The Gov making the high seas safe for all

[svs3]

Here is a troubling piece from the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/09/us...rtner=homepage

BTW, Adm. Allen, now head of the Coast Guard, was previously in charge of rebuilding after Katrina.

Sorry for the insertion of a political point of view, but I think the current administration is without the most incompetent of my lifetime.

Sam

[Goodnewsboy]

Why is such news troubling? Isn't it the purpose of government to dispose of tax money as fast as possible? Have you not heard of the Great Society?

It IS troubling that these are the guys who make rules for building and using boats!

The real lesson here is that anyone who proceeds into deep water had better be as well prepared and self-reliant as possible. The USCG tries hard, but nobody should base their survival plans on it.

[k1vsk]

Government contracting, excluding military contracting, is incentive-based, i.e., contractors get paid more to do it "right". conversely, military (including USCG) contracts continue to follow the old paradigm of "do it wrong - get paid more to fix it". Military contracting has been and continues to be patently flawed by creating this dis-incentive to do it "right" since contractors get more money when it's screwed up.

The only indesputible fact is that this has nothing to do with the current administration who is no more guilty of anything than all previous administrations who created and then failed to fix it.

[btrayfors]

Sam,

While I heartily agree with you re: the current Administration being the most incompetent in our lifetime, and the thankfully just-adjourned Congress as being the most do-nothing, worthless collection of "lawmakers" we've seen since the 1940's (on BOTH sides of the aisle), the Coast Guard has until now stood head and shoulder above the mess.

Their performance in Katrina was exceptional and beyond the call of duty by all accounts. Their performance in saving numbskulls who venture out where they don't belong, as well as competent mariners facing life-threatening emergencies through no fault of their own, continues to be exceptional. Witness their efforts at saving three Canadian crews north of Bermuda just a couple of weeks ago.

I was talking with an ex-Coastie officer who knows something about the current debacle just this morning. While the original idea was a good one, i.e., instead of just replacing ship-by-ship and airframe-by-airframe when old ones wore out, instead to consider the needs of the entire fleet and redesign it to meet current and anticipated responsibilities. Aside from the logic in this new approach, they hoped (correctly) that the multi-billion dollar pricetag would get the attention of a Congress which had heretofore largely ignored the CG budget and needs, in favor of large DoD programs. They were right in this, but things still didn't go as hoped.

Where they went off the tracks was in two major areas:

(1) by ignoring the fact that the USCG is sorely lacking in experienced engineering talent....they've been hemmorahging engineering talent for years; and

(2) they chose to outsource project management and oversight.

This was a BIG mistake. Imagine turning the project management and project oversight responsibilities over to two of the largest defense contractors in the world! It's like giving carte blanche to a major construction company to design, build, supervise, and operate a large dam. "OK, you guys handle all that; we'll just pay the bills."

Whoever made that decision (Allen??) and some who went along with it should probably be hung out to dry. Or, maybe, just hung along with the real criminals in this Administration.

Bill

[Goodnewsboy]

Since when did sniping at the present administration become a topic on Sailnet?

I am old enough to remember JFK, Lyndon Johnson and the cast of thousands in the Congress, who staged the debacle in Vietnam. When it comes to real incompetence there have been many examples in recent history who have far exceeded the present crew.

At least the troops have equipment, ammo, and have done their job with a bare minimum of casualties. A few things must have been done right.

I have as many differences with GW and crew as anyone (amnesty for illegals, anyone?), but don't hand me that incompetence BS. The "Hate GW" crowd has recently handed our enemies another victory, as they see it, their greatest to date. Someone will pay an unnecessarily greater price as a result.

Now back to sailboats.

[btrayfors]

"I am old enough to remember JFK, Lyndon Johnson and the cast of thousands in the Congress, who staged the debacle in Vietnam. "

Yeah, but apparently not old enough to remember that it was Eisenhower, his VP Nixon and, especially, SoS John Foster Dulles who got us involved in Vietnam in the first place, way before Dien Bien Phu. Then the dems had a go at it, with not much vision and little aplumb, followed by Nixon's disastrous policies before his resignation in disgrace before he got impeached.

As to the troops having "equipment, ammo", etc., that's just plain wrong. They buy their own flak vests, have fought in unarmoured vehicles, are using equipment which is past being on its last legs, etc., etc.

There's lots of ways to read history, but some annoying facts just won't be squelched.

OK, I agree, back to sailboats.

Bill

[Goodnewsboy]

Eisenhower, John Foster Dulles? Wow, you are old!

[T34C]

"I think the current administration is without the most incompetent of my lifetime. " I hadn't realized there were so many youngsters posting on Sailnet!! I think bodes well for our youth sailing programs.

"Since when did sniping at the present administration become a topic on Sailnet?" Here Here!! The DNC site is down the hall to the LEFT.

[btrayfors]

Yep, I AM old :-)

And, believe it or not, I owned a small teak "cruising" sailboat in Indonesia at just about the time the French got their butts kicked out of Indochina, leaving us to flounder about and fiddle with Dulles' Domino Theory.

Didn't much think about it, though, 'cuz I was too busy making a fool of myself trying to learn to sail, snorkel, and do all those other things sailors do. This included, of course, dockside and barside "celebrations" whenever I managed a safe return to the dock. And, hey, Heinekins came in quart-size bottles at U.S. 25 cents each, so celebrations were always a blast :-))

Doesn't seem that far back, but I guess it was...

Bill

[btrayfors]

T34C,

"Here Here!! The DNC site is down the hall to the LEFT."

NOW I know why your Tartan won't sail well with just a genoa. It's pulling too hard to the RIGHT :-)

B.