Jorge Scientific Corporation

Jorge Scientific Corporation is an American private military company with its headquarters located in Arlington, Virginia, providing counterinsurgency and intelligence, secure logistics and technology, cyber and advanced network infrastructure, and analysis and program management services to U.S. defense, Intelligence and federal civilian government customers. The firm has additional offices in the U.S.A and Afghanistan. [1] As of 2012, the firm had contracts worth almost $1 billion from U.S. government contracts, making headlines when mass drunkenness and drug abuse amongst its employees in Afghanistan were exposed.[2]

History

The company was established in 1986 by Judith Jorge Hartman, the founder and chairman.[3] Founded as a small business in 1986, Jorge Scientific has grown into a company with nearly 300 employees working at sites around the world. In 2009, Chris Torti joined Jorge as the company's President and CEO.

Services

Jorge Scientific says it provides "mission-critical national security solutions" to the U.S. armed forces, intelligence communities and federal civilian agencies. The firm provides adaptive support focused on counterinsurgency and intelligence, secure logistics and classified technology, cyber defense, advanced infrastructure, legal analysis and program management. The company has four major units, including the Vital Missions Group, the Essential Logistics Group, the Cyber Solutions Group and the Special Analysis Group.

Controversy

The company made international headlines in October 2012 when two former employees leaked a video to ABC News showing key personnel at the company drunk or under the influence of narcotics during parties that were allegedly thrown “every other day” at the Jorge Scientific operations centre in Kabul.[4]

The video primarily showed the security manager downing large quantities of vodka, while the medical officer, Kevin Carlson, was in an incoherent state after injecting himself with ketamine.[5] The whistleblowers revealed that, despite the firm’s zero tolerance policy on drink and drugs, there was “massive drink and drug abuse” at that particular facility in Afghanistan, involving executives, armed security personnel and others. Bonfires were also lit in the outdoor patio and employees would often throw live ammunition rounds and fire extinguishers into the flames.[6] Furthermore, much of this behaviour was done while personnel were armed and had loaded weaponry on them. A full scale external investigation has been instigated by Jorge.[4]

In a statement from Jorge President and CEO Chris Torti, the company addressed the allegations of misconduct.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Jorge Scientific. "At-a-Glance". Jorge Scientific.
  2. ↑ Daily Mail (17 October 2012). "Shocking video 'shows U.S. security contractors drunk and high in Afghanistan while on $47m contract to protect American lives against terror attacks'". Daily Mail.
  3. ↑ Business Week. "Company Overview of Jorge Scientific Corporation". BusinessWeek.com.
  4. 1 2 Cindy Galli, Rhonda Schwartz and Brian Ross (17 October 2012). "Exclusive: Video Shows Drunk, Stoned US Defense Contractors". ABC News.
  5. ↑ Ben Farmer (18 October 2012). "US military contractors 'went on a drink and drug binge in Kabul'". Telegraph.
  6. ↑ PressTV (18 October 2012). "Drunk, stoned US security contractors in Afghanistan". PressTV.
  7. ↑ http://jorge.com/content/statement-chris-torti-president-and-ceo-jorge-scientific
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