The Vinnell Corporation is an international
private military company based in
Herndon, Virginia
Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia, it is part of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In 2020, the population at the census was 24,655, which makes i ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, specializing in military training, logistics, and support in the form of weapon systems maintenance and management consultancy. Vinnell Corporation is a subsidiary of
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...
Corporation. They are also party to other joint-venture companies, e.g. Vinnell-Brown & Root (VBR). The Vinnell Corporation was mentioned in ''
Fahrenheit 9/11
''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring Michael Moore. The subjects of the film are the presidency of George W. Bush, the Iraq War, and the media's coverage of the war. In the film, Moore state ...
'' for its connections to the
Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management.
Carlyle specializes in ...
,
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, and the Saudi Royal family.
They conducted training of portions of the
Saudi Arabian National Guard
The Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), also known as the White Army, is one of the three major branches of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The national guard is under the administrative control of the Ministry of National ...
as a joint Saudi/American owned company called Vinnell Arabia since the 1970s. Vinnell Arabia
was bombed on May 12, 2003 by Saudi terrorists. Eight Americans and two Filipinos were killed. Another employee was stalked from the military hospital to his home in Riyadh and assassinated on the street.
Vinnell Corporation was given the initial contract to recreate the
New Iraqi Army in 2003 by the
U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...
. The contract was for nine battalions, with an option to extend the training to 27 battalions. Much of the actual training, however, was subcontracted to
Military Professional Resources Inc.,
Science Applications International Corporation
Science Applications International Corporation, Inc. (SAIC) is an American technology company headquartered in Reston, Virginia that provides government services and information technology support.
History 20th century
The original SAIC was cr ...
(recruiting stations, with a poster campaign), and smaller firms including Eagle Group International (which appears to have provided medical training), Omega Training Group, and Worldwide Language Resources. There were early indications that the training was not going well; "too much emphasis on classroom studies of strategy and tactics and not enough on basic combat skills.." and later trainees broke when committed to action in
Fallujah
Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region ...
. As a result, the second phase was taken over by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
.
History
Vinnell Corporation was founded in 1931 in
Alhambra, California
Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...
, by Allan S. Vinnell, as a hauling and excavating contractor. The company grew into construction of roads and buildings and constructed portions of the
Pan-American Highway
The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...
, as well as
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...
and portions of the
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...
. It had also diversified into production of steel and into mining operations. Vinnell also performed construction for the U.S.
Military Assistance Command Vietnam and/or similar Federal Government organizations such as the Navy's
Officer in Charge of Construction RVN
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
in Vietnam in the 1960s.
The company moved into operations, maintenance, and training largely in the 1970s. In 1975, the company undertook the
Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program. In 1979, it moved into the Job Corps arena with the operation of the Shreveport (LA) center and later operated the Hubert H. Humphrey center in
St. Paul, MN; the Roswell (NM) center; the
Laredo (TX) center; the
Joliet (IL) center; the
Gainesville (FL) center; the North Texas (formerly McKinney) center; and the Whitney Young center in
Shelbyville, KY.
In 1992, the company was acquired by
BDM International, which was in turn acquired by
TRW Inc.
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, Automotive industry, automotive, and Credit bureau, credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-Hist ...
in 1997. TRW was acquired by
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...
in 2002.
Notes
{{reflist
External links
Vinnell CorporationAnnouncement of New Iraqi Army contractVinnell-Brown & Rootwww.wikimapia.orgVinnell Corporation at SourcewatchView of "Camp Vinnell"
Companies based in Fairfax County, Virginia
Defense companies of the United States
The Carlyle Group companies
Private equity portfolio companies
Private military contractors