WASHINGTON — A panel investigating waste and fraud found serious deficiencies in equipment and training for hundreds of Ugandan guards hired to protect U.S. military bases in Iraq, The Associated Press has learned.
Problems at Forward Operating Bases Delta and Hammer include a lack of vehicles used to protect the posts, a shortage of weapons and night-vision gear, and poor training.
Concerned that the shortages leave the bases vulnerable, the Commission on Wartime Contracting alerted military officials in Iraq and at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.
Army Lt. Col. Brian Maka, a spokesman for Multi-National Force- Iraq, said contracting officials have taken the commission’s findings seriously.
“Security contractors at both sites have corrected or are in the process of correcting deficiencies,” he said Saturday.
The military relies on hired guards at bases in Iraq so that troops are available for combat duties. Overall, there are five companies providing security at bases in Iraq under contracts with an estimated value of $250 million. The Associated Press
