The US Department of Justice issued a press release stating that a Coast Guard warrant officer, formerly the Main Propulsion Assistant on a cutter, pleaded guilty in federal court to making a false statement about the improper overboard discharge of bilge wastes. The officer faces a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Press Release

Good!

Wow.. and a warrant at that. Not a boot ens, or a jg, but a guy, who came up the ranks, to 1st or CPO, then to Warrant.. then doing something like this.. What the he11 was he thinking?

quote:

What the he11 was he thinking?

He wasn't................

Wray...

quote:

What the he11 was he thinking?

And what the hell was anyone else in engineering thinking. The EO, the OOD, the other engineer officers, and have the engineer petty officers lost the ablility to throw the BS flag.

Something stinks about the whole incident.

quote:

Originally posted by qtrmoon:
Good!

No really brother tell us how you feel.

No doubt they were using the deep sink to "decant" the water off the bottom of the bilge water. Problem is, it just doesn't work all the time. You can get away with it for a while, but not always.

Hate to say it, but a lot of people do it. With OPTEMPOs like they are, it's a struggle to keep a safe bilge. It takes constant attention, and "bilge water awareness" - discipline to work hard to limit every drop of anything off yer machinery. But I know for a fact that engineers get overwhelmed by the problem, and the only easy answer, oil disposal services, are expensive. Hence the jury-rigged sink.

The Navy makes it easy for their ships ... they provide those floating "doughnuts" to offload bilge at will in port. Not us ...

Which gets me to the point of a good rant ... is it true that senior officers read these things?

Then, HEY ALL YOU 4-STRIPERS! GET A CLUE!

The installed SAREX and other OWS systems you have installed on cutters don't always work that well ... you're driving your personnel to cut corners and find innovative ways around the Oil Pollution Act. The systems are problemmatic, and at least SOMEWHAT ineffective ... and that's the problem. Somewhat ineffective is just as bad as completely busted ... like changing the oil in yer car, but not the filter. You still have dirty oil.

4-Stripers: ADDRESS THE PROBLEM! Either provide suitable money for consistent oil disposal services or machinery, or accept that your crews MAY be subverting the laws we're supposed to uphold. And don't tell me that's unacceptable ... we know it, but we're still doing it. Because the bigger "unacceptable" issue is unsafe bilges.
Grouchy-azz old Machinery Tech sends ...

quote:

Originally posted by qtrmoon:
Good!

Good??? Good?? WTF are u talking about GOOD!!

Chief respectivly speaking, please explain yourself on this one! Wether or not someone made a crazy huge career life changing decision here as an MPA! I would love to know why u have decided that your answer is GOOD!!?? If you know something we don't than please feel free to chime in.

V/r

MK1

I can't help but wonder if he was following a request made by a "higher authority"... Maybe not a direct order, but you know the old "make it happen" thing...

That is not an excuse for his actions, but a possible reason he did what he did..

Wray...

quote:

Originally posted by SociallyAutistic:
No doubt they were using the deep sink to "decant" the water off the bottom of the bilge water. Problem is, it just doesn't work all the time. You can get away with it for a while, but not always.

Hate to say it, but a lot of people do it. With OPTEMPOs like they are, it's a struggle to keep a safe bilge. It takes constant attention, and "bilge water awareness" - discipline to work hard to limit every drop of anything off yer machinery. But I know for a fact that engineers get overwhelmed by the problem, and the only easy answer, oil disposal services, are expensive. Hence the jury-rigged sink.

The Navy makes it easy for their ships ... they provide those floating "doughnuts" to offload bilge at will in port. Not us ...

For all of you with questions about why he did it, just read this post. This stuff has been going on for more than 20 years. His problem was lying once he was caught.

The really sad part is he is now going to be a CONVICTED FELON! So many of his rights are now gone!

GUNS

TWO WORDS
POLLUTION PLACARD
READ IT
KNOW IT
LOVE IT

This is really unfortunate. He is a good guy, just made a very, very poor decision. EMC_ says it right...he shouldn't have lied.

Is it okay on this board now to call him a "dumb a$$"? What the heck was he thinking? I guess there is something to the old school of thought that when enlisted accept warrant they take away their balls and common sense.

Hey Master Chief be nice.

quote:

Originally posted by MastersMate:

quote:

What the he11 was he thinking?

And what the hell was anyone else in engineering thinking. The EO, the OOD, the other engineer officers, and have the engineer petty officers lost the ablility to throw the BS flag.

Something stinks about the whole incident.

Can we say this gives new meaning to the term "The Fall Guy"?

You guys keep referencing the MPA being a fall guy. He was only charged with lying to federal investigators (CGIS), not discharging the bilge wastes or did I miss something else that he was charged with? He lied plain and simple, now the consequences have caught up to him.

WHO in the chain of command ordered that the bilges be pumped down prior to the cutters deployment. Someone from the C.O. thru the E.O. had to have initiated the word to get rid of bilge slops. If the initial and now long forgotten press release stated, it was done on the weekend prior to the cutter going on some sort of exercise.

It has the air of something to the effect of " just get rid of that stuff MPA", no we cannot afford MARVAC or some other outfit to come over and suck up slops, just make it dissappear.

Has anything been put out about a C.O. being relieved for unlawful discharge of oil??? How about an E.O. being called to task ???

Sounds like the CG needed someone to take it in the kinckers and the MPA fit the bill. It made some headlines, some sort of show had to be produced.

quote:

Originally posted by MastersMate:
Sounds like the CG needed someone to take it in the kinckers and the MPA fit the bill. It made some headlines, some sort of show had to be produced.

I don't agree with this statement. If that were true, we would have seen more charges (environmental) brought up against the MPA instead of one single charge. Can someone here explain why there has to be somekind of conspiracy involved.

Why can't it be just as the DOJ release headline stated "U.S. Coast Guard officer pleads guilty for lying about vessel pollution." It didn't say "U.S. Coast Guard officer pleads guilty of enviromental laws for dumping bilge waste into honolulu harbor." If the release had stated the later statement, then I think there would be grounds to think of somekind of conspiracy. Just my thoughts.