Tomorrow, Thursday, February 28th at 10:30 am (Eastern), CREW, VoteVets.org and two whistle blowers will discuss the need for a congressional investigation into a $74 million Department of Defense contract awarded to a North Dakota manufacturing company, Sioux Manufacturing Company, which has been outfitting our nation's troops with substandard Kevlar helmets. 

New tape recordings of employees discussing the production of the substandard Kevlar for helmets will be publicly played and posted here for the first time during the TELE-PRESS Conference, tomorrow at 10:30 am (Eastern)  The call in number is 866-211-5938 (no passcode required).

On February 6th, The New York Times [1] reported that Sioux Manufacturing, which makes the Kevlar for helmets, has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the company had shortchanged the armor in up to 2.2 million helmets for the military, including helmets used by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense, aware of both the problem with Sioux's helmets and the company's efforts to cover it up, awarded another contract to Sioux a mere 12 days before the lawsuit was settled. That same day, CREW sent a letter [1] to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees requesting an investigation into a Department of Defense $74 million contract awarded to Sioux Manufacturing.  VoteVets.org [1] joined our call for an investigation the next day.

Additionally, over 16,000 Americans have signed a VoteVets.org petition [2] asking for an investigation into the contract. VoteVets.org is the largest political group of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, representing 14,000 veterans and military families, and over 60,000 civilian supporters.