Posted: 2/10/2007 7:41:35 AM EDT
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from:The Albuquerque Tribune Rep.: Coast Guard program a lemon Associated Press Saturday, February 10, 2007 WASHINGTON — The chairman of a House investigative committee has charged that the Coast Guard's $24 billion program to modernize its aging fleet has produced only "a series of lemons." Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California took aim specifically at the so-called "Deepwater" program that he said has "cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars." He cited documents that his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently obtained about a 2005 Navy report on design flaws plaguing the 425-foot National Security Cutter, the flagship of the new fleet. The Navy briefing included slides with "a series of `bottom line' warnings - printed in red ink - that concluded the ship would not last for its full 30-year life span," Waxman said. But the congressman charged that people running the Deepwater program transmitted only an edited version of the Navy report to the Coast Guard commandant. He asserted that the edited report deleted all of the Navy's "bottom line" conclusions about the ship's problems. "This took place just months before the Coast Guard renewed and extended the Deepwater contract," Waxman added at a hearing on the program earlier this week. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen, who was not commandant at the time, told the panel he was looking into the matter. A second Coast Guard official told the panel the warnings were included elsewhere in the briefing report. Allen said his agency was implementing recommendations made by government officials to strengthen the Coast Guard's management of Deepwater. "This program must move forward and it is my responsibility to get it right," Allen said. Both the Coast Guard and the defense contractors working on the project have challenged the report's findings. Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts compared Deepwater to the problem-plagued Big Dig highway project in Boston that has faced massive cost overruns. Lynch said in both cases, the oversight, engineering and construction roles have merged - with disastrous consequences. "When this model is in place, we see colossal failures," said Lynch, a former ironworker and shipyard employee. "The government has contracted out oversight of contractors to contractors." Panel members also voiced concerns that some mistakes made with Deepwater might be repeated with the Department of Homeland Security's multibillion dollar contract to secure the nation's borders. Deepwater, the 25-year program to overhaul the nation's coastal fleet is being run by Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a joint venture of two defense contractors, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. It is the largest acquisition project in Coast Guard history. It has drawn fire from lawmakers as well as government investigators. Since shortly after the Deepwater contract was awarded in June 2002 to the joint venture, Coast Guard technical experts have repeatedly voiced design concerns. Government investigators recently told a House panel that despite structural flaws and other problems with the new ships, a Coast Guard review last year gave contractors high marks and a large bonus. Last month, the Deepwater program was severely criticized by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general, Richard Skinner, who said the Coast Guard had exercised poor oversight of the design and construction of its new ships. The IG's report concluded that design flaws in the first two new cutters have led to spiraling maintenance costs and could reduce the longevity of the ships. The IG's office also said both the Coast Guard and its contractors hindered their investigation by not making people and requested documentation readily available. The National Security Cutter is a major part of the Deepwater program. The IG report said the ship's life could be shorter than the 30 years required by the Deepwater contract. The contract called for building eight of the ships. The combined cost of the first two cutters has increased from $517 million to about $775 million primarily due to design changes needed to meet post-9/11 mission requirements and other government specifications not included in the original contract, according to the report. Further design changes being suggested by the defense contractors could add an additional $300 million to the cost of the first two cutters, the report estimated. --------------------------- Note: The Coast Guard is lengthening their ships, by cutting open the hull and putting in new sections. They have done this to a number of ships (I won't say how many). The work has been suspended after a structural flaw was found that caused the hulls to crack. Engineering studies have been done, and it has been determined that the Coast Guard cannot go this route. The idea was that this would be a cheap way to increase displacement of their ships. A better plan for deep water capability would be acquiring the Decommissioned Spruance Class Destroyers and refitting them, and PC Cyclones, And later on, acquiring the Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigates. Much of the Coast Guards equipment is between 20-30+ years old. |
| If'n I were a young whippersnapper again, I'd look into joining the CG. Plenty cool enough for me and if you go on their website, check out the video of the gunners mate position. Pretty much an armorer for everything they have that goes bang. Thats where I'd be headed. |
