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Colorado weapons manufacturer to pay $1 million for selling defective grenade launchers to the Army
A Grand Junction, Colorado weapons manufacturer will pay more than $1 million to the U.S. Army for selling the service defective grenade launchers with parts that the company knew were not up to standard.
The company, Capco, substituted the high-quality steel used for a key part of the weapon for a cheaper, less durable steel that affected how the grenade launchers worked, according to a news release sent Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announcing the settlement.
The company was aware that it used the wrong material in the grenade launchers, but shipped them to the Army anyways, according to federal prosecutors. A supervisor told the company's quality-testing engineers not to speak of the substitute to anybody, according to the civil lawsuit filed in the case.
But one engineer did not stay quiet.
The whistleblower, James Cole, told the company's vice president of operations and a manager about the faulty parts in April 2017 but was ignored. Five months later, he was laid off, though the company hired another person to fill his position three days later, according to the lawsuit. The layoff was retaliation, according to the lawsuit.
Cole then approached the government and in November 2017 filed a complaint under the False Claims Act. Jason Dunn, the U.S. attorney for Colorado, on Tuesday announced the settlement of the two-year case.
"We entrust our defense contractors to manufacture equipment of the highest quality for the men and women who serve our country in the U.S. armed forces," Dunn said in a statement. "Any breakdown in the production process must be swiftly and honestly addressed, and we will hold contractors fully responsible for fraudulently covering up production problems."
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©2019 The Denver Post. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
FBI: Shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola was ‘an act of terrorism’
The FBI is treating the recent shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, as a terrorist attack, several media outlets reported on Sunday.
"We work with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism," USA Today quoted FBI Agent Rachel Rojas as saying at a news conference.
Trump says Kim Jong Un risks losing 'everything' after North Korea claims major test
WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un risks losing "everything" if he resumes hostility and his country must denuclearize, after the North said it had carried out a "successful test of great significance."
"Kim Jong Un is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything actually, if he acts in a hostile way. He signed a strong Denuclearization Agreement with me in Singapore," Trump said on Twitter, referring to his first summit with Kim in Singapore in 2018.
"He does not want to void his special relationship with the President of the United States or interfere with the U.S. Presidential Election in November," he said.
Navy identifies three slain sailors who ‘showed exceptional heroism’ during the Pensacola shooting
The three sailors whose lives were cut short by a gunman at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, on Friday "showed exceptional heroism and bravery in the face of evil," said base commander Navy Capt. Tim Kinsella.
Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters were killed in the shooting, the Navy has announced.
The Pentagon’s troop deployment denials means nothing when the White House screams ‘fake news’ all the time
The Pentagon has a credibility problem that is the result of the White House's scorched earth policy against any criticism. As a result, all statements from senior leaders are suspect.
We're beyond the point of defense officials being unable to say for certain whether a dog is a good boy or girl. Now we're at the point where the Pentagon has spent three days trying to knock down a Wall Street Journal story about possible deployments to the Middle East, and they've failed to persuade either the press or Congress.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the United States was considering deploying up to 14,000 troops to the Middle East to thwart any potential Iranian attacks. The story made clear that President Trump could ultimately decide to send a smaller number of service members, but defense officials have become fixated on the number 14,000 as if it were the only option on the table.
Marine commandant says senior leaders have not explained to troops the risks of using TikTok
This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – Gen. David Berger, the US Marine Corps commandant, suggested the concerns surrounding a service members' use of questionable Chinese-owned apps like TikTok should be directed against the military's leadership, rather than the individual troops.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday morning, Berger said the younger generation of troops had a "clearer view" of the technology "than most people give them credit for."
"That said, I'd give us a 'C-minus' or a 'D' in educating the force on the threat of even technology," Berger said. "Because they view it as two pieces of gear, 'I don't see what the big deal is.'"