Defense training company purchased

A $200 million mainland defense contractor has acquired Kailua-based Complex Solutions Inc.

Huntsville, Ala.-based Camber Corp., which provides defense-related education, computer-based training, engineering and acquisition management, bought the local company through a stock purchase on Tuesday.

Complex Solutions, which started in 2000, trains government and military officials in peace-keeping operations, disaster assistance and humanitarian relief. To date, the company has trained officials in more than 50 countries and most recently won a $92 million contract for training at the Center for Civil Military Relations at the Naval Postgraduate School.

The local company, which also has an office in Monterey, Calif., said its 35 to 40 employees will be retained by Camber.

"What we hope to do is be able to serve our customers a little bit better because of the larger capacity of Camber to do things around the world," said Glen Dower, Complex Solutions president and chief operating officer. "They have a large reach and we'll be able to call upon them to support us when and if customers need things that a small company like CSI might not be able to provide on its own."

Walter Batson, Camber CEO, said: "We're especially encouraged by this acquisition as we believe our combined strengths constitute a depth of operational and technical experience absolutely vital to the security of our nation."