Titan Loses Advice Contract
The federal government has decided not to renew Titan Corp.’s contract to provide as much as $250 million worth of counseling services for U.S. soldiers and their families because of “concerns about the way the contract was being used.”
In August, Titan was given the job of setting up Military One Source, a 24-hour counseling service to help solve a range of problems -- such as finding a mechanic or dealing with marital strife -- around the globe via the Internet or telephone.
Titan’s contract, paid for initially out of emergency funds appropriated by Congress for the war in Iraq, was good for one year, with an option for four more. But the General Services Administration, which awarded the Titan contract on behalf of the Department of Defense, will allow the deal to lapse next month, the agency confirmed Tuesday. “We have chosen to not exercise the options
The GSA cited concerns raised by its own inspector general in an ongoing audit of the Titan contract and others.
“Based on the work we’ve done, we’ve had concerns with the way the contract was being used,” spokesman Jack Lebo said. He declined to discuss whether the concerns involved Titan, saying he could not be more specific before the audit was finished in late September.
Titan spokesman Wil Williams said the firm hadn’t been notified of the GSA’s decision. He declined to comment further.
It’s the latest setback for the San Diego-based defense contractor, which is under investigation for allegedly bribing overseas officials. The ongoing probe led Lockheed Martin to pull out of a deal to buy Titan for $1.66 billion last month.
Titan also supplies translators working with the U.S. military in Iraq, and a Titan translator, who has since been fired, was implicated in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. A decision on whether the Army will renew Titan’s contract for translators is expected this month.
The Military One Source contract was worth $220 million to $250 million over five years. Titan has billed the GSA slightly more than $13 million for 10 months, Johnson said. Titan reported revenue of $1.78 billion last year.
News about Titan’s GSA contract emerged after the stock market closed Tuesday. Titan shares ended the day at $12.39, down 45 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.
