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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND * * * * Master Case No.: RWT 09md2083 * *** MEMORANDUM OPINION

IN RE: KBR, INC., BURN PIT LITIGATION

Lieutenant Milo Minderbender, a fictional war profiteer during World War II, expressed the following capitalist sentiment in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22: "Frankly, I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private individuals." Joseph Heller, Catch-22 259 (1961). While not to the extent advocated by Lieutenant Minderbender, the role of government contractors in combat zones has grown to an unprecedented degree in recent years with the wars waged by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan. To support the logistics of its missions in these two war theaters, the U.S. military has relied on private civilian contractors awarded contracts under the auspices of a program known as the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program ("LOGCAP"). The Army awarded its third

LOGCAP contract ("LOGCAP III") to a division of Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. ("KBR, Inc.").1 Under LOGCAP III, KBR, Inc. agreed to treat water and to manage and dispose of waste at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. One method of waste disposal used by KBR, Inc. involves burning items in open pits commonly referred to as "burn pits." American soldiers, veterans, and former contractor employees (collectively, "Plaintiffs") allege that, while stationed on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, they suffered injuries
                                                            
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The LOGCAP III contract was modified effective December 14, 2003 to substitute Defendant Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. as the contracting party. See Joint Position Paper

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Maryland Law