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Goldfein, at the time commander of the Air Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base and now the vice director of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, was found to have gone to great lengths to see the contract awarded to SMS, while senior Air Force leaders socialized with the company’s partners. According to the report, Goldfein even arranged for President Bush to videotape a testimonial that was included in the SMS contract proposal.
The report offers a searing, blow-by-blow account of how a relatively mundane Air Force contract spun out of control, highlighting conflicts of interest in the selection process, officers stacking the deck in favor of friends, and others influencing a system designed to eliminate such favoritism in spending taxpayer dollars.
“The investigation found that the December 2005 award to SMS was tainted with improper influence, irregular procurement practices, and preferential treatment,” according to a redacted copy of the report, which is scheduled for release this week. “Lower priced offers from qualified vendors and capabilities in-house were bypassed in an apparent effort to obtain services from (redacted), president of SMS, who had a long-standing relationship with senior Air Force officers and members of the Thunderbirds.”
Goldfein and four other officers whose names have not been released have received administrative punishments for the episode, and investigators are continuing to look at the contracting processes at Nellis Air Force Base amid “irregularities” and “systemic weaknesses” that plagued the unit.
Goldfein declined to comment, and a Nellis spokeswoman said Thursday that base officials aren’t commenting. Similarly, an e-mail from the Review-Journal seeking reaction from a Thunderbirds spokeswoman went unanswered. The crack aerial team is scheduled to perform this weekend in Wilmington, N.C.
Goldfein told investigators he “never interfered with the evaluation or selection process and never directed anyone to do or not do anything.” Other members of the selection team said the process was “fixed” from the beginning.

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