Remember a few weeks back when Boeing was whining about the Airbus contract?
The chickens.............have come home.............to roost....... :lol: :lol:
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Boeing Booted Off Virtual Fence
February 29th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Media reports yesterday confirmed that Homeland Security took back its troubled virtual fence project in Arizona from Boeing. After paying $86 million to the company, Homeland Security discovered that the fence technology did not work. Oops.
Gregory Giddens, head of the Secure Border Initiative office, who is in charge of the SBInet project said the virtual fence will be finished some time in 2011 instead of 2008.
What happened? First of all, Boeing attempted to create a virtual fence with little input from Border Patrol agents who would be using the technology. Second, Homeland Security at the urging of Congress, wanted a sophisticated virtual surveillance system in less than two years. This 100-mile stretch of virtual fence included nine mobile towers, radar, cameras and vehicles with satellite phones and handheld devices. Third, according to a February 2007 U.S. Government Accounting office report, the SBInet office had 113 government officials and 157 private contractors staffing the office. The SBI office told the GAO that they were concerned that staffing shortfalls in federal employees would limit their government oversight efforts.
The GAO also warned in the same report that the SBInet contract which Boeing and a consortium of private contractors secured in 2006 needed a limit on spending. The contract has no limit on how much can be spent on securing our borders.
Let’s do the math: limitless contract + 6,000 miles of U.S. border = Boondoggle.
It’s important to point out that Boeing still has its contract. It will be providing steel for the border wall in Texas and possibly hiring more subcontractors to carry out tasks in technology and construction along the border.
The only thing that this contract is “securing” is the taxpayers’ money.
The chickens.............have come home.............to roost....... :lol: :lol:
______________________________________________________
Boeing Booted Off Virtual Fence
February 29th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Media reports yesterday confirmed that Homeland Security took back its troubled virtual fence project in Arizona from Boeing. After paying $86 million to the company, Homeland Security discovered that the fence technology did not work. Oops.
Gregory Giddens, head of the Secure Border Initiative office, who is in charge of the SBInet project said the virtual fence will be finished some time in 2011 instead of 2008.
What happened? First of all, Boeing attempted to create a virtual fence with little input from Border Patrol agents who would be using the technology. Second, Homeland Security at the urging of Congress, wanted a sophisticated virtual surveillance system in less than two years. This 100-mile stretch of virtual fence included nine mobile towers, radar, cameras and vehicles with satellite phones and handheld devices. Third, according to a February 2007 U.S. Government Accounting office report, the SBInet office had 113 government officials and 157 private contractors staffing the office. The SBI office told the GAO that they were concerned that staffing shortfalls in federal employees would limit their government oversight efforts.
The GAO also warned in the same report that the SBInet contract which Boeing and a consortium of private contractors secured in 2006 needed a limit on spending. The contract has no limit on how much can be spent on securing our borders.
Let’s do the math: limitless contract + 6,000 miles of U.S. border = Boondoggle.
It’s important to point out that Boeing still has its contract. It will be providing steel for the border wall in Texas and possibly hiring more subcontractors to carry out tasks in technology and construction along the border.
The only thing that this contract is “securing” is the taxpayers’ money.