The Air Force has temporarily suspended L-3 Communications’ special support programs division (formerly known as the joint operations group) from receiving new federal contracts after finding that it improperly monitored e-mail traffic on the government’s computer network for its “own private corporate intelligence-gathering” purposes. The decision is pending the completion of a criminal investigation into the matter. According to a June 3 memo from the Air Force’s deputy general counsel, L-3 JOG “purposefully and intentionally” monitored the e-mails of its employee, other government contractors, and even US government employees, using US Special Operations Command’s computer network. The memo states that the company “has admitted to conducting the surveillance.” None of these actions were appropriate or adhered to the standards of ethical business conduct, states the memo. (Air Force memo) (See Reuters news wire service June 10 report)
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held meetings with defense leaders from the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea during a trip to the Indo-Pacific this week.