SIOUX MANUFACTURING RESPONDS TO CREW LETTER TO ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEES ON DOD CONTRACT FOR SUBSTANDARD HELMETS

13 Feb 2008 // Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) received correspondence from Sioux Manufacturing regarding the letters CREW sent to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees earlier this month on a lucrative government contract awarded to the company for production of substandard Kevlar helmets. CREW’s letters requested an investigation into a Department of Defense $74 million contract awarded to Sioux Manufacturing.

The New York Times reported that Sioux Manufacturing agreed to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the company had shortchanged the armor in up to 2.2 million helmets for the military, including helmets used by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense, aware of both the problem with Sioux's helmets and the company's efforts to cover it up, awarded another contract to Sioux a mere 12 days before the lawsuit was settled.

Sioux Manufacturing's responses to CREW and to The New York Times story are posted on the right.