Website Find: On Being a Black Lawyer

The website caught out attention with thier post on Congressman Elijah Cummings, the man holding the purse strings to Coast Guard budget.  The website “On Being a Black Lawyer” is owned by Yolanda Young. She is an attorney and a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and Howard University. A frequent contributor to USA Today, she has also written for The Washington Post and Essence Magazine.

Modernization Update: Cutter Fleet Material Condition

By T. Burgess

Admiral Thad Allen left a new modernization post on his blog today.  Below that, an update from Rear Admiral Ostebo on the Cutter Fleet.  Admiral Allen’s idea of rotating cutters from home-port to home-port to reduce the effects of the environment on Cutters doesn’t wash with several hundred years of naval engineering.  The solution is a replacement fleet of cutters.  Proper preservation is key to ship maintenance, but an aged and out of date fleet make that nearly impossible.

Shipmates,

Below is a Guest Post from RDML Tom Ostebo (CG-4).

As we address challenges associated with our surface fleet we must understand that whether a vessel is nearing the end of its service life or just beginning service we much manage the fleet through a single, central point of accountability that insures configuration management, standard maintenance procedures, supply chain management, and visibility of costs. As we move toward product line management we must also consider how we employ our assets and make better decisions that allow us to maximize the service lives of our vessels. As an example, I have asked our engineers and operators to consider rotating a vessel’s homeport so that it does not spend its entire service life in a particularly harsh environment; thus extending the life of the vessel.

We need to clear and honest regarding the task ahead. This is hard work and it will require the efforts and patience of every member of our service to get this right. The alternative is to live and operate in the past. This is a stewardship issue that we all own.

ADM A

The American Salvage Association expresses gratitude

MarineLog

ASA expressed its gratitude for the hard work in seeing these regulations come to fruition of ASA past presidents J. Arnold Witte, Richard Fairbanks, George Wittich and John A. Witte; Jr., along with the actions of Admiral Thad Allen and RADM Brian Salerno, USCG. “We are so pleased with the announcement of the promulgation of the salvage and firefighting regulations,” said John A Witte, Jr., ASA President. “These regulations will go a long way toward ensuring that the nation is ready and has the capability to respond to accidental or terrorist events in the marine sector that require a professional salvage response.”

Retirees May See Increased Out-of-Pocket Health

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office shows why some military retirees and veterans could face higher out-of-pocket costs if the Obama administration and Congress take bold moves to reform the U.S. health system and to make federal health programs more efficient. Among 115 “options” presented, though not endorsed, in the CBO report, several focus on raising TRICARE out-of-pocket costs for retirees and one for families. Others would tighten access to VA hospitals and clinics, or raise VA health fees, for veterans with no service-connected conditions. To learn more, read the full article on Military.com.

Coast Guard Deepwater Fallout: Lawsuit!

From David Axe at WarIsBoring.com

U.S. shipbuilder Bollinger has dragged defense giant Northrop Grumman into court in Louisiana, claiming Northrop owes Bollinger at least $12 million for work performed five years ago on small Coast Guard cutters that was subsequently canceled. Northrop tapped Bollinger to stretch and modernize 49 110-foot patrol boats under the $24-billion Deepwater modernization scheme. But Bollinger finished only eight before the Coast Guard in 2005 discovered hull cracks and other problems on the modernized boats that forced their early retirement. The other 41 boat modifications were canceled.

The 110-foot cutter fiasco was the first sign of an impending meltdown in the Coast Guard over Deepwater. The bad 110s were followed by problems with the design and construction of the flagship National Security Cutters plus cost overruns on other aspects of Deepwater. In 2007 the Coast Guard “fired” Northrop and partner Lockheed Martin from their roles as systems-integrators. Deepwater got an overhaul, and today is struggling to emerge from years of bad management that wasted hundreds of millions of dollars.

Read the rest of this article here.

Northrop Grumman wins Nationwide Automatic Identification System Contract From U.S. Coast Guard

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC: News ) said Tuesday that it has been awarded a contract potentially valued at $68 million to design, integrate, install and test the U.S. Coast Guard’s Nationwide Automatic Identification System core data exchange capability.

Read more at RTTNews.com

Coast Guard HQ: No move to St. Elizabeths

The lingering plan to move the U.S. Coast Guard from Buzzard Point to Anacostia will have to linger just a little longer.

As 2008 closed out, the Coast Guard agreed to a 10-year renewal on its 592,000 square feet at the Transpoint Building, located on the Southwest waterfront at 2100 2nd St. SW.

The deal represents one of the largest — if not the largest — leases of 2008.

The Coast Guard’s presence at the Transpoint Building spans back to the Nixon administration, back when the original developer, Laszlo Tauber, owned the building.

Read the entire article at Washington Business Journal.

US Coast Guard experiments with social media

by Karen Russell, associate professor teaching public relations and media history at the University of Georgia

Every year the United States Coast Guard sends a student or two to enroll in Grady’s graduate program to get an M.A. emphasizing PR. Last year two of these students sat in on my Word-of-Mouth Communication special topics course and did projects on social media to get course credit for an independent study. Each student prepared recommendations in social media plans, which were based on an outline David Meerman Scott provided in his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR (the undergraduates in the class broke into teams and created a social media plan for the East Georgia chapter of the Red Cross).

These plans are starting to come to fruition: Connie Braesch reports that the Coast Guard is now on Twitter and that the Commandant has a Facebook page.

Bollinger files amended lawsuit over Coast Guard 123 issues

by Michael DeKort

On December 31st Bollinger filed an amended lawsuit alleging more damages.  The most interesting piece of this is that they add C4ISR issues to the list and ask for $7m more.  Specifically they mention Command and Control, TEMPEST and the Cameras.  If anyone would like a copy of the document please let me know

Here is my summary of what I read in the amendment

They add data on TEMPEST.  They state the TEMPEST requirements changed significantly.  They state they moved from a TRANAS command to COMDAC (which was the system of record when I was there).  They state the dramatically changed the security requirements. Bollinger states the extent of the changes was not known until weeks before the Matagorda delivered.  (This is not true – I told them months before.  They must mean contractually notified?)  Bollinger asks for compensation of this (As they helped install the systems – especially the cables.) This is the first time Bollinger asks for $ related to TEMPEST – C4ISR.  They state NG purposefully withheld data. They ask for an additional $7m.  As far as I know the CG never admitted there were TEMPEST issues as the Porter waiver covered them and there were no issues especially with cables (Wrongfully supported by the DHS IG).  If the changes were valid why wouldn’t NG pay them? (Maybe NG is saying it did what  LM told it to do?  But can ICGS argue against or sue itself?  Looks like the blame game is picking up. Maybe NG isn’t paying because they think fighting LM is more important than paying Bollinger to go away? Maybe NG wants to ensure LM is to blame relative to the outstanding C4ISR/TEMPEST issues and the ongoing DoJ and DHS IG investigations?)

They add new data defining that Bollinger only installed the command and control equipment (they didn’t design it).  Looks like Bollinger wants to distance itself from the C4ISR issues. (Is this External/Topside Equipment or more?)

They specifically mention the Cameras.  They state there were changes to various systems that NG never paid for – like the Camera system.

They ask for $12m total – $7m for C4ISR (TEMPEST, COMDAC and Camera issues.  They use the COMDAC as a catch all.  Could mean other stuff like external equipment)

I think the C4ISR/TEMPEST additions/changes show a couple things relative to Bollinger. Bollinger added all the C4ISR text for a reason.  I think that reason goes beyond monetary compensation.

- GAO protest of FRC contract.  They want to avoid negative performance issue being introduced and losing to Marinette – who bid lower than them
- Distance from the Refund.  Relative to $,legal responsibility and perception
- Ongoing DoJ and DHS IG investigations.  Maybe they know the hammer is coming down relative to TEMPEST etc and they don’t want to be culpable?

The amendment also states there were supposed to be 49 123s.  They state that over and over.  It appears Bollinger wants financial restitution for the boats they worked on AND the ones they did not start – totaling 49.

6 completed
6 – in work
37 promised

It goes on to state the boats were supposed to be modified on a schedule based on boat names, differing types of boats and differing conditions.  Bollinger claims the names changes at the last minute, there were only 110/123s and they were the ones in the worst shape (not differing conditions)

They also state NG has violated prompt payment regulations.

Calvin P. Evans, machinist for the Coast Guard

Baltimoresun.com

Calvin P. Evans, a retired Coast Guard machinist and former bar owner, died of asbestosis and heart failure at Tate Hospice House in Linthicum. The longtime Severna Park resident was 88.

Mr. Evans, the son of a waterman, was born and raised on Smith Island. He attended Somerset County public schools and worked as a waterman before enlisting in the Navy during World War II.

Full obituary.