Army KICCs off $4b communications project in Kuwait, Iraq

Contractors will begin taking over about 180 voice, data and video nodes at 100 bases and camps in Southwest Asia under an Army program set to begin this spring.

The Kuwait-Iraq Command, Control, Communications and Computers Commercialization project was part of the $87 billion supplemental budget signed last month by President Bush to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure. The project will support more than 100,000 troops now deployed in the region, officials said.

Teams led by Galaxy Scientific Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp., and Computer Sciences Corp. will replace the Army personnel.

By spring, the Army will free up hundreds of tactical signal unit soldiers in Kuwait and Iraq to come home or be reassigned to other jobs.

The program will offer joint and coalition forces commercial telecommunications equipment equivalent to what they currently use, said Jack Dempsey, the deputy assistant program manager. Eventually, KICC will upgrade the communications equipment.

The program has so far received $298 million for operations, maintenance and equipment procurements. Army officials expect the program costs to exceed $4 billion through its lifecycle.