Four former top US Department of Defense officials have been assigned primary blame for the Boeing KC-767 tanker lease scandal in a new report, but strategic redactions in the “Management Accountability Review” by the inspector general make the investigation of the scandal itself a source of controversy.
The four named officials are Edward Aldridge, a retired under secretary of defence; James Roche, former secretary of the US Air Force; Marvin Sambur, the USAF’s former acquisition chief and Darleen Druyun, the former No 2 acquisition official.
Each stands accused of bypassing the DoD’s acquisition regulations – namely, skipping a required analysis of alternatives and improperly treating the KC-767 as a commercial item.
The inspector general also faults Aldridge’s successor Michael Wynne, who raised questions about the USAF’s acquisition strategy, but failed to require the service to observe the department’s contracting procedures. The inspector general made no recommendation to punish the offenders. Rather, the report urged DoD officials to re-emphasise adhering to existing acquisition rules and revise the acquisition guidelines to clarify that leasing deals should be treated in the same way as procurement contracts.
Druyun is serving a nine-month prison sentence for abusing her position to favour Boeing proposals in contract awards.
Bush administration critics in the Senate are sharply critical of omissions in the released version of the IG report. The IG office decided to redact the names and communications of all White House and industry sources mentioned or quoted in the report. As a result, several critical lawmakers raised questions about the report’s legitimacy.
Meanwhile, the USAF’s search for a new tanker fleet goes on. An analysis of alternatives launched late last year is expected to be completed later this month.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE/WASHINGTON
Source: Flight International