The New York Times examines how a contractor, headed by a 22-year-old, came to supply Iraqi and Afghan security forces with 40-year-old ammunition. The firm, AEY, Inc., was awarded a $300 million contract to be a critical supplier of munitions to the Iraqi and Afghan security forces and supplied millions of rounds of ammunition from Cold War-era stockpiles in Eastern Bloc countries. AEY is one of many previously unknown defense companies to have thrived since 2003, when the Pentagon began dispensing billions of dollars to train and equip indigenous forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its rise from obscurity once seemed to make it a successful example of the Bush administration's promotion of private contractors as integral elements of war-fighting strategy. But an examination of AEY's background, through interviews in several countries, reviews of confidential government documents and the examination of some of the ammunition, suggests that Army contracting officials, under pressure to arm Afghan troops, allowed an immature company to enter the murky world of international arms dealing on the Pentagon's behalf — and did so with minimal vetting and through a vaguely written contract with few restrictions . ... ...AEY sent another shipment of nearly one million cartridges to Afghanistan that the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan regarded as substandard. Lt. Col. David G. Johnson, the command spokesman, said that while there were no reports of ammunition misfiring, some of it was in such poor condition that the military had decided not to issue it. "Our honest answer is that the ammunition is of a quality that is less than desirable; the munitions do not appear to meet the standards that many of us are used to," Colonel Johnson said. "We are not pleased with the way it was delivered." Several officials said the problems would have been avoided if the Army had written contracts and examined bidders more carefully. Asked why it chose AEY, the Army Sustainment Command answered in writing: "AEY's proposal represented the best value to the government."