KBR, a subsiderary of Halliberton

[Neil D]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Thousands of buildings at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan have such poorly installed wiring that American troops face life-threatening risks, a top inspector for the Army says.

These wires installed in Iraq are some of the most important to ensure safety. They all need to be replaced.

"It was horrible -- some of the worst electrical work I've ever seen," said Jim Childs, a master electrician and the top civilian expert in an Army safety survey. Childs told CNN that "with the buildings the way they are, we're playing Russian roulette."

Childs recently returned from Iraq, where he is taking part in a yearlong review aimed at correcting electrical hazards on U.S. bases. He told CNN that thousands of buildings in Iraq and Afghanistan are so badly wired that troops are at serious risk of death or injury.

He said problems are "everywhere" in Iraq, where 18 U.S. troops have died by electrocution since 2003. All deaths occurred in different circumstances and different locations, but many happened on U.S. bases being managed by various military contractors. The Army has has reopened investigations in at least five cases, according to Pentagon sources.

Of the nearly 30,000 buildings the Army's "Task Force Safe" has examined so far, Childs said more than half "failed miserably." And 8,527 had such serious problems that inspectors gave them a "flash" warning, meaning repairs had to be completed in four hours or the facility evacuated.

He said the majority of those buildings were wired by contractor KBR, based in Houston, Texas. KBR has faced extensive criticism from Congress over its performance in the war zone. KBR has defended its performance and argued it was not to blame for any fatalities.

Military electrocutions became a national issue about a year ago, after the January 2008 death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A decorated member of the Army's Green Berets, Maseth was electrocuted in his shower at a U.S. base in Baghdad that once served as one of Saddam Hussein's palaces.

His death was blamed on improper grounding and dangerous wiring on his living quarters. Soon after that, the Army asked Childs to help create "Task Force Safe," a team of master electricians assigned to inspect Army posts for electrical dangers.

Childs said the "large majority" of the buildings the task force examined in Iraq had been wired by KBR, which he expected would follow American standards. But the results, he said, were "just horrible."

In one building, "I had them pull a switch out of the wall to look at a switch, and when they pulled it out of the wall, the wires fell out of it," Childs said. Thinking that was an exception, "We pulled the one next to it. They fell off," he said. "It was just very, very poor quality work."

Shocks came often at U.S. bases, report finds

Much of the work was done by crews from countries beyond Iraq, "with very little supervision by anybody." And many of the problems involved improperly grounded systems that allowed plumbing to conduct electricity, which he said could lead to electric shocks such as the one that killed Maseth.

Childs said service orders on at least two occasions warned of the hazard in Maseth's quarters, and "two simple electrical 101s" should have been checked out by electricians.

"A competent electrical contractor and electrician would have gone to that job site and tried to discover why pipes could have been energized," he said. If they had been, "then Ryan Maseth would not have been electrocuted, in my opinion."

Maseth's family is suing KBR. An Army investigator has recommended that his cause of death be changed to "negligent homicide," accusing the company of failing to properly supervise or inspect its work. The Army has yet to accept the recommendation.

KBR has repeatedly said it was not responsible for Maseth's death or for any of the others and defended its work.

"KBR has worked diligently to address electrical issues when asked," the company told CNN in a written statement. "What is important to remember is the challenging environment in which these issues exist.

"The electrical standards in Iraq are nowhere near those of Western or U.S. standards. Add to this the challenges that exist in a war zone. We have been and remain committed to fully cooperating with the government on this issue."

But Childs said the majority of buildings on U.S. bases were built and wired by KBR since the U.S. invasion.

"They installed the housing units, they installed the electrical, they installed the wiring. They installed it all. And it's wrong," he said. "It's all put in wrong."

KBR was not alone, however. He said the Army survey found problems with every contractor whose work it inspected.

Task Force Safe has yet to inspect another 70,000 buildings in Iraq and has just begun its review of bases in Afghanistan, where contractors have raised similar concerns. In written answers to questions from CNN, Pentagon spokesman Chris Isleib said, "We are correcting hazardous conditions every day."

"This is a huge undertaking but absolutely necessary for the life, health and safety of our service members and civilians," he said. "When we find a defect, we put in an emergency work order and take action immediately to protect the people working or living in those facilities."

But Childs told CNN he is surprised more Americans have not been hurt.

"All the potentials are there," he said. "It just hasn't happened."

[Neil D]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Faulty electrical wiring is already suspected in the deaths of several U.S. troops in Iraq. Now contractors who worked in Afghanistan are reporting similar problems at American bases there.

In July, Sen. Byron Dorgan held a hearing on troop electrocutions. He wants a faster response to the problem.

1 of 3 "In general, the electrical power systems in the camp can be described as a disaster waiting to happen," electrician Noris Rogers wrote to his bosses at military contractor KBR about conditions at one base in 2005. The letter warned of "extreme dangers" of electrical shock and fire hazards at the facility.

Rogers, who left Afghanistan shortly after writing that letter, told CNN that the work done by KBR at one U.S. base in Kabul was "by far" the worst he has seen in 20-plus years in the trade.

"As a complete whole, the electrical work at the camp was very dangerous," he said. "And I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that I don't believe any of it was done safely."

Jeff Bliss says he saw similar electrical hazards when he worked as an electrician in Afghanistan. Bliss, also a former KBR electrician, told a Senate Democratic Policy Committee meeting in 2008 that "the carelessness and disregard for quality work at KBR was pervasive."

In one case, Bliss said, a soldier at a field command post received a 400-volt shock from wiring that other soldiers told him had been installed by a plumber and a security guard. The 20-year veteran of the trade said KBR hired many unqualified or unlicensed electricians, and relied heavily on non-American workers who were unfamiliar with U.S. standards and spoke little or no English.

"I saw firsthand how KBR's carelessness unnecessarily put people's lives in danger," he testified.

Bliss, Rogers and three other experienced electricians who worked for KBR in 2005 and 2006 told CNN that their warnings to supervisors were ignored. The electricians showed CNN photographs they say show dangerous wiring, and overloaded or badly wired circuit panels that have caused fires at U.S. installations.

And several U.S. soldiers who were stationed in Afghanistan said they received electrical shocks themselves or knew soldiers who suffered them. The soldiers said they preferred to not be identified because of possible retribution from the Army.

KBR would not comment on specific criticism about the company's work in Afghanistan, but it has consistently denied any improper electrical work or responsibility for deaths or injuries.

"The electrical standards in Iraq are nowhere near those of Western standards," it told CNN in a written statement. "So we are adapting to an environment that existed long before KBR got on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan."

In Iraq, at least 18 U.S. troops are known to have died by electrocution -- many while on U.S. bases being managed by various military contractors, including KBR. The Pentagon would not say whether there were any fatalities or serious injuries from electrocutions in Afghanistan, telling CNN it would not comment on an ongoing investigation by the Defense Department's inspector general.

But the Pentagon said it considers electrical dangers to be "a very serious issue," and has launched widespread inspections in Afghanistan and Iraq to fix any electrical hazards and ensure that future installations comply with U.S. electrical code.

Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who leads the Democratic Policy Committee, said the accounts from Afghanistan show "some of the same problems exist in both war theaters."

"I don't think the problem has been fixed," Dorgan said. "I don't think at this point the Pentagon has bitten the bullet to say, 'We're going to fix these problems in a very significant way, and we're going to cause contractors to be accountable for their work.' I think, as a result of it not being fixed, I think there are risks."

Dorgan said he was "outraged" at the Defense Department for not moving faster to fix electrical hazards.

"Our soldiers shouldn't be taking risks by taking showers," he said. "They ought to be able to expect that the electrical work at their military base is not going to result in their death or injury because of shoddy workmanship."

KBR has already come under fire for its work in Iraq. The Army's lead investigator into the death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, recently wrote that she would recommend Maseth's cause of death be changed to "negligent homicide." Her report accused KBR of failing to properly supervise or inspect its work, but the Army has yet to make a final ruling on the case.

Maseth was found dead in the shower in his Baghdad quarters in January 2008. Two of the soldiers who told CNN that they suffered shocks in Afghanistan said they were in showers at the time as well.

Army inspectors recently found KBR failed to do proper electrical wiring on bases in Iraq. Their report found that incidents of electric shock were happening an average of every three days for nearly two years, and that the company was in serious violation of its contract.

[Neil D]

Summed up:

KBR is not only doing shody work, but has at least one soldier die from electrocutions from these hazardous and shody work projects. And while there is a lot of work that needs to be redone, rumors are rampant that the Pentagon is going to outsource that work to......KBR.

[phkrause]

Pretty sad.

pk

[Kountzer]

kbr is a known entity locally, but that doesn't mean I agree or disagree with what is being said about them. I remember puting in a resume to work there a few years ago. this was before the war. I didn't follow up on the hiring process.

There's this large mall on the North side, that has fallen on hard times. KBR uses a large abandoned section of this mall as a staging area for sending employees to Iraq. I've passed there on occasions and seen people with suit cases heading to an from that area.

[carolaa]

Summed up:

KBR is not only doing shody work, but has at least one soldier die from electrocutions from these hazardous and shody work projects. And while there is a lot of work that needs to be redone, rumors are rampant that the Pentagon is going to outsource that work to......KBR.

Didn't we also renew Blackwater/Xe's contract - in spite of Iraq's resistance to that?

[carolaa]

As recently as Jan 08, the word was that Blackwater's contract would not be renewed. But in Apr 08, it was renewed.

[carolaa]

I'm thinking it is individual Blackwater employees who are on trial, rather than the company.

[Neil D]

The point of this article was something that many of us find a bit too subtle...

A former vice-president, who awarded a rather large contract to a rather large overseas company who awarded a contract to a subsiderary [a company with 3 letters in it's name] who just happens to be a subsiderary of Halliburton who is paying this same former vice-president because he was vice president AND a former member of the board [employee/manament division] on Halliburton...got that???

Ok, let's look at this a bit different...Halliberton is overseeing KBR. Cheney, was/is being paided by Halliberton [lots of money, btw], is back on the board of Halliberton and recieved all that money that was promised to him while he was in office...And all those defense contracts went to Halliburton and they did shoddy work and electrocuded at least ONE man...shocked several others, and according to records from KBR, the number of complaints regarding shocking showers was over 200 complaints. The wires were so poorly put in the building,...welll, you read the opening post...right?

[carolaa]

Are you saying they are not being held accountable because of Dick Cheney?

[Neil D]

Are you saying they are not being held accountable because of Dick Cheney?

That may be true, but since he doesn't hold the reigns of power, they are subject to being held accountable...Pentagon knows that those electrical repairs need to be done...so, they are asking a well known firm to repair the work....that they did.....and still get paid for it....the firm is ....KBR...a subsiderary of Halliberton...run by Dick Cheney...

[carolaa]

So they are being paid to correct their mistakes?

[Neil D]

According to news reports, the same company that made those shocking mistakes is being paid to correct them......How electrifying is that????

[carolaa]

Shocking.

[carolaa]

We should be suing them instead of paying them more money.

[carolaa]

HEY CAROLAA

YES I think you are right it was 4 or 5 men on trail....

dgrimm60

And that Prince guy resigned from being president and is now the Chairman of the Board. Then they changed their name to Xe. So with a whole new makeover, they are back in Iraq. But it's really the same ol'.