Our Good Name: A Company's Fight to Defend Its Honor and Get the Truth Told About Abu Ghraib

The Crisis That Rocked a Country and a Company...
In April 2004, an illegally leaked U.S. Army report thrust CACI, an information technology company, into the international spotlight by casting suspicion on a CACI employee for being "either directly or indirectly responsible" for the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. At the same time, pictures from the abuses were shown on national television and tarnished anyone associated with Abu Ghraib--including CACI.

What ensued was a media frenzy rarely seen by any company in recent decades. The media twisted the unsupported allegations into a guilty verdict without regard for the facts or the truth, creating a damning public perception of CACI. Our Good Name recounts how CACI battled to defend itself against erroneous and malicious reports by a rampaging media, how it responded to the wide-ranging government investigations, and how it overcame misplaced anger and criticism that put the company's dedicated employees and excellent reputation--even it's future--at risk.

Faced with constant accusations, exaggerations, and false reports, CACI refused to allow the media storm and uninformed opportunists to drag it down. The company condemned the behavior depicted in the infamous prison photos. If any employee had been culpable of any wrongdoing, the company would respond forcefully and accordingly, but only adhering to the rule of law. There would be no witch hunts, no lynch mobs, and no kangaroo courts.

Spearheaded by its long-time leader, chairman, president, and CEO Dr. J. Phillip London, the company mounted a concentrated campaign to address the allegations and make the facts known. CACI used innovative methods of crisis management and consistent communications to push back against the distortions and mistakes. CACI would also rely upon its long-established, proven culture of ethics and integrity to direct its activities and set the record straight.

Our Good Name is CACI's story of facing one of the biggest scandals in recent history...and coming out honorably with its head high.

After serving as CACI's President and Chief Executive Officer for 23 years, Dr. London stepped out of the CEO role to become Executive Chairman on July 1, 2007. In this position, he oversees strategic initiatives to ensure shareholder value, advance client missions, cultivate key client relationships, and monitor major financial transactions, including CACI's legacy mergers and acquisitions (M&A) program that Dr. London began in 1992. He has an established role as a public figure representing CACI to customers and the federal information technology (IT) industry. Dr. London's efforts also focus on the evolution and transformation of defense, intelligence, information technology, and network communications. Dr. London has written and published Our Good Name (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2008), documenting CACI's remarkable campaign to challenge the grossly distorted and exaggerated media reporting of the company's work in Iraq for the U.S. Army at AbuGhraib prison. Drawing from official government documents, sworn public testimony, and public records, Our Good Name sets the record straight and details how CACI succeeded in overcoming false allegations while meeting the urgent needs of a nation at war. He is also the author of the book, Character: the Ultimate Success Factor (Jacksonville: Adducent, 2013), which provides an insightful and practical demonstration of how good character and ethics are the key to long-term success for both organizations and individuals. Dr. London is regularly invited to speak about character and ethics in the media and at public forums, and in August 2014 instructed a webinar on the influence of character as part of a certificate program offered to senior leaders in the federal community by the online university TMGovU.