Coast Guard Content with Rep. Elijah Cummings doing Adm. Thad Allen’s Job
This story won’t die and it’s not just because we keep harping on it here. A reader pointed out that we had given no coverage to the ongoing debate at The Day, a newspaper covering New London, Connecticut and the Coast Guard Academy. The lack of diversity at the Coast Guard Academy has been a hot topic in congress for years. At both congressional hearings held this year members of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Transportation learned that the service still does not place minority recruiting anywhere near the top if its “to do list.” At the first of two hearings held on 1 April 2009, Rep. James Oberstar the Chairman of the full house committee said:
To have offered only nine African-Americans acceptance for an entering class of approximately 300 this coming Fall is unacceptable. Clearly, the Coast Guard did not listen to this Committee last September when our Members challenged them on low admission rates for minorities.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard said that:
Put simply, the picture that emerges from the reports available to us shows that despite knowing that its equal opportunity programs did not ensure full compliance with U.S. law and regulations, the Coast Guard has taken little to no action to ensure full compliance.
Cummings went on to remind the Coast Guard witness panel comprised of Vadm. Jody Breckenridge and Ms. Terri A. Dickerson that “there have apparently been no consequences for [Coast Guards Civil Rights and Diversity] failures – except perhaps the individual consequences that Coast Guard personnel may have borne, some of whom may have been denied the opportunity to effectively challenge what they may have felt was discriminatory treatment.”
The answers given by Breckenridge and Dickerson at the hearing did not give the committee faith in Coast Guards intent or plan of action. At one point in the hearing, Dickerson had fumbled the answers to questions so poorly that Breckenridge stopped her mid answer and ceased control of the dialogue. Dickerson’s answers to Cummings questions on six new civilian positions was so vague and she seemed so unsure of herself that Cummings called for a second hearing on 19 June 2009, to verify the validity of her statement and ensure it had been carried out. Sadly, Breckenridge and Dickerson’s appearance before the committee on 1 April did not instill confidence in congress to the point they could accept what they had heard so they called for a Government Accountability Officer (GAO) audit of the Coast Guard.
On 14 April 2009, Cummings was joined by Rep. James Oberstar, Charmain of the Full Committee; Rep. John Mica, Ranking Member of the Full Committee; and Frank LoBiondo, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee in signing out a request to the GAO asking for a year long study of Coast Guards Civil Rights and Diversity programs.
On 19 June 2009, Cummings convened a second hearing as promised and things didn’t look all that better. Rep. Obertar opened by saying:
I am profoundly disappointed with the lack of diversity of the incoming Academy class. With all the oversight this Subcommittee has committed to diversification of the student body at the Coast Guard academy, I am shocked that you only have five African Americans entering the class of 2013 and that you only offered two African American students appointments that were coming directly from high school that did not need additional preparation from a preparatory school. The Naval Academy found 149 fully qualified African Americans to attend their Academy and the Coast Guard didn’t even track the number of fully qualified personnel.
The Coast Guard Academy class of 2009 graduated 4 African Americans, just 4. At no time since the release of the Booz Allen Hamilton report has the Commandant of the Coast Guard addressed these issues publicly. His own Office of Civil Rights has not followed his order on 19 February 2009 to keep the workforce updated on progress being made in Civil Rights. In fact, there have been no updates the workforce in the 4 months since the hearing.
There has been no accountability inside the Office of Civil Rights except that responsibility borne by the employees that stood up and said “we’re broken and need to do better, we need to follow the law.” Those employees were shunned by Coast Guard leadership, often faced reprisal and as reported by Booz Allen Hamilton worked in an environment that was not conducive to mission accomplishment. The Director of Civil Rights had been on the job for 3 years when the Booz Allen Hamilton report was released, and is a member of the Senior Executive Service. While over a dozen employees in the Office of Civil Rights were held accountable for missing deadlines, the Director missed the biggest deadline of all “ensuring full compliance with the law.” Dickerson was rewarded by Allen even in the midst of documented failures in her office and preliminary results of the Booz Allen Report with a nomination for a Presidential Rank Award and cash bonus in excess of 20K.
With that kind of accountability, we should all stop doing our jobs and let congress do it for us.
I’m a Coast Guard employee and asked the Diversity Office yesterday for info on how I could become involved in the Ambassador’s Program. I have not heard back as of this afternoon.