Army needs more contracting personnel [View All]

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Army needs more contracting personnel

By RICHARD LARDNER and LOLITA BALDOR,
Associated Press Writers
46 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Army, stung by a contracting fraud
scandal that has generated more than 80 criminal
investigations, needs 1,400 more personnel to deal with
the demands of supplying troops in combat, said U.S.
officials familiar with a report by federal procurement
experts.

The group's report, to be released Thursday, also calls
for creating general officer positions within the Army's
contracting work force — a move to attract talented
men and women to a field most would otherwise avoid
because of dim prospects for career advancement.

Collectively, higher numbers, better quality and more
clout within the Army's contracting ranks are expected
to reduce opportunities for fraud, waste and abuse as
tens of billions of dollars continue to be spent on the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. officials told The
Associated Press. They described the report on condition
of anonymity because it has not been released.

The report, "Urgent Reform Required: Army Expeditionary
Contracting," proposes adding 400 military and 1,000
civilian personnel with contract-signing authority to an
Army contracting work force that now has just over
10,000 people.

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Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/army_contracting

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Also: Panel Faults Army’s Wartime Contracting - New York Times