A defense contractor punished its whistleblowers while exploiting its cleanup as a marketing asset
Evidence
Following instructions from the Army, DynCorp officials removed at least eighteen of its employees from Bosnia, firing at least twelve. Emails show that DynCorp officials knew the problem was even more widespread than these individual cases but that they took little other action. Instead, one official commented that the swift firings had allowed DynCorp “to turn this into a marketing success.” And along with firing people like John Hirtz, the boss who got women from the Serbian mafia, DynCorp also fired Johnston and Bolkovac, the two whistleblowers. According to Johnston’s letter of discharge, he was fired for bringing “discredit to the company and the U.S. Army.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 536
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- QUESTION: Why did the Army direct DynCorp to remove employees rather than prosecute them? The official rationale documented in the CID report appears in the next paragraph.
- XREF: Connects to the general theme of private contractors operating with impunity at bases, echoing critiques of privatization in the US security apparatus.