Letters

Too Few Scientists

I appreciated your article, "A Few Good Scientists" (April), which describes the challenges of maintaining the scientific staff at the Waterways Experiment Station at Vicksburg, Miss. I am a 30-year veteran of another Army scientific organization, and the problems you discussed sound familiar. Problems at Vicksburg might be equally associated with the unique requirements of scientific staffing as with geographic desirability.

James Houston summed up your article when he said, "We're starting to get old here. We need to start rehiring people." I think the problem is more pervasive and serious than this short quote suggests. Houston associates his scientist shortages with Mississippi's image. But the best scientists I know are mainly motivated by the opportunity to work on great problems and they will go most anywhere to work on these problems-as long as that place has the resources and community to support them in their work. Vicksburg seems to be one of those places; so there have to be other reasons for their staffing difficulties.

A big problem may be the many hiring limits and quotas that have been imposed over the years. Those blanket restrictions are calamitous for scientific staffing. Houston would probably have had no staffing problem if only he were permitted a sufficient stream of new scientific employees. Eventually only a small percentage of these people might be expected to stay-the ones who really loved the work-and that would suffice. But with the various hiring restrictions over the past years, an ever-decreasing pool of entry-level (i.e. potential long-term) scientist/engineers is typical, resulting eventually in a growing shortage of talent at all levels.

This shortage is now being felt all the way up to the leadership levels at Vicksburg. The Vicksburg experience seems similar to our own, and it would be interesting to know how many other government scientific organizations have such problems. The problem is probably worse in other laboratories. Vicksburg appears to have greater tactical, civil and community visibility than most. What then must be happening to laboratories with less visibility?

I think there is a governmentwide problem with the staffing of scientific organizations. Staff maintenance is only one of many difficulties of government research, but it is fundamental and urgent. I hope we wake up to this urgency before it is too late. When leadership levels are affected there is not much time left.

Francis X. Caradonna
Research Scientist
Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate
Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, Calif.

Try Getting Care

Your article mentioning TRICARE ("Sick Call", May) made me recall taking one of my young officers, recently back from a tour in Korea, up to West Point (Keller Army Hospital) to check out a problem he was having with his foot. Instead of seeing a doctor, he was informed he wasn't "enrolled" in TRICARE and was given a thick welcome packet and application form. We drove the long two hours back to our duty station in sad bewilderment.

Our new reality is this: If an active duty service member walks out of his family medicine clinic at his military treatment facility (hospital) with a consult to orthopedics just down the hallway, he has to go home instead and wait four business days for TRICARE to get the consult into their "system" before he can make arrangements via their 800 number to get an orthopedic appointment.

In another instance, my prescription for life-long medication had been returned to me in the mail because, according to Merck-Medco's records, I still had a 19-day supply of medicine on hand. Upon calling for clarification, I was instructed to mail the prescription back to them again the following day because the window of time for renewal was only 14 days. Together we wasted postage on a prescription they would, of course, ultimately fill. This is the kind of "business sense" that permeates the entire program. Such unnecessary bureaucratic waste costs us the care we deserve.

And although I'm not particularly rank conscious, it sure would be a nice touch if those Sierra contract employees could refer to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines by their proper title, instead of Mr. or Mrs. Their obvious unfamiliarity with the military customer adds to the overall impression that this colossal travesty we created is out to serve anything but our military service members and their families. TRICARE has truly come to mean "TRY getting CARE."

Col. John T. Dillard
U.S. Army commander

Teaching vs. Learning

I agree with most of Steven Kelman's article "Management Courses Go a Long Way" (Public Management, April). But I take exception to the last sentence, "Management skills can be taught." Perhaps it is a fine distinction, but I contend that the act of teaching does not ensure learning. In order to learn, a student must make a conscious effort to remember and apply what was taught. From the perspective of a reader who is lacking the management skills discussed, I submit the last sentence should read as follows: "Management skills can be learned."

Lt. John G. Sparks
Navy

As the Pendulum Swings

Many government employees have seen questionable cycles in the past. I remember one in the 1960s, which among other things ended the lunar exploration initiative, shelved or destroyed countless millions of hardware items, and disbanded a world-class research and engineering team at NASA and among NASA Apollo contractors. Then there was President Nixon's plan to reduce government waste through personnel reductions and reductions in service. President Carter discovered the effects of false economy when his embassy rescue team was forced to turn back because its equipment failed. Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton have all made similar efforts.

As a result, our public buildings will require billions of dollars in repairs. Our space program is in shambles. Our military preparedness and the morale of our military personnel are so low they threaten our national security. The civil service has experienced a flight of talent and plummeting morale, both of which result in reduction of service to the people and leave many programs of paramount importance understaffed. This in turn has left an opening for both major parties to exploit through legislative and executive means.

The results? An end run on the Civil Service Reform Act, resulting in outrageous numbers of political appointees unequipped to manage complex government programs. Privatization of important government programs, resulting in windfalls for industrial partners of key movers in both parties but reductions in service and higher costs for the voters:

• Inadequate schools nationwide.
• Business paying fewer taxes, as a percentage of GNP, than it did in President Truman's administration, while wage earners pay proportionally more.
• Precipitous declines in long-term government and private investment for research and infrastructure.

Unchecked, these trends actually threaten the stability of our nation, as well as its continued strength and prosperity. Let's hope that this latest swing of the pendulum will move us back toward thoughtfulness and reason in government.

James Defibaugh

Coast Guard Curse

Your March article "The Curse of Can-Do" makes a compelling case for throwing a financial lifeline to the Coast Guard.

It is a sad statement that a service that is seen to be as reliable, as vital and as managerially sound as the Coast Guard is being forced to do more and more with less and less. The Coast Guard operates on an annual budget of $4 billion, while in 1999 alone it seized more than that amount in illegal drugs. Clearly, the nation gets a return on its investment as far as the Coast Guard is concerned. There is no reason for the Coast Guard to be forced to operate and maintain aged equipment as it performs such crucial tasks as lifesaving operations, drug interdiction, fisheries law enforcement, and illegal immigration regulation enforcement.

Fortunately, the Coast Guard's troubles have been recognized by lawmakers, but it will take more than simple recognition to keep the Coast Guard capable. What is needed is a firm commitment from the White House and Congress to ensure that the Coast Guard remains fully funded and capable for years to come.

Phillip Thompson
Senior Fellow
Lexington Institute

Correction

The amount the Interior Department received in charge card rebates for fiscal 2000 was incorrect in the May article "Trump Card." The correct amount is $4.3 million.