DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RESPONSE TO CREW FOIA: THREAT TO SOLDIERS FROM SUBSTANDARD HELMETS "HYPOTHETICAL"

20 May 2008 // Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) received a response to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed on March 5, 2008 with the Department of Defense (DoD) seeking information regarding a $74 million contract awarded to Sioux Manufacturing.

The records sought by CREW are likely to shed light on how and why Sioux Manufacturing has been awarded multiple contracts by the Department of Defense for the manufacture of Kevlar, including a $74 million dollar contract just 12 days before the company settled a lawsuit alleging that Sioux had supplied substandard Kevlar for use in up to 2.2 million helmets for the military.

DoD denied CREW's request for expedited processing and deferred a decision on a waiver of all processing fees under the FOIA.

Anne Weismann, CREW’s chief counsel said, “It is hard to imagine that the Department of Defense is actually arguing it is merely “hypothetical” that substandard helmets might endanger our soldiers' lives.”

The letter from the Department of Defense can be found on the right.