Posted on 12/15/2010 9:19:24 PM PST by smokingfrog
What, Coleman Aerospace in Orlando?
I wanted to smack the effing smug look right off his face.
General O'Reilly of the Missile Defense Agency may have done that for you, when he halted target purchases from them.
O’Reilly’s decision was made after an MDA quality control team turned up major problems at Coleman’s facility, according to the source. The company “didn’t pass the 101 test” for quality control, the source told Aviation Week.
Your friends should hang their heads in shame. They gave everyone else in the industry a black eye when their shoddy work and lack of attention to detail sent their Hera missile splashing into the ocean, trashing the thousands of man-hours spent preparing for the test by soldiers and contractors alike.
Orbital Sciences has $1.1 billion and over 1,000 people, and Raytheon Missile Systems has 12,500 employees and $5.4 billion. Those two qualify for all-caps, Coleman doesn't.
First, modern missile defense was started by President Reagan (as SDI, the Strategic Defense Initiative). Ever since then, there have been a lot of liberal/Democratic detractors and naysayers. Seeing them proved wrong (on yet another issue) is satisfying. Additionally, SDI/MD is one of only three Presidentially mandated programs in the history of the USA. The others were the Manhattan Project (nuclear bomb), and the Apollo program (mission to the Moon). We are seeing history in the making here. Like those other programs, SDI/MD is challenging, stretching technology to the limits. I expect we'll see spin-off benefits from it just as we did the other large programs.
Second, we need missile defense. Missile and WMD technology proliferation is a reality. Ballistic missiles are rapidly becoming the weapons system of choice for many Countries. Consider, if you're a Country slightly weaker or even on parity with your neighbors, how are you going to win friends and influence people? Armies and Air Forces can be defeated by similar Armies and Air Forces. They require expensive upkeep. Oh, and if you're a not too popular dictator, the Generals just may toss you out. On the other hand, a missile battery doesn't march on your palace and overthrow you. With the exceptions of a few systems, there really is no good, widespread way to defeat ballistic missiles (yet). So ballistic missiles are, and probably will be for years to come, the relatively cheap military/terror technology of choice. (until missile defense technology is more widespread)
Finally third, I'm an engineer by education and experience. Heck, my family says it is in my DNA/blood and it was inevitable... That part of me just loves to see a bunch of people say something is too hard, and then see another group of people go out and do it. The men/women working missile defense aren't perfect (who is?), but they apparently have made tremendous progress, and are continuing to push the envelope.
The bloated contractor I work for just set a record in fielding new intel systems to the airforce.
People were working 24/7 to do it.
Interesting take on relative size... I just went to the Raytheon Missile Systems web page. By my count they are involved in over 25 different projects. (that they list there anyway). At 5.4 billion and 12,500 people, that works out to about 200 million and 320 people per project. That puts the projects in roughly the same size/scope as the smaller company’s involvement. You probably get economies of scale with a bigger company. Anyway, most of that money is probably going towards hardware - actual deliverable missiles/bombs. Wonder what the mix of labor vs “raw materials” costs are - but I doubt Raytheon (or anyone) would publish that kind of info. (their competitors would sure like to know it)
I think NeverForgetBattan has been believing too much of the liberal media's spin and stereotyping... The big-bad military-industrial complex must be lazy and evil. I don't believe anything the liberal MSM puts out. So when they try to characterize defense contractors as lazy/overpaid, I'm pretty sure (and from my experience back in the day) the exact opposite is true.
And hey, if his buddies that work for a defense contractor are successful and can afford nice vacations, why be jealous? Instilling jealousy and envy are liberal class warfare tactics. If his buddies are over-charging, someone else will come along and take their contract from them next time around. If they're providing a useful product/service at a fair price, but making a profit, I don't see a problem with it. That's capitalism and free market.
I could see Obama and Co. High Fiving each other after hearing the news.
Folks grumble about the cost of these systems, but they would also come unglued if a single person died due to a failure.
Peoples lives depend in this stuff.
“5,000 former staffers of the Joint Forces Command” -
**********************************************************************************
Dear Secretary Gates,
Thank you. You apparently understand the critical financial mess this country is in. Please S#itcan about 200K more. They can then go seek jobs in the private sector using the
fantastic experience that the private sector taxpayer has financed for them. And they can start helping to support the bloated DoD by paying some taxes that are not just re-cycled dollars from DoD payrolls. I’m sure many of them have an entrepreneurial streak and won’t have any problem with self employment. I hear the restaurant industry is recovering well. You could direct some to look there.
Keep up the good work.
Regards,
The cash strapped American private sector taxpayer.
I has NOTHING to do with being Liberal (which I sure as hell am NOT) or being Conservative.
It has to do with the fact that this country is BROKE! And we might just have to accept that and live with the hardware that we have now. Just like the way many furloughed people have to put off buying things they want until they can afford them. But, NEVER point that out to people who get their paychecks from the Federal Gub-”MINT”
or from it by proxy at at defense contractor, because they will turn and snarl and say “how dare you question our RIGHT to this piece of the pie”.
And I’m not jealous of these people but as a vendor to them I see allot of things that disgust me about the way they
operate. The Military/Industrial complex in not “evil”, but it HAS become self-serving and fat. If you think not I think you are deluding yourself.
No it’s not Coleman. It’s the former defense unit of TI. TI spld it off back in the 90s.
BIG is spot on, then. When you said Disney World instead of Disneyland, I figured it must be Coleman.
I think some in this discussion mis-understand my points.
We need good program people, at defense contractors, that are paid fairly from investments made by the Contractor AND its own stockholders. If the contractor wants to fund big salaries and benefits, then that’s on their OWN dime.
I don’t think defense contractor employees are BAD people. But I do think the way they operate, as organizations, IS and has been bad for a loooong time. Some General says; “I need a missile defense shield”. The contractor suit says; “great! I can make one of those”. The General gives him $100 Million development contract and says; “go make me a prototype”. That’s a BAD PLAN.
The Pentagon should NEVER concurrently fund projects using the “other peoples money” principle. If a contractor thinks he has great people and can build a successful system, then let him do it and PROVE it with his OWN MONEY. If it works then they get a performance bonus equal to REASONABLE development costs AND a production contract to reach profit.
The Contractor should NEVER be given endless chances that go on and on, using “development funds” to make these things work. If a start-up company fails to produce results with venture capital then you know what happens.
The venture capital gets cut off.
The size and duration of contracts has shrunk in recent times. The old three- to five-year contracts seem to be a thing of the past, and we're seeing 3-month and 6-month contracts instead. It makes it much more challenging for a large organization to operate and plan ahead when you can't be certain your highly-talented employees will be able to be paid six months hence.
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