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#177487 - 05/04/08 05:57 PM
GIs in Iraq and Afghanastan dying from bad wiring
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wa2ise
Member
Registered: 11/29/02
Posts: 571
Loc: Oradell NJ USA
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New York Times article
Seems some GIs are getting shocked and some killed from badly done wiring by contractors on American bases in Iraq and Afghanastan. Seems no inspections are done.
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#177503 - 05/04/08 11:56 PM
Re: GIs in Iraq and Afghanastan dying from bad wir
[Re: Tesla]
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renosteinke
Cat Servant
Moderator
Registered: 01/22/05
Posts: 3100
Loc: Reno Nv USA
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Let me get this straight ... roadsides littered with bombs, an opposition that only turns to shooting at you when there are no locals around to terrify / exploit ... and you're worried about the NEC?
De Oppresso Libre
I don't want to hear anyone whining about business being slow, or there not being enough work. Get your tails over there, and help fix the problem.
Edited by renosteinke (05/05/08 12:04 AM)
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#177509 - 05/05/08 07:00 AM
Re: GIs in Iraq and Afghanastan dying from bad wir
[Re: renosteinke]
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SteveFehr
Member
Registered: 03/19/05
Posts: 923
Loc: Chesapeake, VA
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Electrical inspections are done, just not by electrical inspectors. On military bases, the AHJ is whomever the responsible officer is, or more often, someone they delegate who has more knowledge in the area (seabee electrician, or staff electrical engineer, for instance). Small commands in the field might have nobody at all remotely qualified to inspect electrical, mechanical, environmental, etc, yet are still responsible.
The contracting officer is responsible for ensuring the work is done according to contract (DoD guidance includes NEC), but that usually only comes at the SOVT at the very end of the project, and not during temporary work used to support the project. I'm not going to get into anecdotes, but safety is taken VERY seriously in the military. Yet, they have more leeway for risk than one in the commercial world might have, and the AHJs have more vested interest in the project, since the AHJ also typically is the one paying for the work and recieving the product; it's not so cut and dry as a city inspector's "I don't care what it costs or how long it takes, fix it right". For instance, CO of a command might authorize the enclosures be removed from transformers to prevent them from overheating, if he/she feels the risk of losing the mission outweighs the risk to personnel safety. And yes, they are held personally accountable for that decision, or a similar decision made by anyone under their command.
Edit: Also, wanted to mention that there is such a thing as a "battle short", which is a switch than can be thrown during battle that shorts out nearly every single fuse and breaker on a weapons platform. Makes sense if you think about it militarily: you'd rather the equipment runs until it bursts into flames than to nuisance trip offline during combat; repair cost means little if your ship is sunk or tank is blown up.
Edited by SteveFehr (05/05/08 07:09 AM)
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#177555 - 05/07/08 06:38 AM
Re: GIs in Iraq and Afghanastan dying from bad wir
[Re: Ann Brush]
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SteveFehr
Member
Registered: 03/19/05
Posts: 923
Loc: Chesapeake, VA
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Battle short is still there, and still in highly sophisticated electronics systems. Not in all of them, mind you, but is in many of the critical ones. Often with a metal toggle level under a nice red protective cover, like the kind of button you might use to fire a missile.
The issues in Iraq/Afghanistan are different, though. There is no such thing as battle short in the showers, just shoddy worksmanship. A lot of the local contractors are to blame- US has the luxury of restrictive electrical codes that are enforced; the rest of the world, especially the third world, gets by with dangerous crap. And when we sub out to them... SURPRISE! I'm half surprised the photo in this article is of an american panel instead of something they just hobbled together with bits of wire and breakers on DIN rails.
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#177656 - 05/09/08 08:53 AM
Re: GIs in Iraq and Afghanastan dying from bad wir
[Re: SteveFehr]
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petey_c
Junior Member
Registered: 01/30/05
Posts: 27
Loc: Miller Place, NY USA
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During my time in Kuwait and Afghanistan, I saw some pretty horrible wiring jobs. The power panels came with all the CB blanks taken out. When I got home, I mailed a dozen back to my relief (who was an electrician in Fl.). They were using a 8 ckt panel as a switch. Nothing like walking into a dark container and fumbling around looking for a breaker on a panel cover with six of the remaining spaces open. As bad as some facilities were, I'd always thought that I didn't have to worry about getting killed in the shower (except by a stray mortar). Ignorance was bliss....
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