Special Ops Command Extends Booz Allen’s IT Management Deal
By
Bob Brewin
The decision comes three days after employee claims responsibility for one of the largest intel leaks in history.
The folks in the Special Operations Command’s contracting shop evidently have no intention of letting the largest leak of top secret intelligence in history keep it from extending a contract with Booz Allen Hamilton, the employer of the now on-the-lam leaker, Edward Snowden, to help run its global information technology network.
In July 2011, SOCOM awarded Booz Allen (along with six other contractors) a $62.5 million deal to provide it with “enterprisewide application management services to manage USSOCOM's global enterprise IT computing environment.”
This deal covered systems at SOCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., as well as systems used by Navy SEALS, Army Green Berets and Air Force Special Operations squadrons.
Yesterday, three days after Snowden identified himself as the source of document leaks detailing NSA phone and Internet snooping projects, SOCOM put out a contract notice that it planned to extend its contract with Booz Allen and the other six vendors for two years to give it time to plan another set of contracts.
This goes to show that even if one of your employee’s leaks the intelligence crown jewels, no one in the government -- even the secretive SOCOM -- makes a move to shut off the money spigot.