Oh, brother. This story just will... not... end!

It's been a good year since L-3 Communications (NYSE:LLL) -- the presumptive heir to a $4.7 billion translation contract that the U.S. Army originally awarded to Titan -- decided to protest the award of said contract's extension to another firm entirely, rival defense contractor DynCorp (NYSE:DCP).

A series of maneuverings over the succeeding several months had the salutary effect of permitting L-3 to continue working on the contract that it had already lost for a full year before the Army decided once and for all that L-3 was out, and DynCorp was in, last week.

Or so we thought. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, no sooner had L-3 conceded defeat than it turned around and decided to go one more round with the bureaucracy. That's right, folks. As of last Friday, L-3 has decided to protest the award to DynCorp yet again. Let's hope this time, the Feds can make a decision in less than 365 days.

(Or if you're an L-3 shareholder, hope for the opposite.)