DHS and Coast Guard: Doomed to Repeat Financial History?

Staff Report

The Department of Homeland Security Annual Financial Report Fiscal Year 2008 illustrates that our Coast Guard has some way to go in obtaining a cleaning financial audit.  Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff released the report in November shortly after the end of the fiscal year.

Coast Guard was identified throughout the report as not having met the mark. In the Secretary’s Assurance Statement Chertoff notes that Department provides reasonable assurance that internal control over financial reporting is designed effectively as of September 30, 2008, with the exception of the following known material weaknesses:

• Financial Reporting at U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA);
• Fund Balances with Treasury Management at U.S. Coast Guard;
• Financial System Security at U.S. Coast Guard, FEMA, and TSA;
• Budgetary Resource Management at U.S. Coast Guard and FEMA;
• Property Management at U.S. Coast Guard, TSA, and FEMA; and
• Human Resource Management at U.S. Coast Guard

Coast Guard lead the Department in this area and unfortunately didn’t fare much better in the next area of Conformance with Financial Management System Requirements (FMFIA § 4), where overall thed Department’s financial management systems do not substantially conform to government-wide requirements mandated by the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act. The following are known non-conformances:

• Federal Financial Management Systems Requirements, including:

o Financial Systems Security at DHS Management Directorate, CBP, U.S. Coast Guard, FEMA, FLETC, USCIS, and TSA;
o Integrated Financial Management Systems and Integration of U.S. Coast Guard Financial and Mixed Systems;

• Noncompliance with U.S. Standard General Ledger at U.S. Coast Guard; and
• Federal Accounting Standards at U.S. Coast Guard.

Again Coast Guard was non-compliant in each critical area on the list. RDML Keith Taylor, CG-8 recently made a post to Adm. Thad Allen’s iCommandant Blog on Coast Guards 2008 Financial Statement. Taylor didn’t go so far as to outline the deficiencies identified by Chertoff in his annual report, but he did nonetheless say

Without a long discussion of how we got here, we have some fundamental, structural deficiencies that are preventing us from achieving a financial audit opinion. For example we have multiple General Ledgers (The general ledger is where accounting transactions are posted as the official financial record of an organization).

The reality is that without discussing how we got here, we may need to revisit the saying “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Department of Homeland Security Intellectual Property Policy

DHS has released their public notice of the intellectual property of the Department of Homeland Security (“Department” or “DHS”). In general, that intellectual property consists of the official seal of the Department and the trade or certification marks of programs for which the Department claims either common law trademark rights or has applied for or received trademark registration under 15 U.S.C. § 1051-1129.

Investigator Yanked! Not at all agencies

by Thomas Jackson, Contributor

S. Mary Wills post on her Blog The Black Factor concerning the conduct of the investigator assigned to her case is similar to that of a case at Coast Guard last year.  In the Coast Guard case however, the contract investigator was not removed even after he wrote an apology to several responsible management officials for his actions.  The contractor, Crossroads Mediation recognized their error, however Coast Guards Office of Civil Rights did not.  The investigator was allowed to continue on case which ultimately caught the attention of the Commandant and Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard.  The agency in Wills scenario below, took swift and appropriate action in replacing the investigator.

Investigator Yanked! by S. Mary Wills at The Black Factor

Just a quick update on my complaint against a former employer. My investigator was just yanked from my case–at my request–after I had to complain about him to his boss. Long story short, he tried to brow beat me into settling my case for pennies and he is trying to get away with not rendering a decision in my case. If I settle, it just goes away and his job is done and there’s one less case on his desk. So, I guess he figured he could bully me into doing what he wanted.

Despite his persistence, I insisted he render a decision because I could not and would not settle my case without my former employer having any accountability. I told him to make a decision one way or another. Well, that pissed the investigator off and the conversation degenerated into a shouting match.

I called the Compliance Director for the agency, who referred me to the investigator’s direct supervisor. She called me and heard what I had to say. She couldn’t apologize enough and immediately yanked the investigator off my case.

I will be following up the phone call with a formal written complaint against the investigator for his employee file. I would like to see action taken against him and/or for his work to be reviewed.

I have to say, I feel sorry for any vulnerable people who’ve had to deal with him because he is very forceful and he is a bully. I can only imagine how many minority workers, female workers, disabled workers, etc. have done what he said simply because he demanded they take certain actions and because he spoke about their cases in the most unfavorable light.

My word of caution to everyone dealing with an investigator is that you still have to stay on your toes and you still have to document everything. Don’t think your work is done because your employer is being investigated. You don’t know how committed anyone is to fulfilling the mission of their job, including investigators and even lawyers.

Don’t just blindly put your trust and faith in any investigator. If something isn’t right, complain about it. Don’t be afraid to speak up. And, as always, DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!

Stay strong!

Capitanerie di porto – Guardia Costiera: Italian Coast Guard

Logo of "GUARDIA COSTIERA"

Staff Report:  Coast Guards Around the World – Series

The Corps of the Capitanerie di Porto – Guardia Costiera is a Corps of the Marina Militare (Italian Navy) that has tasks and functions connected mostly to the civil use of the sea and with functional dependence of various ministries that avail themselves on their work: first of all the Ministero dei Trasporti (Ministry for Transports) which has “inheritated” in the year 1994, from the Ministry of the Mercantile Navy, the major part of the functions connected to the use of the sea and the connected activities with the commercial and pleasure navigation a on whose budget weighs the costs for the running of the corps.

Homeland Security Threat Assessment Cites WMD, Radicalization

by Jonah Czerwinski on December 30, 2008 at Homeland Security Watch

A new Homeland Security Threat Assessment obtained by The Associated Press, marked FOUO, considers loss of life, economic and psychological consequences, and likelihood of potential attack vectors over the next five years.

During the period of 2008-2013, terrorists will try to conduct a biological terror attack, resulting in overwhelmed regional health care systems and deep economic impacts caused by widespread workforce illnesses and deaths. Interestingly, the assessment suggests that biological agents stolen from labs or other storage facilities within the U.S. remain among the highest threats. Al-Qaida continues to focus on attacks that would generate significant economic losses, casualties, and political turmoil. Hizbollah is cited as also interested in fomenting attacks within the U.S.

Members Sought for Coast Guard Security Committees

The US Coast Guard requests individuals interested in serving on an Area Maritime Security Committee (AMSC) in any Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone, nationwide, to submit their applications for membership to their local COTP.  Applications should reach the COTP by January 21, 2009.  73 Fed. Reg. 79136  (December 24, 2008).

The Northern California Area Maritime Security Committee has an example of thier Charter here.

Role of law enforcement rating developing

Amy McCullough – Staff writer at the Navy Times reports Coast Guards newest rating is on its way to 2010 implementation goal.

As the Coast Guard’s four new master chief maritime enforcement specialists transition into their new roles, many questions remain about the direction of the new rating and its role in the Coast Guard. But few question the necessity of a law enforcement-focused specialty in the post-Sept. 11 world.

Commandant Adm. Thad Allen announced the three active-duty billets and one reserve master chief billet — the first-ever MEs — during a ceremony Dec. 16 at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington. The decision came six months after the new rating was announced in a servicewide message.

Court Martial Lawyer – Military Defense Attorney Expands Practice Worldwide to Include All Coast Guard Bases

By Gonzalez & Waddington – Attorneys at Law

Michael Waddington is a criminal defense lawyer that defends cases in Military courts worldwide and Federal and State courts.

The Law Office of Gonzalez & Waddington is accepting new court martial clients at Coast Guard Bases in the following locations (California, South Carolina, Florida, Puerto Rico, Maine, Alaska, The Great Lakes, Washington, and throughout the United States)

Michael Waddington is an expert court martial defense lawyer defending military personnel worldwide. He defends

all levels of court martial cases. He has successfully defended numerous high profile military court martial cases arising from the War on Terror and has been reported on and quoted by hundreds of major media sources worldwide. Mr. Waddington has provided consultation services to 60 Minutes, ABC Nightline, the BBC, German Public Television and other major news outlets. He has successfully defended court martial cases in the USA, Europe, the Middle East (Iraq, Kuwait), Central Asia (Afghanistan), and the Pacific (Korea, Okinawa Japan).

United States Virgin Islands Gets its own Coast Guard Cutter

Great news for the people of the United States Virgin Islands in a report from By Susan Mann, Caribbean Net News. The Cutter SHARK REEF was scheduled for delivery to the Coast Guard on 22 October 2008, and will be homeported in San Juan, PR.

Hon. Donna M. Christensen, M.D.

WASHINGTON, USA: Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen said on Saturday that she and the people of the territory got an early Christmas present last week when the US Coast Guard announced that the US Virgin Islands will get its own cutter to patrol the waters around the islands in March.

Christensen, who initially had a difficult time convincing some of her congressional colleagues that the territory needed additional homeland security monies, is clearly pleased about this latest turn of events.

Full story from Caribbean Net News here.

[Corrected Copy] Coast Guard searching for missing cruise ship passenger

Petty Officer 3rd Class Nick Ameen, D7 Public Affairs

MIAMI — The search continues Saturday for a missing passenger from the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl about 15 miles east of Cancun, Mexico. Initial reports incorrectly named the passenger as Jennifer Feitz. She has been properly identified as Jennifer Seitz, 36, hometown unknown. The Coast Guard is coordinating the search and rescue mission with the Mexican navy. Coast Guard aircrews from Miami and Clearwater, Fla., have searched more than 2,500 square miles for Seitz. Seitz’s husband reported her missing to cruise ship security personnel around 3:50 a.m. Friday. Cruise ship personnel conducted a comprehensive search of the ship with negative results and contacted the Coast Guard for assistance.