Thunderbirds Investigation -- Air Force Response

Here is the Air Force's response (pdf) to the Department of Defense Inspector General's (DoD IG) investigation report (pdf) of the "improper influence" of Major General Stephen M. Goldfein on the $50 million contract with Strategic Message Solutions for Thunderbirds Air Show Production Services.

Of note, on pages seven and eight, is a memo to senior Air Force leaders from Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff "Buzz" Moseley and a statement from Moseley.  Both stress ethics.

However, the word on the street is that Moseley missed getting caught in a buzzsaw in this investigation, possibly due to the standards of evidence used to determine responsibility for wrongdoing.  More specifically, we hear that the "clear and convincing" evidence standard was used as opposed to the lower "preponderance of evidence" standard (UPDATE, note: "clear and convincing" would make sense in a criminal investigation, however, because it was declined for criminal prosecution by the Nevada Assistant U.S. Attorney, it was an administrative investigation).  Moseley comes up numerous times in the DoD IG report of investigations (pdf).

-- Nick Schwellenbach

Comments

[India Larry]

Dear Mr. Waitkus,

I am a Mass Media Communications major at Clark Atlanta University, in Atlanta, Ga , and an aspiring investigative reporter. In analyzing this situation through varies websites, I think you may have overreacted in a defensive manor and took things the wrong way. I'd like to say that I am only observing not judging, as I am only a minor league player in this game, however, I think your underbidding within such a large margin versus your competition may have suggested that you were not as confident in either yourselves, or your ability to pull off a production of this magnitude. In my experience cheapier is never better an also an indication of ones confidence in them selves. The object of the game is to bid high and work your way down, unless you are bidding in the stock market, where it is better to by low and sell high. You should always plan your next move. That means when your competitor is awake, you should be awake; and when your competitor is sleep, your should be awake! You should never underestimate yourself, even if you think you are the underdog. Besides if you are the underdog you absolutely have nothing to lose, not to mention you can always redirect a high bid to a lower one, an transition a conflict or a mistaken delivery. I think they tried to be tactful with reject, an you took things personal. Were there not other bidders denied? Not to say that you were just as qualified and more economical
than your competition. If they are like me economical was not their objective, and I don't think you were a victim, like many
others in the "Western World", it just was not your turn. Yet, there will be another chance for u! U just have to wait your turn as the world revolves like the wheel of fortune and it lands on U! Again u overreacted and it wasn't personal.

[jack waitkus]

I am the owner of the company (SRO Media and Video West, Inc.)that filed the original protest to the award of this contract to SMS. From there we were assigned a GAO lawyer and based on our protest the award to SMS was aborted by the Air Force and the investigation was instituted.

SMS still recieved 1.9 million dollars for merely submitting a bid just like we did. In the end, the most disturbing part of this fiasco is that honest companies with integrity like mine are collateral damage to the wishes and lack of intergrity and honesty of a few powerful people. My company wasted hundreds of hours of time and effort in preparing both the bid and the protest. In the end we have received no apologies or financial gain.

Additionally, I was sued by SMS and accused of conspiring with the Air Force to steal the ideas of SMS. This only added salt and further time, effort, and financial losses to the existing wound of having our time wasted in pursuing a contract that we had no chance of being awarded. As you probably know, Mr. Beasley, one of the principals of SMS, has a law firm named after either him or his father. The Law School at Temple bears the name in some capacity.

Word on the street? There's a reliable source--you'll get a Pulitzer for that. What's DOD/IG say about your unsupported assertion?