Hurricane Conrad

Do NOT mess w/ this man ... Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher!

Catching DCV readers up on the goings-on at the Hurricane Center:

When we last left this sordid tale, ~40% of the NHC staff had signed a letter asking for the head of the Center to be reassigned. The letter was produced and signed while a NOAA assessment team was on-site to investigate concerns about dysfunctionality at the Hurricane Center. Not surprisingly, the assessment team recommeded his (Bill Proenza's) removal for fear that his presence there would cause "disruption that threatens the Tropical Prediction Center's ability to fulfill its mission to the American people." (TPC = NHC)

(Dolberry advises that when you hear a politician or government bureaucrat hail the "American people" ... run for cover.)

So yesterday, NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher (esteemed boater of some sort), was called before Congress to explain his actions. Here are some of the highlights, see here for complete transcript: (Dolberry in green.)

1. He starts off by assuring the (get running) "American people" that NOAA and the NHC is fully prepared to do their job this hurricane season. Hey, what a difference a couple of weeks makes.

2. He then recounts what made Hurricane Conrad mad in the first place, that Proenza complained about the wasteful NOAA "200th" anniversary spending and how that money could have been better used for almost anything (he used replacing a satellite as an example). IMO, this infuriated Conrad because it's not the way a junior officer is supposed to behave.

3. He then goes on a bit of a "money laundering" tack, saying he hired this Mary Flack'n, er Mary Glackin (Hey, that's good angry blogosphering there. I'm sticking w/ Flack'n.) who in her first days on the job was instructed (by whom it is not named, but we can guess) to improve managerial rigor. She sent a memo to Proenza reminding him "the need for adherence to ... the chain of command".

4. Conrad says Flack'n got a call on the evening of the 6/18 from NHC staff requesting a call about the situation down there. The call took place at noon on 6/19. There's your most convincing evidence that this was a total whack job. In the government, nobody gets a conference call set up for the next day. It's simply not heard of. And in the summertime? Right.

5. Turns out the NHC forecasters were "scared", "anxious", "felt muzzled". They basically didn't think Proenza was up for the job. (That's fine. Um, NHC staff join probably 30-70% of the rest of us working stiffs inside and outside the government. The line is back there.)

6. The assessment team came down & felt they couldn't do their job w/ Proenza being there, trying to maintain support from those who hadn't signed on to the coup. Which would seem to be his right.

7. They receommended his temporary reassignment so they could finish their assessment.

8. The assessment (surprise, surprise, surprise) came back unanimously that Proenza needed to go.

OK, realistically, if you say something your boss doesn't like, it's (generally) within his right to prevent you from saying it again. And I don't think this rises to the level of "whistleblower" incident. NOAA's wasteful spending on stupid Safety Seagulls and spamming their own employees w/ "200th" anniversary nonsense are a matter of public record. But, you really have to marvel at the colossal blunderingness w/ which this has been accomplished.

Conrad, you got your guy. In the process you got a) major media coverage about problems w/ one of your premier groups, b) set a precedent for future staff insurrections, & c) raised the ire of a Democratic-controlled Congress right in the FY-08 budget discussions. To put it in your terms, I believe this is called "winning the battle, but losing the war."

(update)

Um, the DCV has to apologize. The picture above was not Hurricane Conrad. This is him below. We sincerely apologize to anyone offended.