Retired Joint Chief of Staff says A-OKAY on Y2K?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

This maybe a little off the subject but it does regard the whole y2k ok attitude of TPTB.

My best friends dad retired a couple of years ago. He was one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Admiral Robert A. Kramek of the United States Coast Guard. Every year for Christmas/New Year celebrations the entire family gets together in the Florida Keys at a location owned by the military exclusively for recreational use. I was concerned that my bud was going to be travelling over the millenial holiday, and she in turn questioned her father on the safety of travelling during this time. His response, a-okay! Now I do realize he is retired from the military, he is now an executive at a international shipping co., his son has followed in his footsteps, and is an officer in the Coast Guard. My point here is that I believe he is in a position to be aware of a severe crisis. There are only two conclusions I have come to.

1. He seriously does not believe there will be a crisis.

- or -

2. Like any parent, in the event of a crisis, he would like to have his family all together in a safe place (and what a bonus, the Florida Keys no-less).

Thoughts anyone. The more I learn, the more unsure I am. At least the waits almost over.

-- MIS (KarlaCALIF@aol.com), November 03, 1999.

-- MIS (KarlaCALIF@aol.com), November 03, 1999

Answers

the gentleman is/was a bureaucrat. as such, it is normal for him to approach every potential calamity as "no problem." i say this only because i too am a bureaucrat of over 32 years with 25 years in the fed bureaucracy. i am a senior management official in a large govt. facility presently preparing for y2k. the daily intensity is increasing and today i was in three lengthy meetings discussing the status of our readiness. the last of these meetings was in a conference call with six other similar facilities in three states. (my facility is 1.5 million square feet with a yearly operating budget of $114,000,000 and change.) without boring details... the emphasis was upon meeting the demands of the required reports to higher authority and a general air of competitiveness existed between facilities as the "facilitator" grilled each of us on our somewhat disappointing percentages of remediation. one group reported an increase of nearly 70% since the october meeting which is literally amazing as we are now receiving calls from vendors retracting their previous assurances. a subordinate supervisor played a recorded voice mail message for me in which a major vendor indicated that our heating and air conditioning (hvac) controls and fire alarm systems could only be compliant through total replacement. the vendor sounded somewhat frantic knowing that replacement was impossible at this late date. higher management, when informed, was primarily concerned about how we would appear to the other six facilities. the late afternoon conference call was filled with assurances that nothing would happen but just in case command centers would be in operation for 72 hours following rollover fully staffed etc.

bureaucrats readily lose sight of the problem in the eternal effort to garner the praise of higher level management. they simply cannot accept the fact that anything "like that" can happen here. preparations are mostly superficial. they don't understand.

-- clayton (ratchetass@hotmail.com), November 03, 1999.


Clayton - Thank you for posting..... if you have other opinions about the outlook for next year, we would like to read them.

-- Just as I suspected (Long@TimeLurker.com), November 03, 1999.

Wow thanks for that, I truly do appreciate your info and insight. (sigh). The more I read the more worried I be.

-- MIS (KarlaCALIF@aol.com), November 03, 1999.

yikes

-- gimme drugs (knock@me.out), November 03, 1999.

Karla- 1. He seriously does not believe there will be a crisis ( I would think that in the event he would be afforded certain protection due to his former rank.) 2. Like any parent, in the event of a crisis, he would like to have his family all together in a safe place ( and what a bonus, if it has been stocked and a generator installed "just in case") He know what's gonna happen like none of us ever will, I'll bet.

-- Gia (laureltree7@hotmail.com), November 04, 1999.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ