Morning Smoke: How Accountable and Open is Your State?

MORNING SMOKE

Where there's smoke, there's fire. POGO's Morning Smoke is a collection of the freshest investigations, scoops, and opinions related to the world of government oversight. Have a story you'd like to see included? Contact POGO's blog editor

Government Accountability

Grading the Nation: How Accountable is Your State?
Caitlin Ginley, iWatch News

National Security

Pentagon Budget Secures Major Strategic Win for Lockheed
Loren Thompson, Aol Defense

U.S. Accelerating Cyberweapon Research
Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post

Lawmaker Wants to Keep, Upgrade Cruisers
Charles Hoskinson, Navy Times

U.S. Weapons Manufacturers Capitalize on Rising Demand in Asia
National Defense Magazine

The NSA is Building the Country's Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)
James Bamford, Threat Level

Whistleblower Issues

OSC Releases Conclusions Regarding Port Mortuary Retaliation
Corporate Whistleblower Blog

Work Increases and Staff Shrinks at MSPB
Joe Davidson, The Washington Post

Four Whistleblowers Who Sounded the Alarm on Banks' Mortgage Shenanigans
Cora Currier, ProPublica

Whistleblower Gets Sham Justice from Wall Street Court
William D. Cohan, Bloomberg

Contactor Oversight

Contractor Pay Caps Re-Emerge in Senate
Charles S. Clark, Government Executive

Government Oversight

GAO Expands Oversight of Intelligence
Steven Aftergood, Secrecy News

Comments

[Dfens]

The modification is to the F-22's Emergency Oxygen System handle, which makes it easier for the pilot to access. Det 1 model makers Floyd Slinker and Terry Waugh designed it.

Approximately 200 handles, which cost $47 apiece to manufacture, have been delivered, including spares. The handles have already been fielded at the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.

"The fact that this detachment was able to do this quickly, cheaply and effectively, and get it into the hands of our aircrews shows them the Air Force is involved and working to get the F-22 recommendations in place as quickly as possible," Lyon said. "I wanted to come by today and thank the folks who came up with the idea, designed it, programmed it, machined it, mailed it, paid for it, and got it out there in a very rapid manner. I'm very proud of the unit for what they've done."

The handle was one of the F-22 components identified by a Scientific Advisory Board, which studied safety issues on the jet, as one of the critical items to be fixed. The SAB, an independent board working under the direction of the Air Force, investigated the oxygen systems in the jet after months of problems with the main and backup systems. -- Air Force Education and Training Command News Release

This article sheds a little more light on what is really going on with the F-22 after the most recent crash. Notice it says the "handle was one of the F-22 components...to be fixed" not the only component to be fixed. Even so, the fact that the handle is being fixed is itself evedence that the crash was not simply the fault of the pilot as the Accident Investigation Board report stated.