WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department is investigating DynCorp International, which conducts police training in Afghanistan, over its handling of an employee who died of a possible drug overdose and has ordered the major U.S. contractor to replace its senior project managers.
The investigation, which is being handled by the State Department’s inspector general, centers on DynCorp’s 18-month, $317 million training contract, which involve allegations that the Falls Church, Va.-based company ignored signs of drug abuse among employees.
One of those employees was found dead in the company’s housing in Kabul on March 17. The State Department said it was reviewing whether the employee might have obtained drugs on regular trips to Thailand that were known and condoned by his bosses despite the DynCorp’s ban on drug use.
Investigators will also review whether that employee was previously arrested by Thai police for stealing a $14,000 watch, as well as allegations that four other employees had tested positive for drugs when the company conducted tests after the man’s death.
“The State Department takes any allegations of contractor misconduct extremely seriously, expects all contractors to adhere to a zero tolerance policy for individual misconduct, and insists that management act accordingly when violations occur,” State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said late Friday.
The State Department ordered the removal of the senior managers in charge of the police contract to ensure accountability, and it will take additional appropriate action at the conclusion of the inspector general’s investigation, Duguid said.
The Obama administration has been seeking to boost U.S. efforts in Afghanistan to repel the Taliban’s bid for power.
DynCorp spokesman Douglas Ebner said he would not comment on personnel actions during an investigation. “We go to extraordinary efforts to instill upon all management, as well as all employees, our absolute priority of zero tolerance for all misconduct,” Ebner told The Washington Post, which first reported the investigation on its Web site Friday night. “If they violate these standards, we will terminate.”
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