Pentagon `crackdown' is lame

The recent disclosures of mismanagement in the production of theNavy's new carrier-based attack plane - the A-12 Stealth - make youwonder whether defense contractors are working for the taxpayers orthe taxpayers are working for the defense contractors.

You could well get the idea that it's the latter when you readabout how Pentagon inspectors were bossed around by the peoplebuilding the A-12, which is now a year behind schedule and running atleast $1 billion over what it was supposed to cost.

One of the contractors, General Dynamics, ordered governmentinspectors at the company's A-12 plant in Fort Worth to turn overtheir notes to be reviewed for security classification. Theinspectors, incredibly, did as ordered. The upshot was that one setof notes was lost.

"We question any procedure by which a contractor obtains accessto, and control over, the work product of government personnelengaged in oversight duties," said an internal Navy report in a bitof an understatement.

Apparently the notion that the government - meaning U.S.citizens - is supposed to be in charge is not common in the Pentagon.

The report especially noted how John A. Betti, theundersecretary of defense for acquisition and the Pentagon'sthird-ranking official, too easily took the contractors' word thatthe project could be completed on time and within cost, whenlower-level Pentagon officials were warning otherwise.

Hey, no skin off Betti's back. He'll help out in a review ofwhat went wrong.

But why should we expect any punishment for Betti when you seewhat happened to the high military officials who were in charge?

True, the vice admiral who ran all Navy acquisition programs wasforced by the Navy to retire two years early. We suspect, though,that most people would be able to survive quite comfortably on athree-star admiral's retirement pay.

Then we have the rear admiral who is the executive officer fortactical aircraft programs and the captain who is the A-12 programmanager who simply will be reassigned and receive letters ofreprimand.

Just how serious is that? The captain still gets his promotion,as scheduled, to rear admiral.

Somehow, we're supposed to think the Pentagon is really crackingdown on these people. We're told this is the first time that anymilitary service has relieved top managers of a major weapons systemas it was being developed and manufactured.

But considering the Pentagon's acquisition track record, we'vegot to wonder what took them so long to do even this much.