Inspection Leads to Reassignment of FDA Guards

Contractor Fined After Security Officers Are Found to Have Improper Credentials

At least 58 privately contracted security guards with improper credentials were reassigned from the Food and Drug Administration headquarters in Silver Spring this month after an inspection by the Federal Protective Service, according to two FPS officers familiar with the incident.

The contractor, Chenega Integrated Services, was also fined about $163,000 and ordered to review its security operations at the FDA's White Oak campus, according to FPS spokesman Carl Rusnok. The surprise inspection was part of a routine audit of security contractors, Rusnok said.

Discrepancies with the guard certifications originated with the FPS itself, however. An FPS employee issued a blanket waiver to Chenega guards, two officers familiar with the situation said. Some officers had not completed FPS training -- which the FPS employee's actions inadvertently brought to light, the two officers said. One officer is also a union official representing FPS guards. The two requested anonymity to avoid retribution.

More than two-thirds of the guards have since received training, said a Chenega spokesman, who confirmed the incident. The remaining guards have been pulled from duty until they are fully trained, the spokesman said. He declined to comment further.

Approximately 6,000 people work at the FDA facility on New Hampshire Avenue, not far from two major shopping plazas and the intersection of Interstate 95 and the Capital Beltway. An FDA spokesman referred all questions to the FPS.

During the July 16 inspection of security at FDA headquarters, FPS inspectors identified several paperwork issues for guards at the site, according to Rusnok. Private security guards working for FPS require several certifications, including CPR, first aid and firearm possession. It is unclear which premature certifications the guards received.

In most cases, guards must display certification cards on their chests at all times. Security firms can request waivers from FPS for guards who have successfully completed certifications but are awaiting the documentation.

FPS employs about 13,000 private security guards to protect roughly 9,000 federal facilities nationwide.

FPS is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has faced congressional pressure to improve operations after a government report this month exposed serious security flaws at 10 major federal buildings. Government Accountability Office investigators smuggled bombmaking materials through security checkpoints, assembled bombs and walked around the buildings undetected.

Alexandria-based Chenega Integrated Systems is a subsidiary of Chenega Corp., one of more than 200 privately held Alaska native corporations permitted to operate as disadvantaged small businesses as part of government efforts to encourage Native American participation in federal contracting.

The companies have scored hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years from no-bid contracts, primarily from the Defense and Homeland Security departments. The trend led to a Senate hearing this month that investigated whether the companies have exploited a loophole that grants them advantages in pursuing government contracts.

Staff writer Spencer S. Hsu contributed to this report.