IG hopes report will just go away

Introduction

The Pentagon’s inspector general attempted a quick disappearing act late this week. The IG officially rescinded an audit released this spring on the protection and oversight of classified Joint Strike Fighter information handled by BAE, a UK-based defense contractor. The audit found that classified information “may have been compromised.” The audit, Report on Security Controls Over Joint Strike Fighter Classified Technology, was yanked from the IG’s website, according to an October 23 letter from the IG to the Defense Security Service.

The Pentagon IG, or any inspector general for that matter, rarely takes back report findings after they have been finalized. The report was removed, according to the IG’s letter. because “After report issuance, we determined that we did not have sufficient appropriate evidence to support the report conclusion.”

Over the summer, BAE officials met with the IG’s office on its findings after they were released publicly. In a statement this spring, BAE said, “BAE Systems previously requested a meeting with the DOD IG to resolve what appears to us to be a misunderstanding of the underlying facts.”

Apparently the “misunderstanding” was reconciled to BAE’s satisfaction. “We appreciate the DOD IG’s thoroughness and willingness to reexamine this matter,” BAE spokesman Greg Caires told PaperTrail today.