New Yorker magazine.

CACI officials said in a May 3 statement that one of the people cited in the story "is not and never has been a CACI employee." CACI chairman, president and chief executive officer Jack London said in the statement: "In the event there is wrongdoing on the part of any CACI employee, we will take swift action to correct it immediately, but at this time we have no information from the U.S. government of any violations or wrongful behavior."

Meanwhile, Titan spokesman Wil Williams said Titan does not have any contracts that provide services for interrogation or physical keeping of prisoners.

Titan does have a contract to provide linguistic services that include translation services, he said.

Williams added that Titan has not been informed by the government of any wrongdoing and that the two people in question have not been charged with any crime.

One Titan insider, however, said that apparently the Titan employee was a witness to the abuse and that person provided officials with detailed information about what happened.

Stay tuned, no doubt.

A Canadian IMPASS

The Navy plans to award an exclusive license to Metocean Data Systems Ltd. that will allow service gunners to test weapons without going to a firing range.

The Nova Scotia, Canada, company developed the Integrated Maritime Portable Acoustic Scoring and Simulator (IMPASS), a system of buoys equipped with Global Positioning System and acoustic sensors. It works by triangulating the location of weapon impacts in relation to the firing vessel. The system then sends the data back to the ship, where a controller can display the impressions of the ammunition rounds.

IMPASS will let the Navy avoid Vieques Island situations. After residents of Puerto Rico protested the island firing range because of potential environmental and health problems, the service closed the training site.

Perhaps the Canadians thought the Navy could turn Prince Edward Island into a viable alternative, eh?

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