Saturday, January 27, 2007
Coast Guard deeply infected with NewSpeak
Consider these two paragraphs from the WaPo story on the report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general on the Deepwater project. You may remember Deepwater as the project that was to update and improve the USCG's ability to protect US coasts into the 21st century. It has, instead, deeply impaired the USCG's abilities to continue their present responsibilities and wasted millions of dollars. And that is something that can never be admitted to, so we get the following:
"The Coast Guard opinion is that decisions regarding structures and production have been well-considered and were prudent and correct," the response says.And there was this choice element regarding the new class of cutters.
The inspector general's report is the latest indictment of Deepwater, which aims to modernize the Coast Guard's aging fleet of ships, planes and helicopters over the next 25 years. In December, the Coast Guard sidelined eight Miami-based 123-foot cutters produced under the program after finding that they were not seaworthy.
The Coast Guard eventually decided to make upgrades to the two current ships so they could operate at least 170 to 180 days a year at sea, the report says. The original contract calls for the ships to be able to operate 230 days a year.So instead if discounting defective merchandise, the Bushovik Coast Guard has chosen to pay more for less, with your tax dollars. And don't you just love the way they are willing to send folks out to sea in ships with known major defects because they won't fall apart right away. Probably last until the next election.
The Coast Guard "has chosen to reinterpret the Deepwater contract rather than hold the contractor accountable" for the higher standard, the report says. The change allows the service to "downplay" the seriousness of the deficiencies and "minimize" the scope of improvements required.
In its response, the Coast Guard said it had "not lowered performance standards." The ship's structure "does not pose an immediate concern; rather, it presents a risk that it may need some structural repairs during its service life," the response said.
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