| Northrop gets 48m deal train iraq army { June 30 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters06-25-160438.asp?reg=MIDEASThttp://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters06-25-160438.asp?reg=MIDEAST
Northrop gets $48 mln deal to train new Iraq army WASHINGTON, June 25 — Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Vinnell unit has been awarded a $48 million contract to train the nucleus of a new Iraqi army over the coming 12 months, the Defense Department said on Wednesday. Five bids were received for the U.S. Army contract, the department said. It did not name the other bidders.
The work, to be carried out in Iraq starting on Tuesday, was to wrap up on June 30, 2004. Contract funds would not expire at the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30, the Pentagon said. Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, former commander of the U.S. Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Georgia, will oversee the training, Walter Slocombe, an adviser for the U.S. occupation authority, told reporters in Baghdad on Monday. The occupation authority, which took control after U.S.-led forces ousted President Saddam Hussein, disbanded the old army last month. Slocombe said the new army would be a light infantry force, at least initially. The plan was to have a 12,000-strong division up and running in a year and to add two more divisions the following year. Vinnell, based in Fairfax, Virginia, is a leader in the growing business of training military forces. Last month at least 10 Vinnell employees died in Saudi Arabia when suicide bombers struck residential compounds housing foreigners. The employees had been training the Saudi National Guard, a contract the company has held for almost 28 years, the company said on its Web site. Vinnell did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the new contract in Iraq. On its Web site, the company said it was seeking former U.S. Army and Marine Corps officers among others with experience in infantry, mechanized infantry, special forces, special operations, force reconnaissance, maintenance, logistics and supply. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
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