In my absence, I have continued to read, talk to sources, and monitor what is going on regarding whistleblowers, corruption, and mismanagement in government. I wish I could say things are getting better, but I cannot. The corruption and cronyism within the Pentagon and DOD various agencies and activities has continued. Cover-ups of exposed illegal and unethical activities have continued.
And the accompanying retribution and harassment against federal employees, (and in some cases, corporate employees), who know of the crimes and improprieties, and have tried to do something about them by exposing those responsible, has elicited wrath of escalating intensity on the heads of the whistleblowers and other employees who are aware of the situation. This retribution and harassment has expanded in some cases to the families of those targets of retribution as well.
In some cases where investigations are still ongoing, (although being slowed down and arrested in progress as the implicated ones try to use their crony networks to try to make them go away), mysterious retirements and resignations have been occurring in the case of some implicated managers or employees, who stand to be exposed and held accountable for their actions, if cases end up in court and reported publicly. It appears the implicated individuals are being urged, or perhaps given an ultimatum to leave government service under the threat of exposure and prosecution, (with possible destruction of career and loss of retirement benefits), if they refuse. It has been reported to me that in a number of cases these implicated individuals are retiring earlier than they planned, or are translating their employment from government to corporations with the aid of cronyism and using helpful connections developed while working as a federal employee/or government (SES) manager with these corporations.
The trend of these implicated players to take new jobs with defense contractors or other corporate entities, seemingly directly and immediately after leaving federal service, completely violating the requirements, (which vary depending on the government job migrated out of, and the corporate job migrated into), for a period of time to elapse (cool down period) before taking the corporate job where they may have a conflict of interest concern. This is unethical and illegal, violating federal policy as well.
Some examples concern employees who worked in government oversight responsibility agencies whose jobs entailed supervising and having oversight of certain defense contractors, (that hold federal defense contracts), taking jobs with those same corporations or related corporations, that they, had oversight of and authority over. Persons doing as I describe, are said to be using the “revolving door.” The revolving door swings both ways. If you’ve been paying attention to the appointments of agency or activity directors, and have wondered why Agriculture or the FDA would have people, who worked at Monsanto or with certain Pharmaceutical corporations put in charge of enforcement, oversight, and policy, you understand the problem of the revolving door. Compromised individuals cannot serve both American taxpayers, assuring their health and safety, and also serve their corporate masters as well. In this way, many of our systems put into place to provide protection for American taxpayers, have been horrifically compromised, corrupted and made absolutely impotent.
The benefit to these implicated and alleged criminal federal employees, (if they get away with this), is that they may have done favors or in some unethical way served the corporate interests, rather than the American taxpayers, and national security interests, prior to leaving government service. In some cases, in the past it appeared that a quid pro quo relationship may have been in place where favors, or waivers, or other helpful actions on behalf of a corporate defense contractor was rewarded with a corporate defense contractor job later, particularly if the improprieties were discovered, and the employee had to leave federal service.
It appears that they believe if the implicated and compromised employees and managers are allowed to resign and leave, or retire and leave, they may be allowed to go away and not be prosecuted for their alleged crimes, not pulled back into being subjects of, or witnesses to testify in, federal investigations of the ethics or criminal investigations that are ongoing, and may eventually result in prosecutions.
Frankly, there seems to be no will on the part of current Attorney General, Eric Holder, to actually prosecute any of these people, nor of the past two administrations to assure real justice is served, nor of Congress to assure these problems are addressed and the system cleaned up and made to have some integrity again. In fact, Holder is known by many to be a creator and proponent of using non-prosecution agreements to protect corporate and possibly government wrongdoers from being held accountable for their corrupt dealings. Though it has been announced he is stepping down, he is here now, and continuing to serve in the same way he has been, perhaps with less pressure, since some are willing to give him a pass because he is leaving.
I have written about these problems previously. I can see it is not getting any better, and despite lip service from some in Congress to address this type of corruption, it appears many of them are also involved in less than ethical relationships with corporations. So no real investigation with prosecutions as a logical end, have been happening as a product of the work. There does not appear to be any correction of the environments that allow such criminal and corrupt actions and relationships. And there does not appear that any reform of the whole contracting and government oversight system has occurred. Those responsible are being allowed to skate.
I would like to expose specific questionable personnel changes involving federal employees that some of you out there know were implicated in improprieties, possibly being compromised and corrupted by corporate interests, or by someone higher up in the government food chain. I am aware of some cases where the cronyism and corruption have spanned over many agencies and activities in DOD.
If you are a whistle blower, or you have knowledge of any of this, I would like to know what you know. If you know of someone who has left government service, either by resigning suddenly or retiring suddenly, that you know or suspect has been forced out because they were in an indefensible position regarding corruption and/or cover-up of crimes they committed, or that they agreed to cover-up for supervisors or cronies, let me know. I have information about some specific examples. I would like to see if I can discover more connections and depth with the help of my readers.
Thanks,
GFS
Whistleblower Support Blog 
Reblogged this on Citizens, not serfs.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing to a broader audience. GFS
A pleasure – perceptive article.
I’d suggest that you detail the failure of elected officials and their failure to live up to their oath of office. Start with Representative Wittman from the 1st District of Virginia. Detail the way he and the the Office of Special Council ignores, looks the other way or stalls everything until it just disappears. There are many other elected officials that you know of who think nothing of destroying a federal workers career in order to protect their political campaign donation sources.
Good idea. It may be time to start listing all the people, politicians or not who could have stopped the corruption and illegal activities, but who chose not to do so. There is a fairly long list regarding any number of incidents and cases, and I bet a lot of the readers could contribute a lot more.
I hear you, RLK.
I suggest you start with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and the new Secretary of Defense. I was forced to take early retirement due to health reasons to get out from all the harassment and prohibited personnel practices being exercised to me. As a representative of NAVSEA 08 in a position funded by DCMA I pointed out (and continued to point out) operational wrong-doing, fraud, publishing misinformation, and associated coverup activities within the DCMA Field office Navy Special Emphasis Operations (NSEO). The coverup activities were managed by the Director DCMA, Executive Director Contract Operations, and Senior Management all the way down to filed supervisors. In addition to the coverup activities, NAVSEA 00, 04, and 08 supported and assisted DCMA in the coverup and harassment I suffered. Note that the NSEO was created after complete operational mission failure by DCMA at a contractor fraudulently supplying valves to the Navy for years. After Ashton Carter became head of the DOD AT&L federal regulations were revised to protect DCMA from any type of Government (Customer) oversight and auditing. The protection continues to this day and DCMA has not corrected their errors; rather they hide them and there is no independent agency with the capabilities and competence to audit and prosecute.
This is a very well stated comment. I believe you are accurate indeed. I will be sharing some more information here. I have input from one of my contributors, the old navy man, that concurs with your observations. You will want to add N89 into your observations.
Thanks for taking the gloves off. I will be doing the same I think. Enough is too much. You are not the only one who has gone through hellish retribution, including prohibited personnel practices, harassment, threats, attacks on family members, and on and on. Things really are FUBAR.
I don’t know where to begin as the torment and torture I have experienced for being a truth-teller and honoring my oath of office in the U.S. Navy and while serving as a DoD civil service employee are surreal. The principles and values upon which this country were formed are nothing other than words on old parchment paper. I have been stripped of the very freedoms and liberties for which I served to protect!
I’ve always been an authentic person, but when I joined the Navy, I felt I was a part of something bigger than myself and learned that military members were supposed to be held to a higher standard of conduct than the general public. In the Navy, I honored my Oath of Office by protecting our country, abiding by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Navy’s Code of Conduct and walking the talk. Because I was truthful and never political, I have suffered to an extreme. As a Navy Journalist as well as a government contract specialist (GS-13/1102), realize that I have witnessed a lot in the government which not only violated law, but was in direct conflict with my governing principles and values. When I started loudly speaking out against illegal human subject testing on military personnel, corruption, fraud, mismanagement and conspiracy in government contracting and access to sensitive information by foreign nationals, I was identified as an enemy of the state. I was harassed, mobbed and assaulted in my last two government work places. Psychological warfare was unleashed against me. Huge smear campaigns ensured using black propaganda — most definitely defamatory and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Bogus investigations were initiated against me and I was being called a spy and a spook at work. Entrapment used to set me up to appear as if I was involved in espionage and terrorism. All forms of communication were being interfered with and often intercepted. My bank, securities and pension accounts (to include my buy back of military time) was tampered with. False witness and false testimony against me by colleagues and employees. My home and personal belongings were being sabotaged. Community harassment and organized stalking (to include cyber stalking) is ongoing. Psychological evaluations were ordered against me by the Navy at my last civil service position and my access to classified information was suspended, my security clearance suspended and I was indefinitely suspended (since October 2013). I have been blacklisted and watchlisted. I have a pending EEO complaint and a MSPB Appeal against the Navy;you would not believe the underhanded, evil tactics that have been used against me in this arena. I am only alive by the grace of God. There is too, too much that has happened to me to capture in this blog. Believe that those responsible for ruining my life, killing my soul, destroying me financially and harming all my relationships with family, friends and community have far-reaching tentacles to be able to attack one where ever you go. My punishment for not outsourcing my integrity and not having “loyalty” trump my ethics is being put into a “slow kill” program which serves to also remind anyone else thinking of “whistleblowing” of the consequences of truth-telling. I have gone to the OSC, my state senators and representatives, the DoDIG, FBI, CIA, local police, State Attorney, etc. Those involved are experts in discrediting the whistleblower so that they are perceived as “mentally ill” so that their gross crimes stay hidden in the darkness, smothered by weeds so that the truth remains hidden. Anyone defying the order to “stay out of the weeds” sacrifices his/her life by navigating through the weeds to expose the seeds of truth.
Sherri,
If it helps, I have no problem believing you. I am aware of other whistleblowers who have gone through similar sorts of things. Whistleblowers and their families have been under attack with increasing intensity, as the amount of cronyism, conflict of interest between corporations and government, corruption of all kinds, fraud, waste, abuse, etc. It is reprehensible that our government is allowed to operate this way, in violation of our laws and our Constitution. Please keep in touch.
Whistle blower protection is complete bullshit. I was forced to apply for disability retirement after enduring almost three years of retaliation, threats, and removal of responsibilities; all managed, administered, and controlled by the Executive Director, Contract Operations, DCMA, (M. Greening). This all centered on my continual uncovering and discovery of mission failure, Senior Management Cover-up, fraud, and reporting it to the Director of DCMA (at the time Charlie Williams). Commanders, Deputy Directors, and Senior Management of NAVSEA 00, 04, and 08 all collaborated with DCMA Management to retaliate against me. The real sad part is the DCMA Mission failure, fraud and cover-up with NAVSEA supporting continues today. In the end, my reputation, career, and health were permanently damaged beyond repair. There is no protection as a whistle blower in the DoD community as the Good Old Boy club rules all levels and aspects. Would I blow the whistle if I could go back in time, hell yes. However, I would be doing it all differently.
John N. Button, Retired, Director, Supplier Oversight, Naval Sea Systems Command Technical Representative – Pittsburgh as part of NAVSEA 08.
I resigned from the department of defense because, I was tired of getting passed by for promotion because of the click. Supervisors favortism, harassment, lying to, false claims, racism, there are many other reasons but you get the message.
It does seem to be a workplace choking on cronyism.