PRESS RELEASE

DI Employee Barters with Afghan Children Using Soccer Balls for Safety

KABUL, Afghanistan – February 21, 2008 – Soccer balls are saving lives in Afghanistan.

Steve Kosier, a DynCorp International advisor to an Afghan explosive ordnance disposal team under a State Department Weapons Removal and Abatement contract, knew he had to get the attention of villagers living among dangerous ordnance left from several decades of warfare.

“After 35 years of war, there have been a couple of generations raised around these items that have been laying around. [The children] know where they are, and the best we can do is to educate them and get them to participate to help make their country safe again,” said Steve, who is from Aurora, Colorado.

The problem was immediate but communication was hard. Colorful informational fliers weren’t doing the job of locating the weapons, so he came up with an idea that children might relate to: information for soccer balls.

After a regular presentation to villagers about explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), Steve asked the children in attendance to raise their hands if they knew the location of any unexploded ordnance. Not one hand was raised.

Steve then produced two soccer balls. He asked the children if they wanted to learn how to earn a ball, and was answered with a resounding yes. It was simple, he said. Lead his team to unexploded ordnance and earn a soccer ball. Four hands immediately went up.

“The villages and children have been talked to by many other organizations and, as far as they were concerned, we were just another one on the long list. So, I was thinking, what could we do to make us different and stand out to the kids to make an impact in their minds? If we don't do anything different, then they will forget about us as soon as we leave,” he said.

The children led the EOD team to a nearby footbridge that was built using high-explosive rockets as supports.

The following day, the children led the team to a village where they found and destroyed several Soviet-era sub munitions.

The children also took the team to a remote village. There, the team excavated and destroyed a former Soviet high-explosive bomb. The children received their soccer balls.

So far, the team has recovered or destroyed more than 150 explosive remnants of war weighing more than two tons. In one month, they distributed 50 soccer balls and trained more than 2,200 children not to tamper with any of the dangerous devices they find.

“[The kids’] faces light up when they see the balls, and when we drive around we always see numerous kids playing in the fields with our soccer balls, where previously there were no children,” Steve said.

The children aren’t the only ones who are happy with the simple program of soccer balls for information; their parents are as well. They thank Steve and the team for removing and disposing of the ordnance.

About DynCorp International
DynCorp International (NYSE:DCP) is a provider of specialized mission-critical services to civilian and military government agencies worldwide, and operates major programs in law enforcement training and support, security services, base operations, aviation services, contingency operations, and logistics support. Headquartered in Falls Church, Va., DynCorp International has approximately 15,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit www.dyn-intl.com.