Inmate-Produced Combat Helmets Found Defective

[werepossum]

Thought this was appropriate given the discussion on for-profit prisons.

http://www.ien.com/operations/news/20831256/inmateproduced-combat-helmets-found-defective

A wholly-owned government corporation and private manufacturer made over $30 million on helmets before an investigation shut down the facility and fined the company.



The following are excerpts from a report by the Office of the Inspector General. The full report can be found here.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) initiated two joint investigations with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and supported by elements of the U.S. Army, regarding allegations that the Federal Prison Industries (FPI) and ArmorSource LLC, manufactured and sold Advance Combat Helmets (ACH) and Lightweight Marine Corps. Helmets (LMCH) to the Department of Defense that did not meet contract specifications and were defective.

The FPI is a wholly-owned government corporation established to provide opportunities to federal offenders. It makes products for sale exclusively to the federal government and that do not compete with private sector companies. FPI is required to be financially self-sustaining.

ArmorSource is a private company established in 2005, and its production, marketing, and operational divisions are located in Ohio. In 2006, ArmorSource became an official supplier of the ACH helmet to the DOD. From 2006 to 2009, ArmorSource and the FPI, as subcontractor, produced 126,052 helmets, for which ArmorSource received $30,336,461.04.

The FPI was awarded a contract to manufacture LMCH helmets. The FPI produced approximately 23,000 helmets at its facility in Beaumont, Texas, of which 3,000 were sold and delivered to the DOD. However, the FPI did not receive payment for these 3,000 helmets because more than half of them were subsequently determined to be defective, and all 23,000 helmets were ultimately quarantined.

The investigations further disclosed that the ACH helmets produced by FPI were also defective, and that both the ACH and LMCH helmets posed a potential safety risk to the user. Both investigations determined that FPI had endemic manufacturing problems at FCI Beaumont, and that both the ACH and LMCH were defective and not manufactured in accordance with contract specifications.

The investigations found that the ACH and LMCH had numerous defects, including serious ballistic failures, blisters and improper mounting hold placement and dimensions, as well as helmets being repressed. Helmets were manufactured with degraded or unauthorized ballistic materials, used expired paint and unauthorized manufacturing methods.

The investigations also found that FPI pre-selected helmets for inspection, even though the DOD and ACH contract required helmets to be selected randomly. The investigation also found that manufacturing documents were altered by inmates at the direction of FPI staff that falsely indicated helmets passed inspection and met contract specifications.

The investigation found the following deficiencies:

Finished ACH helmet shells were pried apart and scrap Kevlar and Kevlar dust was added to the ear sections.

• Helmets were repressed to remove blisters and bubbles in violation of contract specifications.
• LMCH and ACH helmets had edging and paint adhesion failure.

A surprise inspection by OIG and military personnel on January 26, 2010 uncovered inmates using improvised tools (see images in gallery), damaging the helmet’s ballistic material.

These investigations did not develop any information to indicate military personnel sustained injury or death as a result of the defective ACH helmets. However, 126,052 ACH helmets were recalled, and monetary losses and costs to the government totaled more than $19,083,959.

The FPI Beaumont facility that manufactured the ACH and LMCH helmets was closed and its entire staff transferred to other duties within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Criminal prosecution resulting from these investigations was declined, and the DOJ Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Section and the Eastern District of Texas, United States Attorney’s Office entered into a civil settlement agreement with ArmorSource in which ArmorSource agreed to pay $3 million.

Here we have a wholly owned government entity set up to exploit prison labor.

WTF number one: It's a wholly owned government entity manufacturing the helmets. So why the fuck do we need a for-profit private company to sell the helmets manufactured by the government to the government?

WTF number two: Manufacturing the helmets AND recalling the helmets cost the government "more than $19,083,959". So why the holy flying rat fuck did the government pay a private company $30,336,461.04 for the same damned helmets? Seems like a rather steep markup for selling us what we manufactured.

WTF number three: The FPI facility that manufactured the defective helmets, with improvised tools, attempting to hide the defects, and risking unnecessary death to our servicemen and women, was closed - "and its entire staff transferred to other duties within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Criminal prosecution resulting from these investigations was declined, and the DOJ Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Section and the Eastern District of Texas, United States Attorney’s Office entered into a civil settlement agreement with ArmorSource in which ArmorSource agreed to pay $3 million." Not only did no one get prosecuted for this, but no one lost their government jobs. The only punishment to anyone was exacting a $3 million payment from the private company. What does it take to actually get fired from a federal government job?

Even if prisoners are working for the federal government, they are ultimately being used to generate profit. In my mind, this is uncomfortably close to slavery or indentured servitude. I would prefer that these prisoners be paid their pittance to manufacture clothing or modular shelter (or deodorant!) to be given away to homeless people. Not only does it seem morally cleaner, it apparently would be cheaper too.

Fair warning, I worked all night and I am probably going to spit and split.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

honestly, the first thing I thought was "why the fuck are inmates making a protection device for our military?" and I was under the assumption they got paid, a ridiculously low amount, like .05/hr but they were getting some compensation for their work.
Yea, this has wtf all over it, in nearly every direction.

 

[norseamd]

This is fucking bullshit. And why are we relying on critical mission equipment built by prison labor?

 

[shortylickens]

Doesnt matter.
Before prison labor all of our military gear was built by the lowest bidder, and it was overpriced, and it broke.

In the inmates have nothing to do with it.

 

[norseamd]

Doesnt matter.
Before prison labor all of our military gear was built by the lowest bidder, and it was overpriced, and it broke.

In the inmates have nothing to do with it.

You are right that it doesnt matter, but it should. The reason why our defense spending is so high is mostly because of corruption, fraud, and waste. Otherwise we would probably be a lot closer to where China currently is, maybe even only twice as much as that.

 

[Darwin333]

Wow, it actually sounds like it wasn't the prisoner labor that was the problem. The government "company" used substandard materials and equipment, made substandard products and purposely tried to rig the inspection process. And I am completely with you, the government makes a product for government use and somehow a private company gets $10M or roughly a third of the total price for doing basically nothing???

 

[Darwin333]

This is fucking bullshit. And why are we relying on critical mission equipment built by prison labor?

Doesn't sound like the prison labor was at fault here...

 

[Sonikku]

Of the contractors, by the contractors, for the contractors.

 

[Jhhnn]

I'm pretty sure that the Union Army had problems with shoddy contractors as far back as the Civil War...

 

[MrSquished]

who cares what they were making, the fact that prisoners were making anything that was sold for profit is an abomination.

 

[blankslate]

This is fucking bullshit. And why are we relying on critical mission equipment built by prison labor?

Cause CEOs have a god given right to make at least 500 times the average employee and using prison labor guarantees he makes even more....


_______________

 

[PokerGuy]

Agree with OP (and others), this story has so many WTF angles to it, it's amazing. Of course I don't know the details of how the sourcing and contracts work for DoJ, but still, this seems ridiculous in every way.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I'm not blaming the prisoners, I am blaming those who decided it was a 'good idea' (read insanely profitable) to have inmates make protective gear for our armed forces. Just seems like a stupid idea from the very root of it.

 

[HumblePie]

This whole story just reminded me of PIE!

 

[Oyeve]

This sounds like an Orange is the new Black episode.

 

[Darwin333]

This sounds like an Orange is the new Black episode.

LMAO!

It's funny cuz it's true...

 

[tweaker2]

Tip of the iceberg.......the very tippy top of the iceberg.

 

[werepossum]

Agree with OP (and others), this story has so many WTF angles to it, it's amazing. Of course I don't know the details of how the sourcing and contracts work for DoJ, but still, this seems ridiculous in every way.

I too can't claim to be conversant with the procedure, but when one part of government builds something that with the recall of the entire production still costs less than 20 million and a private corporation is selling it back to the same government for over thirty million, I'm pretty sure it's dirty. There is no possible scenario where that makes fiscal or moral sense, and I am unanimous in that. /Bucket woman

 

[rudder]

ho hum.... and no one that works for the company that made sure the defective helmets made it to our troops will have any fallout from this. No jail time, no fines.... just a slight screw up that is all. American taxpayers have their backs. Another day in the world of the American government.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

all joking, and snide comments aside, it's good to see that people here on either side of the political spectrum agree that those willing to put themselves in harms way for our country deserve better that this. :thumbsup:

 

[Darwin333]

ho hum.... and no one that works for the company that made sure the defective helmets made it to our troops will have any fallout from this. No jail time, no fines.... just a slight screw up that is all. American taxpayers have their backs. Another day in the world of the American government.

The private company that made 10 million will probably be fined 500K even if they are found to be the ones solely at fault.

 

[werepossum]

ho hum.... and no one that works for the company that made sure the defective helmets made it to our troops will have any fallout from this. No jail time, no fines.... just a slight screw up that is all. American taxpayers have their backs. Another day in the world of the American government.

ArmorSource was fined $3 million, 10% of the contract.

all joking, and snide comments aside, it's good to see that people here on either side of the political spectrum agree that those willing to put themselves in harms way for our country deserve better that this. :thumbsup:

Agreed.

The private company that made 10 million will probably be fined 500K even if they are found to be the ones solely at fault.

ArmorSource was fined $3 million, 10% of the contract.

I'm really confused about this company. I have found articles circa 2014 about ArmorSource's "state of the art" manufacturing facility in Ohio and their plans to hire 250 workers to meet their contract commitments. Yet Manta lists them as having an income of $3.3 million and employing 20. Their current helmet contract is worth over $92 million. How does a company with twenty employees and gross income of $3.3 million get a $92 million contract? For that matter, how does a company founded in 2005 get a $30,336,461.04 contract in 2006? (This is the contract in the article.)

As near as I can tell, this company is founded in 2005, gets a $30.3 million contract in 2006 to provide 126,052 helmets, has a federal prison system factory in Beaumont, Texas manufacture 23,000 helmets, has all 23,000 rejected, is found to be using "improvised tools" and completely unsuitable procedures, has ALL 126,052 helmets (ALL of which were built by FPI prison labor) recalled at a cost to the federal government of more than $19,083,959, and pays $3 million back. By my count, that leaves ArmorSource with more than $8 million in profit for providing zero usable product. If they were required to return the entire contract amount - the only reasonable response to fulfilling a contract with zero usable product - then no one seems to have found that worth including in the various articles. To be fair, the FPI factories (DBA Unicor) have right of first rejection on helmets as well as many other military supplies, and have repeatedly been caught doing the exact same thing. But for over 50% profit, surely the private contractor can be expected to maintain some serious on-site inspection and industrial engineering support, especially when using convict labor within an organization well known for shoddy work and dishonest and incompetent practices.

To make matters worse, in 2014 ArmorSource received a "two-year, $92,681,250 fixed price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract." WTF? Why in G-d's name would we let a contract with a fixed price but unfixed quantity and delivery? Why in G-d's name would we let such a contract to a company whose previous venture resulted in 100% non-usable product on the exact same product?

For those who didn't, be sure and check out the gallery too, showing some of the "tools" used to produce life-saving body armor for our troops. http://www.ien.com/operations/news/...d-combat-helmets-found-defective#&gid=1&pid=2