Military investigators raid contractors near Army’s training HQ

The criminal investigative arms of the Pentagon and the U.S. Army descended on Florida last week to execute search warrants, officials confirmed to Army Times.

The raid took place June 25 and involved multiple facilities of the Orlando-based Cole Engineering Services, that company confirmed. Cole Engineering is located in the same office park housing the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, or PEO STRI. Officials would not confirm whether the office was involved in the raid, or if other companies and entities were also a part of it.

Cole Engineering CEO Bob Donahue addressed the raid in a companywide email sent last week and shared with Army Times on Monday.

“While it remains early in the process, I want to be clear that we have no reason to believe that the company or any of our employees have been engaged in any kind of wrongdoing,” Donahue wrote. “As I said in my earlier note to you, By Light has always and continues to maintain an intense focus on conducting our business in an ethical and proper fashion.” By Light is the parent company of Cole Engineering, a prominent defense contractor focused on tactical simulation tools.

Donahue added that the company had initiated its own investigation, engaging a “former well-known, long-time Department of Justice senior prosecutor” to conduct it.

“We have launched this review to ensure we have the facts, and our policies and procedures are best practices,” Donahue wrote. “This action also reaffirms By Light’s longstanding commitment to and reputation for outstanding mission performance while conducting ourselves in a manner that is above board and beyond question.”

The company, he said, would continue to cooperate fully with government authorities.

“To put to rest rumors that may have circulated, let me also confirm for you that no one in the company has been arrested or charged,” Donahue said.

Reached for comment, the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, which falls under the Defense Department Inspector General’s office, provided nearly identical statements.

The entities “executed multiple search warrants in Florida on June 25, 2024,” Army CID spokesman Keith Smith said in a statement. “As the investigation is still in progress, no additional information can be provided at this time.”

Neither the Army nor PEO STRI responded to requests for comment or questions about the raid or whether the program office was involved. According to their website, PEO STRI’s mission is to “rapidly develop, deliver and sustain testing, training and information operations capabilities to enhance readiness across the operational spectrum.”

In 2021, Cole Engineering became the prime contractor for the Army’s new cyber training environment project, securing a contract worth as much as $957.7 million over eight years to complete the work. PEO STRI has already employed the system at events such as the Cyber Flag 2022 training exercise.

Last April, the company landed another $500 million, three-year contract for the Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainer system for aviation crew members.

Army CID and DCIS play a role in policing contracting fraud, which can include deceptive practices and overcharging, as well as violations of the Procurement Integrity Act, which prohibits the release of source selection, contracting or proposal information by government employees.

据《陆军时报》报道，官员们证实，五角大楼和美国陆军的刑事调查部门上周前往佛罗里达州执行搜查令。

此次突击搜查发生在6月25日，总部位于奥兰多的科尔工程服务公司证实，其多家设施遭到搜查。科尔工程服务公司与陆军模拟、训练和仪器项目执行办公室（PEO STRI）位于同一办公园区。官方拒绝证实该办公室是否参与了此次搜查，也拒绝透露是否还有其他公司或机构牵涉其中。

Cole Engineering 首席执行官 Bob Donahue 在上周向全公司发送的电子邮件中谈到了此次突袭事件，该邮件于周一分享给了《陆军时报》。

“虽然目前还处于早期阶段，但我必须明确指出，我们没有任何理由相信公司或任何员工参与了任何不当行为，”多纳休写道。“正如我之前给您的信中所述，By Light 一直以来都高度重视以合乎道德且恰当的方式开展业务，并将继续如此。” By Light 是 Cole Engineering 的母公司，后者是一家专注于战术模拟工具的知名国防承包商。

Donahue补充说，该公司已启动了自己的调查，并聘请了一位“前知名的、长期担任司法部高级检察官”来进行调查。

“我们启动此次审查是为了确保我们掌握事实，并且我们的政策和程序符合最佳实践，”多纳休写道。“此举也重申了‘光之使者’长期以来对卓越任务表现的承诺和声誉，同时我们也始终秉持光明磊落、无可置疑的行事方式。”

他表示，公司将继续全力配合政府部门的工作。

“为了平息可能流传的谣言，我还要向你们确认，公司里没有人被逮捕或起诉，”多纳休说道。

记者联系陆军刑事调查处和国防部监察长办公室下属的国防部刑事调查局征求意见，两部门均发表了几乎相同的声明。

陆军刑事调查司令部发言人基思·史密斯在一份声明中表示，相关机构“于2024年6月25日在佛罗里达州执行了多项搜查令”。“由于调查仍在进行中，目前无法提供更多信息。”

陆军和PEO STRI均未回应有关此次突袭或项目办公室是否参与其中的置评请求或提问。根据其网站介绍，PEO STRI的使命是“快速开发、交付和维持测试、训练和信息作战能力，以增强整个作战领域的战备能力”。

2021年，科尔工程公司成为陆军新型网络训练环境项目的主承包商，获得一份价值高达9.577亿美元、为期八年的合同，负责完成该项目。PEO STRI已在诸如“网络旗帜2022”训练演习等活动中使用过该系统。

去年四月，该公司又获得了一份价值 5 亿美元、为期三年的合同，为航空机组人员提供可重构虚拟集体训练器系统。

陆军刑事调查司令部 (CID) 和国防合同情报局 (DCIS) 在打击合同欺诈方面发挥着作用，这些欺诈行为包括欺骗性做法和过度收费，以及违反《采购诚信法》的行为，该法禁止政府雇员泄露采购来源选择、合同签订或提案信息。