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Custer Battles, LLC was a defense contractor headquartered in Middletown, Rhode Island, with offices in McLean, Virginia. The company now appears to be out of business. At one time the company offered services that include security services, litigation support, global risk consulting, training and business intelligence, but had no background or track record in offering any of these services.〔(Custer Battles )〕 In June 2003, Custer Battles took its services to Iraq and became a minor contractor supporting the Coalition Provisional Authority and the U.S. government. In October 2004, the company was sued under the False Claims Act. As this was the first lawsuit concerning contractors in Iraq, the company received significant attention throughout the media. In March 2006, a jury ruled against Custer Battles, but the verdict was set aside by a District Court judge. That decision was appealed, and, in April 2009, the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court judge and reinstated the fine. According to the Iraq War documents leak, a Custer Battles convoy went on a shooting spree in Umm Qasr in 2004, shooting out the tire of a civilian car that came close, and firing five shots into a crowded civilian minibus. The shooting stopped only after the Iraqi police, port security and a British military unit finally caught up with the convoy. Custer Battles employees handed over cash to avoid disciplinary action.〔http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/world/middleeast/24contractors.html?_r=1&hp〕 ==Background== Custer Battles was founded in October 2001. The company was named after its founders, Scott Custer and Michael Battles. Custer is a former Army Ranger and defense consultant, while Battles is a former Army officer and CIA intelligence officer who ran unsuccessfully for the United States Congress in Rhode Island in 2002. From 2001-2003, Custer Battles provided crisis management and security assistance to humanitarian organizations working in high-risk conflict areas throughout the world. They were one of the first companies to establish a presence in Kabul, Afghanistan in January 2002, working for various NGOs as well as the Afghan Ministry of Transportation. Domestically, they also provided critical infrastructure protection in the United States, with focus on water security. They had at least four state-wide contracts in 2002 (New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Nevada), as well as contracts with various municipalities along the eastern seaboard. In May 2003, Custer Battles established a presence in Baghdad, Iraq. In June 2003, Custer Battles was competitively awarded a contract to secure the Baghdad International Airport. The 12-month contract with the Coalition Provisional Authority was worth $16.8 million. The company continued to expand its business in Iraq, and became a minor subcontractor operating in the country. The company continued to expand its operations in Iraq through 2003 and 2004. Their clients included the Coalition Provisional Authority, Bearing Point, Washington Group International, Parsons, Halliburton and the U.S. Army. In early 2004, the Department of Defense initiated an investigation into one of Custer Battles' contracts with the CPA, resulting in the company being suspended from future contract considerations by the Department of the Air Force. In early 2005 Custer Battles ceased operations in Iraq. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Custer Battles」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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