Helmet Contractor Intentionally Endangering Troops for Profit Receives Slap on Wrist.

Well, here we have a story which has been allowed by our anti-military MSM to slip by unnoticed and unnoted. Seems that Sioux Manufacturing Corporation in Fort Totten, North Dakota, a corporation wholly owned by he Spirit Lake Tribe was caught deliberately and intentionally supplying the Defense Department with Kevlar™ cloth which was substandard by 11,000 threads/yard and which intended for the manufacture of the PASGAT helmets for out combat troops.

Both the Sioux Manufacturing weaving supervisor and its purchasing manager filed a lawsuit against their employer for the intentional violation under the False Claims Act.

Here is a portion of the Department of Justice Report:

Sioux Manufacturing Corporation (SMC), a tribal corporation wholly-owned by the Spirit Lake Tribe, both of Fort Totten, North Dakota, has agreed to pay $1,935,000 to settle allegations that it knowingly provided noncompliant woven Kevlar™ cloth that was used in the manufacturing of military combat helmets.

The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed in the District of North Dakota by two former employees of SMC under the False Claims Act, which permits private citizens, known as “relators,” to sue on behalf of the government to recover federal funds that were obtained through false claims.

The government’s investigation of the allegations determined that from approximately 1994 to 2006, SMC sold finished aramid cloth (Kevlar™) to UNICOR, Federal Prison Industries, a government corporation. UNICOR used the Kevlar cloth in the manufacture of Personnel Armor System Ground Troops (PASGT) helmets which it sold to the Defense Logistics Agency. With each delivery of the Kevlar™ cloth, SMC certified to UNICOR that its product met the required military specifications, one of which dictates a specific number of woven yarns per square inch of finished cloth. The investigation found evidence that, on occasion, SMC knowingly delivered cloth that had not been woven to the precise specifications.

Now I don't know about you , but intentionally sabotaging military equipment for profit sounds like grounds for hard time in the Fort Levinworth, Kansas military prison, not a $2 million fine and a $72 million contract renewal. This whole thing stinks to high Heaven like a cover-up.

Is this another case in which "diversity" and "political correctness" are trumping our laws and the safety of our combat troops? Sure looks like it to me. I very seriously doubt if this Aramid™ cloth was being supplied by a military contractor owned by white-males, it would have been allowed to go unremarked by the national press and our (oh so dedicated) congress.

I want to know why this scandal, this war-crime, has not been the topic of public hearings in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. I want to know why the CEO's of this company are not facing life imprisonment or death sentences for war profiteering. It's not like it hasn't been reported in prominent MSM organizations. Even the New York Times has reported on it:

Manufacturer in $2 Million Accord With U.S. on Deficient Kevlar in Military Helmets

At the core of the investigation was the contention by two former plant managers that Kevlar woven at Sioux failed to meet the government’s “critical” minimum standard of 35 by 35 threads a square inch.

When properly woven, Kevlar, a polymer thread made by Dupont, is stronger than steel, and able to deflect shrapnel and some bullets. Government regulations call for rejecting Kevlar below the 35-by-35 standard.

The company “was underweaving,” Mr. Wrigley said.

“That is undebatable,” he said.

The factory’s own inspection records often showed weaves of 34 by 34 threads or as low as 32 by 34 and 33 by 34. Looms were “always set for 34 by 34, always,” said Jeff Kenner, who operated and repaired the looms and oversaw crews on all three shifts...

...“You must have a certain amount of protection, and you can’t go below that,” said Gwynedd A. Thomas, associate professor of ballistics and protective fabrics at Auburn University.

Although the difference between 34 and 35 threads a square inch seems modest, the cumulative loss in layers of fabric is significant, Dr. Thomas said.

“Every time that you’re losing some mass, you’re losing some integrity,” she said.

The strength comes from crossed yarns, the points that disperse projectile impact. “The fewer crossovers, the less energy dissipation you’re going to have,” she added.

A 34-by-34 weave results in 5 percent fewer crossovers than 35 by 35, a difference Dr. Thomas called “quite a lot.”

This is the single most outrageous crime against our troops that I have heard of. Where is Senator John McCain on this? He's supposed to be the great supporter and defender of our troops and our national budget hawk. Maybe he, Barrak Obama and Hillary Clinton should be busy doing the job we tax-payers pay them for rather than out pimping for votes.

What does Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) have to say about this crime? Where is Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and why isn't he answering questions about this crime? What about Congressman Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)? Why isn't he being called on the carpet for this failure of Congressional oversight?

Is this another example of the Democrat Party's promise of less corruption? Is this just another Democrat cover-up for a pork-barrel contract or a contract given to a "native American" company out of preferential treatment?

Why hasn't the head of procurement for the DOD been called up before Congress? Where is Defense Secretary Robert Gates? Why hasn't he been summoned before Congress to answer questions about the reckless endangerment of our troops?

This outrage must not be allowed to go unpunished. How many of our casualties have been a direct result of this criminal behavior? Why did the United States Attorney's Office for the District of North Dakota, with the assistance of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Army Criminal Investigation Command, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations give this criminal enterprise a pass...and another $72 million contract?

I want to know the answers to these questions, not excuses or cover-ups. The parents and the relatives of our troops need to know that our boys are getting the very best equipment and protective gear that can be given them.

The time has come for heads to roll on this obscene violation of trust. The mere fact that this company is owned by "A Native American Tribe" should not affect or interfere with a thorough investigation of this war crime.

If you haven't guessed, I'm pissed and I want some answers!!!

Long Live Our American Republic!!!

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