Navy

OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: IG report fuels contractor concerns

by Jeremy Herb and Carlo Muñoz 09/17/13 10:29 PM ET

The Navy “did not follow federal credentialing standards and
DOD contractor vetting requirements and did not provide 7 of the 10
installations visited the appropriate resources and capabilities to conduct
required contractor background checks,” the report concluded.

The vetting program that was reviewed by the IG involved
background checks conducted by Eid Passport. The report said the felons were
given access to bases because the company did not identify the convictions in
its initial public records checks.

{mosads}The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) called for the program to be
discontinued.

“This program wasted money, allowed dozens of felons access
to installations they should never have had, and utterly lacked competent
oversight,” she said in a statement.

Lawmakers demand
contractor reform: Monday’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard prompted
lawmakers to issue fresh
calls for Congress to revisit how U.S. national security agencies select
civilian contractors.

“It may be time for a [congressional] review to see how
well these contractors are doing their jobs” in terms of vetting
candidates for sensitive, national security positions, Sen. Jeff Sessions
(R-Ala.) said Tuesday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) openly questioned whether the
process government agencies use to vet civilians before allowing them access to
highly sensitive national security issues is “fundamentally broken.”

Alexis was identified as a former Navy petty officer 3rd
class who enlisted in the Navy in 2007, and was reportedly working as an
information technology contractor at the Navy Yard.

While in the Navy, Alexis was reportedly arrested on
misdemeanor weapons charges in Fort Worth, Texas, which led to him leaving the
service in 2011.

Alexis’s hiring as a Navy IT contractor, despite his
criminal record, remains the biggest question mark for Graham and other
lawmakers.

The issue first came to light earlier this year after former
National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked reams of classified
information on the agency’s domestic intelligence programs to the media.

“I think it is a serious question [since] we have seen
this [happen] in a lot of different areas” within government agencies,
Sessions said.

Hagel orders security
review: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is
ordering a security review of U.S. bases across the globe in the wake of Monday’s
mass shooting at the Navy Yard, according to a senior Pentagon official.

Hagel could announce the process for the review as early as
Wednesday, the official said.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus also announced a security review of
all Navy and Marine Corps facilities in response to the Navy Yard attack.

“I ordered a review of every Navy and Marine Corps base
in the United States to ensure that we live up to our responsibility of taking
care of our people,” he said in a statement.

Mabus said he wants the report done within two weeks, by
Oct. 1.

Dutch agree to F-35
deal: The controversial F-35 program racked up a big international
win on Tuesday when the Netherlands picked
the American warplane as its next fighter jet.

Amsterdam announced the deal to replace the 37 F-16 fighters
with an estimated price tag of $6 billion, according to a statement from
Amsterdam.

“After comparing the candidates … and updating the
relevant information in 2013, the government has decided, on operational,
financial and economic grounds, to select the F-35 as the new fighter aircraft
for the Netherlands armed forces,” Dutch government officials
said Monday.

The Netherlands deal comes at a critical time for the F-35
program, which has suffered multiple setbacks on both the domestic and international
sides.

Last May, Australia opted to delay its planned F-35
purchases by two years, citing increased costs and schedule delays in the jet’s
development.

In December of that year, Canada announced plans to restart
its fighter competition, after a government investigation found military
leaders in the country had misled decision makers in Ottawa on the jet’s costs
and capabilities.

Defense analysts also argue canceling the F-35, along with
the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship and Marine Corps V-22 Osprey, could help the
Pentagon cope with severe budget cuts under the White House’s sequestration
plan.