DHS Office of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Past Due on FOIA

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is now over 4 months late on answering a Freedom of Information Act Request for a copy of Coast Guards request for a Functional Review of the Office of Civil Rights.

The DHS FOIA Public Liaison, William Holzerland, has been in contact with Mr. McNeely. He stated that he will respond to your request directly. Should you need further assistance with regards to this case, please contact Mr. Holzerland at the DHS Privacy Office.

We have added a FOIA page at the top of the site to track our requests and let our readers know what we’re waiting on.

Marinette Marine tries another way to stop Bollinger

by Michael DeKort

I was told today that Marinette Marine has filed some sort of new legal action to try and stop Bollinger from starting the FRC project

Admiral Thad Allen – Modernization without Authorization

Many readers have already read the Commandant’s update on modernization that sent to all employees on 27 January 2009, but it begs discussion. Only once in the update does the Commandant tell readers that Congressional Authorization is still missing.  That’s an important piece of the initiative and it needs greater transparency.

Both the House and Senate versions of the Coast Guard Authorization died in the 110th Congress.

The Chief of Staff becoming the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support (DCMS), is easily accomplished in every facet except name and dollars.  Congress has funded modernization at zero, which means the costs associated with modernization come from taxes on budgets Coast Guard wide.  The burden of modernization is squarely on the shoulders of the men and women at the unit level.  The Commandant directed the phrase of “more with the same,” rather than “more with less.”  Clearly Coasties are back to “much more with less.”

U.S.C. Title 14 § 50a. says the Chief of Staff shall perform duties as prescribed by the Commandant.  With that said, the Commandant has the authority to direct the Chief of Staff to assume the duties of DCMS, but he can’t be called DCMS without Congressional Authorization.  Consequently, until such time as Coast Guard receives authorization, the officer holding the title Chief  of Staff retains statutory authority over the two Area Commanders.

Possibly it’s time for an update from the Commandant on modernization absent authorization.  My guess is the Hill would like to hear about this too.

To the Men and Women of the United States Coast Guard:

Last summer I announced that the coming year would be a vital period for our Service’s pursuit toward a more agile, flexible and responsive organization. As we embark on a new year, I wanted to take this opportunity to personally remind you that real changes are taking place for our Service. The start of 2009 has already seen major Modernization milestones, and I am pleased to provide you the highpoints of our recent progress toward a modernized Coast Guard.

On January 15, 2009, we took a critical step toward building our mission support organization when we realigned the reporting chains for the Atlantic and Pacific Maintenance and Logistics Commands (MLCs) from the Area Commanders to the Coast Guard Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff will become the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support (DCMS) upon Congressional authorization. For details on the MLC Realignment see the “MLC Realignment” post at www.uscg.mil/modernization.