Cutting the "fat": Applying corporate wisdom to government contracting standards

Rob Boudreau (robjbee@gmail.com) is a Prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division in Washington DC, and Matt Reeder (mtreeder@gmail.com) is a Civil Litigator in the U.S. Marine Corps based in Washington DC.

Recently, a retired Navy captain and a retired Navy commander pleaded guilty in the wake of the ever-widening Leonard Francis (Fat Leonard) government contracting corruption scandal.[1] Commentators professed shock at some of the allegations. This shock is understandable since, with the ongoing war on terror—and the high price it has exacted from many U.S. service members—the military in the United States has become an icon of selfless service. Words like honor, sacrifice, and valor are closely associated with the idea of service. Along with demanding adherence to these principles, the Department of Defense (DoD) also relies on written regulations—such as the Financial Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which has also been adopted by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—to implement executive policy and to constrain individual action.[2] Service is viewed as an act of patriotism that transcends the notion of simply working for a living.

Consequently, these assumptions lead naturally to the conclusion that all who wear the uniform of our country tend to act ethically and in the nation’s best interest. Therefore, when massive scandals, such as Fat Leonard, are revealed, we gasp in horror and surprise that a group that is so right could go so wrong.

This document is only available to members. Please log in or become a member.
 


Would you like to read this entire article?

If you already subscribe to this publication, just log in. If not, let us send you an email with a link that will allow you to read the entire article for free. Just complete the following form.

* required field