medicineman
New Member
he Family's Profiteering Goes Unobserved
By Margie Burns | February 1, 2004 (page 2/3)
Business articles particularly touted the enhanced prospects for Engineered Support Systems after the attacks of September 11, 2001. A USA Today article on September 25, 2001, headlined "Businesses Stand to Profit, Respectfully," noted that the company's stock had jumped by 53 percent in the two weeks following 9-11.
Engineered Support Systems responded "No comment" to telephoned and e-mailed questions for this article.
In January 2003, Engineered Support Systems received an order for $6.1 million from the U.S. Air Force for "Revetment kits"—protective armor—in connection with "urgent support requirements for heightened U.S. military operations in the Middle East." Company chairman Michael F. Shanahan said in a January 6, 2003, press release that the company had received a total of $15.8 million under that $24 million contract.
Also in January 2003, the Air Force ordered another $2.2 million worth of power units from the company's subsidiary, Radian, Inc. Engineered Support Systems had received $46.7 million in Air Force contracts in eight months, according to chairman Shanahan. In March 2003, the Air Force came through with a $67 million contract for cargo-loader transporters, plus $8.7 million for support. The Navy ordered $2.1 million in parts from the company in January, and spent another $14.7 million on assault ships in May.
The U.S. Army has been Engineered Support Systems' largest customer. The company got an Army contract for $75 million in January; one for $36.4 million in March; and another $7.1 million in April. There have been contracts for generators, precision targeting systems, and a deployable power system.
HUNTING FOR WMDs—As luck would have it, Engineered Support Systems also manufactures Field Deployable Environmental Control Units (FDECUs) to deal with weapons of mass destruction. On January 17, 2003, the company announced that it had received an order of $19.7 million for these devices from the U.S. Air Force, and a similar order from the Marines for $2 million worth of the units, complete with Nuclear Biological Chemical Kits. That was all in preparation for finding the secret arsenals of WMDs that the White House insisted had been hidden in Iraq by Saddam Hussein.
On January 28, 2003, Bush delivered his State of the Union address, linking Saddam's Iraq to biological and chemical warfare, including Bush's now-famous misstatements about Saddam's possession of nuclear weapons and some illicit material allegedly purchased from the country of Niger in Africa.
On March 26, Engineered Support Systems announced an order of $19 million from the Army for 52 of its Chemical Biological Protected Shelter (CBPS) systems, under an existing contract. That brought Army orders for this product to a total of 204 units. The company describes the product as follows:
"CBPS, designed for use in chemically or biologically contaminated areas, is a self-contained, environmentally-controlled and contamination-free work area that can serve as a mobile medical aid station, field command post or emergency facility. The CBPS can be deployed and fully operational in less than 20 minutes. . . . Once completed, both newly produced and retrofitted CBPS units are being actively deployed in support of U.S. forces abroad."
"The potential threat of our troops facing a chemical or biological attack during the current conflict in Iraq remains very real," chairman Shanahan commented. "Should this occur, our CBPS system is quite capable of providing soldiers or medical personnel with collective protection against these dangerous weapons of mass destruction."
Students of current events may recall that on March 25, the Bush administration had requested supplemental funding from Congress "to cover military operations, relief and reconstruction activities in Iraq, and ongoing operations in the global war on terrorism." The White House has not responded to our telephoned and e-mailed questions.
On May 1, 2003, Engineered Support Systems announced the acquisition of Maryland-based Technical and Management Services, TAMSCO. May 1 was the day that President Bush appeared in a flight suit on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln under the banner "Mission Accomplished," to announce the cessation of combat in Iraq.
The following week TAMSCO announced that it had "implemented a leading edge communications technology to support U.S. Army logistics operations in the Middle East upon the successful fielding of two Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) satellite terminals as part of the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) project in Iraq." According to the company, "This marked the first time that TDMA technology had been utilized by the U.S. Army for satellite communications." TAMSCO seems to have hit the ground running. It also had a running start. It began its satellite communications network linking Germany, Iraq and the U.S. in February 2003. PREPARING FOR WAR—In a period of less than two and a half months, TAMSCO identified the most cost-effective technology; procured, integrated, tested and shipped the equipment; trained soldiers on its installation and maintenance; installed an antenna hub site in Germany; installed the network equipment; and established a help desk operation in Kuwait. For anyone inclined to believe that the administration was ever less than fully determined to go to war in Iraq, these early and longstanding preparations made by companies with high-level connections may lead to second thoughts.Welcome to Washington Spectator Online
By Margie Burns | February 1, 2004 (page 2/3)
Business articles particularly touted the enhanced prospects for Engineered Support Systems after the attacks of September 11, 2001. A USA Today article on September 25, 2001, headlined "Businesses Stand to Profit, Respectfully," noted that the company's stock had jumped by 53 percent in the two weeks following 9-11.
Engineered Support Systems responded "No comment" to telephoned and e-mailed questions for this article.
In January 2003, Engineered Support Systems received an order for $6.1 million from the U.S. Air Force for "Revetment kits"—protective armor—in connection with "urgent support requirements for heightened U.S. military operations in the Middle East." Company chairman Michael F. Shanahan said in a January 6, 2003, press release that the company had received a total of $15.8 million under that $24 million contract.
Also in January 2003, the Air Force ordered another $2.2 million worth of power units from the company's subsidiary, Radian, Inc. Engineered Support Systems had received $46.7 million in Air Force contracts in eight months, according to chairman Shanahan. In March 2003, the Air Force came through with a $67 million contract for cargo-loader transporters, plus $8.7 million for support. The Navy ordered $2.1 million in parts from the company in January, and spent another $14.7 million on assault ships in May.
The U.S. Army has been Engineered Support Systems' largest customer. The company got an Army contract for $75 million in January; one for $36.4 million in March; and another $7.1 million in April. There have been contracts for generators, precision targeting systems, and a deployable power system.
HUNTING FOR WMDs—As luck would have it, Engineered Support Systems also manufactures Field Deployable Environmental Control Units (FDECUs) to deal with weapons of mass destruction. On January 17, 2003, the company announced that it had received an order of $19.7 million for these devices from the U.S. Air Force, and a similar order from the Marines for $2 million worth of the units, complete with Nuclear Biological Chemical Kits. That was all in preparation for finding the secret arsenals of WMDs that the White House insisted had been hidden in Iraq by Saddam Hussein.
On January 28, 2003, Bush delivered his State of the Union address, linking Saddam's Iraq to biological and chemical warfare, including Bush's now-famous misstatements about Saddam's possession of nuclear weapons and some illicit material allegedly purchased from the country of Niger in Africa.
On March 26, Engineered Support Systems announced an order of $19 million from the Army for 52 of its Chemical Biological Protected Shelter (CBPS) systems, under an existing contract. That brought Army orders for this product to a total of 204 units. The company describes the product as follows:
"CBPS, designed for use in chemically or biologically contaminated areas, is a self-contained, environmentally-controlled and contamination-free work area that can serve as a mobile medical aid station, field command post or emergency facility. The CBPS can be deployed and fully operational in less than 20 minutes. . . . Once completed, both newly produced and retrofitted CBPS units are being actively deployed in support of U.S. forces abroad."
"The potential threat of our troops facing a chemical or biological attack during the current conflict in Iraq remains very real," chairman Shanahan commented. "Should this occur, our CBPS system is quite capable of providing soldiers or medical personnel with collective protection against these dangerous weapons of mass destruction."
Students of current events may recall that on March 25, the Bush administration had requested supplemental funding from Congress "to cover military operations, relief and reconstruction activities in Iraq, and ongoing operations in the global war on terrorism." The White House has not responded to our telephoned and e-mailed questions.
On May 1, 2003, Engineered Support Systems announced the acquisition of Maryland-based Technical and Management Services, TAMSCO. May 1 was the day that President Bush appeared in a flight suit on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln under the banner "Mission Accomplished," to announce the cessation of combat in Iraq.
The following week TAMSCO announced that it had "implemented a leading edge communications technology to support U.S. Army logistics operations in the Middle East upon the successful fielding of two Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) satellite terminals as part of the Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) project in Iraq." According to the company, "This marked the first time that TDMA technology had been utilized by the U.S. Army for satellite communications." TAMSCO seems to have hit the ground running. It also had a running start. It began its satellite communications network linking Germany, Iraq and the U.S. in February 2003. PREPARING FOR WAR—In a period of less than two and a half months, TAMSCO identified the most cost-effective technology; procured, integrated, tested and shipped the equipment; trained soldiers on its installation and maintenance; installed an antenna hub site in Germany; installed the network equipment; and established a help desk operation in Kuwait. For anyone inclined to believe that the administration was ever less than fully determined to go to war in Iraq, these early and longstanding preparations made by companies with high-level connections may lead to second thoughts.Welcome to Washington Spectator Online
