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A whistleblower's complaint that unqualified Navy welders had inadequately soldered catapult hydraulic piping systems on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk was substantiated in an Office of Special Counsel report to President Bush.

The catapults are used to hoist aircraft from the carrier's deck into the air, and a failure of the hydraulic system could result in the loss of the aircraft and the possible death of the pilot and others.

By sending the report to the president, Special Counsel Scott Bloch confirmed that the Navy's second report on allegations first made by whistleblower Kristin Shott in November 2001 is complete and reasonable.

The Navy inquiry found the defective welding would not likely cause catastrophic failure, but the report did not rule out the possibility, according to OSC.

The investigation by the Navy found that an integrated electronics systems mechanic continued to weld even after his supervisor knew that his certification had expired. The report also found that the Naval Air Depot's certification tracking system was deficient.

The Navy repaired the problems with the Kitty Hawk's catapult in November, and the depot is working to improve its training and recertification program. The mechanic was disciplined with a three-day suspension. His supervisor - who told investigators that he did not assign mechanics soldering jobs - was going to be demoted, but his apology prompted a delay and a 5- to 14-day suspension is likely.

The faulty welding found on the USS Kitty Hawk is related to the faulty welding found on five other aircraft carriers in a February 2003 investigation instigated by Shott's disclosure to OSC.

Shott, a Navy welder with 16 years of experience, told OSC that other craftsmen from a variety of trades at the Naval Air Depot North Island in San Diego, Calif., work with lapsed certifications, but this was not proven in the subsequent investigation.

Shott told Government Executive that she is pleased that military personnel are safer, but she said the disciplinary actions lacked severity.

After going to the OSC with her complaint, Shott, who trained by welding nuclear submarines, was transferred and given a job welding cargo vans. According to Shott's lawyer, OSC has written a letter stating she was improperly removed from her job and denied a promotion.

"I destroyed my career to ensure that military personnel were safe," Shott said. "I will never go whistleblower again."

Voting Matters

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney that sought to make the records of his energy task force public.

The lawsuit, filed by advocacy groups Judicial Watch and the Sierra Club under the Federal Advisory Committee Act open meetings law, sought access to the records of the National Energy Policy Development Group.

Because the court in a unanimous decision concluded that the task force consisted solely of government officials, it is exempt from FACA requirements, and the lawsuit was dismissed.

The task force, established on Jan. 29, 2001, by President Bush within the Executive Office of the President, was formed to develop a national energy policy. Cheney was appointed chairman; the committee consisted solely of federal officials, according to administration personnel.

Judicial Watch argued that nonfederal employees participated in the private meetings as if they were members and that should bring the task force under FACA requirements. The Sierra Club alleged that nongovernment personnel attended the task force's subcommittee meetings, making them committee members.

The Bush administration argued that applying FACA rules to the task force that consisted of federal officials would infringe on the president's constitutional authority to recommend legislation and seek the opinions of department heads privately.

Circuit Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote that the membership of a committee can be determined by accounting for the voting members appointed by the president, and that the presence of nongovernment officials does not make them members. Randolph cited the necessity for a separation of powers that would allow the executive branch to make decisions and not be hampered by rules established by Congress.

"The outsider might make an important presentation, he might be persuasive, the information he provides might affect the committee's judgment," Randolph wrote. "But having neither a vote nor a veto over the advice the committee renders to the president, he is no more a member of the committee than the aides who accompany congressmen or Cabinet officers to committee meetings."

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement that the court's ruling does not have any basis in the open meetings law and is contrary to the law's intent.

"[T]he public will simply have to take the word of the government that no outsiders are improperly influencing the decisions of their government," Fitton said. "Today's decision means that now the public may never know the truth about how these policies were formulated."

Carl Pope, Sierra Club executive director, said in a statement that "the Bush administration has succeeded in locking the public out and letting industry and corporate special interests call the shots."

Sierra Club and Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, et al., 02-5354, May 10, 2005.

COMMENTS

• Before some of you naysayers start in on the Navy, you need to understand that the "yardbirds" working on those carriers and other ships are unionized civilians. Don't attempt to put the blame on the naval personnel. This country's civilian, unionized workers have been killing American servicemen for years thru such actions as was reported by the Whistleblower. The large manufacturing companies in this country have escaped liability (and yes prison sentences) for hundreds military related deaths due to everything from bad welds to leaving out rivets which eventually causes aircraft, machinery, etc to malfunction, causing the death of many service personnel. If you think that large corporations like aircraft companies who intentionally embezzle millions thru military contracts, will not cheat on manufacturing specifications or design requirments at the cost of american lives, you think again. IT'S MONEY FOR THE POLITICIANS WHO ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN. WAKE UP PEOPLE. Charlie Posted May 20, 2005 7:13 PM
• How can the Navy be so devoid of Leaders. Because this administration shoots not only messengers but people who stand up and disagree with the Politically Correct position. Think about how dangerous it is for a non-partisan Navy leadership to be so scared of this administration that not one Naval Officer is stepping forward to defend this whistleblower. Where are even the officers whose lives she saved on that aircraft carrier? The Annapolis Grads should be ashamed of themselves for being cowtowed by political correctness and the demand for silence coming out of the Pentagon. Where is your morale outrage? You should be demanding that the guilty parties who reprised against this welder be held accountable for their actions. Or, as in the case of these court martials coming out of the Iraq prison scandal-- we can find the most junior specialists to jail for prisoner abuse and let their superiors go scott free-- I really wonder what they are teaching in military ethics classes at the academies-- they certainly aren't building leaders. GovExec.com reader Posted May 20, 2005 8:41 AM
• With all due respect to the previous comment that "The most damaging part of this sad story is that the person damaged said never, ever again would she blow the whistle" is not true, at least in my view. The most damaging part is the the Navy has not clearly and forcefully supported her. In other words, the Navy is without leadership. Just think about it. This has been in the national press, so every level of the Navy administration is aware of the issue and the particulars, and no supposed Naval Officer has spoken up. How can you have a military devoid of leaders? GovExec.com reader Posted May 19, 2005 9:17 AM