INSIDE WASHINGTON: Revolving door between companies, Army on display in intelligence program

An Army program was supposed to integrate intelligence from a network of sensors and databases — and provide a common intelligence picture from the Pentagon to the farthest reaches of Afghanistan.

The $5 billion system failed to deliver on its promise of making data seamlessly accessible to soldiers in the field. But it's been a source of lucrative contracts to companies whose employees once worked for the Army.

There's been a revolving door between defense companies profiting from the troubled system and military commands that keep funding it.

Several people who worked in key roles in Army intelligence left for top jobs at those companies.

In the world of government contracting, that's not illegal or entirely uncommon, but critics say it perpetuates a culture of failure.