Coast Guard shows off first high-tech cutter

In an effort to polish its tarnished image over mismanaging a multibillion-dollar contract for high-tech ships and planes, the Coast Guard on June 27 showed off one of its modern cutters at a public tour in Baltimore.

Comment on this article in The Forum.In May, the Coast Guard accepted delivery of the Bertholf, the first of eight high-tech national security cutters developed under the Deepwater contract, the agency's 25-year, $25 billion modernization effort to replace aging ships, patrol boats, aircraft and computer systems. The cutter, which is 418 feet long and named for the Coast Guard's first commandant, Ellsworth P. Bertholf, can operate with a smaller crew and with greater ease than traditional cutters, the Coast Guard says. For instance, one crew member can fire the ship's guns and monitor engineering systems remotely. "In lots of ways, this is a software application with a ship attached," said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen.

Since its inception, Deepwater has been plagued by cost overruns and delays, which culminated last year when eight patrol boats refurbished under the program were scrapped because of buckling hulls. Soon after, Allen announced the Coast Guard would take over as lead systems integrator and expand its acquisition workforce to take over the management of the contract.

"There's been an issue with accountability ever since the start of the acquisition," Allen said at a public tour of the Bertholf, at which more than 50 people attended, including members of the press and Homeland Security Department Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Allen called the delivery of the Bertholf "incredible" for morale. "This is a visible signal to the Coast Guard and everyone else that we are turning the corner on the acquisition. We're going to see [the Bertholf] do remarkable things."

Chertoff defended the problems in the Deepwater program, saying large acquisitions always face criticism and the agency has learned a lot in the past four to five years. "We need to be realistic sometimes," he told the crowd. "Any change in technology has bumps in the road.

"I think Commandant Allen has injected an added dose of discipline to the process," he added. "When necessary he has rapped the contractor's knuckles."

The Government Accountability Office reported on June 25 that the Coast Guard has improved management of Deepwater because it had hired more project managers and technicians to oversee the contract. GAO, however, warned that the agency has a large deficit of experienced acquisitions personnel, which has forced the Coast Guard to continue to hire contractors to perform critical roles such as cost estimation and analysis. GAO also recommended DHS take a larger role in oversight. Homeland Security previously had delegated all Deepwater-related decisions and oversight to the Coast Guard.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee who has been critical of the Deepwater contract, said he was impressed by the Bertholf, but that problems remain. "I think the Coast Guard is headed in the right direction, but a lot of it is because Congress is pushing in that direction," he said.

Cummings said the subcommittee's decision to add 1,500 positions to the Coast Guard would alleviate some of the shortage of personnel. "The Coast Guard has been stretched very far, asked to do many things without the resources to do it," he said. "My position is to do everything to give them the resources."

The Coast Guard accepted delivery of the Bertholf despite inspectors from the Navy identifying eight outstanding issues. Rear Adm. Ronald Rábago, director of acquisition programs, said the Coast Guard had taken delivery of the ship with preliminary acceptance and final acceptance wouldn't take place for another year.

Rábago said these issues, in addition to others, were being addressed, and he anticipated all the concerns would be fixed within the year. He added that it would be easier to troubleshoot with a crew on board, likening the members to 100 inspectors who can spot problems as they arise.