NHC Director Bill Proenza reprimanded by NOAA

[Downdraft]

Do you think a president with an approval rating of 29% cares about a satellite that doesn't provide military intelligence or a Director that makes his administration look even worse than it already is? I agree politics doesn't belong on this board but this whole thread has been about politics so my two cents also.

[Aslkahuna]

Now that he's retired, Max Mayfield is free to express his thoughts. I would LOVE to see a book from him-especially any comments he might have about dealing with the Politicians as Katrina approached and hit. As far as FL's Senators are concerned, they may be more concerned about another issue than NHC right now (can't say what it might be because it's too political).

Steve

[jrod]

It seems to me since last years 'cane season wasn't devasting the general public and those who distribute funding aren't thinking about the tropics. My opinion is it will take another major system with a less than stellar forecast because of lack of the proper resources to get enough attention for the proper funding to be distrubuted.

[Cyclenall]

I support Bill Proenza on his stance and speaking out. Hopefully something will get done in the process for the better.

[artist]

Do you think a president with an approval rating of 29% cares about a satellite that doesn't provide military intelligence or a Director that makes his administration look even worse than it already is? I agree politics doesn't belong on this board but this whole thread has been about politics so my two cents also.

First - you are very wrong. Secondly political comments are not allowed.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

Bill Proenza did the right thing by exposing corruption.

I would do the same thing...all throughout
my years of life whenever my superiors due
something unjust I exercise civil disobedience
against it and refuse to subjugate myself to
a corrupt superior.

So Bill Proenza did the right thing by not subjugating
himself to short-sighted superiors that see
public campaigning as more important than
hurricane natural disaster forecasting.

[vacanechaser]

Do you think a president with an approval rating of 29% cares about a satellite that doesn't provide military intelligence or a Director that makes his administration look even worse than it already is? I agree politics doesn't belong on this board but this whole thread has been about politics so my two cents also.

First - you are very wrong. Secondly political comments are not allowed.

thanx for that... you beat me to it... someone always has to throw in the politcal jabs dont they... i get so tired of seeing it... just stick to the subject of the post.... stop the politcal comments please...


Jesse V. Bass III
http://www.vastormphoto.com
Hurricane Intercept Research Team

[fci]

Thanks to others for nipping the political comments in the bud.
This topic is not about politics and should not be framed that way.

Bill needs to be up front about the satellite since it is a very necessary tool to attempt to forecast what is generally unforcastable!

If a forecast is bad and the satellite could have helped it , Bill will be on the firing line from the general public.
The outcry will NOT be at NOAA but at the director.

And if it is REALLY bad, heaven forbid lives are lost; I think Bill would be the one testifying before Congress. So, if he is charged with the job and is not be given the tools to succeed, then he DOES need to blow the whistle loud and clear.

That's my opinion.

[Frank2]

...Civil servants do not have a responsibility to their bosses but to the American people, which they often ignore.

Not true - the quickest way for Mr. Proenza to be removed from his current position is to disobey the instructions sent to him in the memo in question...

As stated in the memo, "In the future, I will not accept..." means just that - no other intentional acts will be tolerated...

It is good that the NHC Director is concerned, as he should be, but, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things - if he is removed from his position for continuing to go against his superiors, what good will this concern do us then?

That kind of thinking was good in the television program MASH, when Hawkeye Pierce would continually go over the heads of those in Government or Military in order to get what he wanted, but, in real life, that behavior will quickly get someone the front door - I don't like it either, but, truth is truth...

Sometimes, in order for a person to get want is needed or wanted, things have to be done gently and quietly - less is often more...

[artist]

...Civil servants do not have a responsibility to their bosses but to the American people, which they often ignore.

Not true - the quickest way for Mr. Proenza to be removed from his current position is to disobey the instructions sent to him in the memo in question...

As stated in the memo, "In the future, I will not accept..." means just that - no other intentional acts will be tolerated...

It is good that the NHC Director is concerned, as he should be, but, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things - if he is removed from his position for continuing to go against his superiors, what good will this concern do us then?

That kind of thinking was good in the television program MASH, when Hawkeye Pierce would continually go over the heads of those in Government or Military in order to get what he wanted, but, in real life, that behavior will quickly get someone the front door - I don't like it either, but, truth is truth...

Sometimes, in order for a person to get want is needed or wanted, things have to be done gently and quietly - less is often more...

I would imagine that Max Mayfield had done it quietly as I know he would have been trying to get it replaced and what did it get him? Nothing - it still needs to be replaced. I do agree with going about it the right way, but something tells me this was one of the first things on his list and he had tried that already and had no success. Sometimes people care more about the consequences of actions not taken than about trying to just keep their job. This may also be one reason Max MAyfiel stepped down - tired of not getting anywhere.

[Aquawind]

I am with Bill even though he has made waves for his superiors. They had an idea of the kind of person he was and most everyone agrees with his statements. He is a public figure unlike his superiors and needs to keep his concious clear and "let it be known" to the American people who they are all servering. His reputation is on the line...look at how Brown got raked over the coals. I would hope that he does not continue to be so blatantly confrontational with his superiors just so he can keep his job.
As with most things..enjoy in moderation Bill.

[Downdraft]

Oh come on guys get real! This entire thread is about politics and you know it. You think it's not politics that makes funds for QuikScat less important than NOAA's PR bash? My post isn't anymore political than telling people to write their senators and congressman. Bill Proenza is avoice crying out in the wilderness of Washington and it's not going to be heard. As for the approval rating I quoted that's a very real fact I didn't make it up.

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

I support Proenza 100%. What he did was the respectable,
honorable, justified act.

People have a responsibility to do what is right. Proenza, by
illustrating imprudent and extravagant spending by NOAA, has
taken a stance against injustice, and therefore Bill Proenza
is an exemplary and respectable leader in the public
sphere, especially with regards to hurricanes.

Proenza deserves great respect for what he has done
in taking a strong, firm, assertive stance against the
injustice that NOAA has been putting him through. I'm
not saying that all NOAA is unjust, but the superior to
attempted to censor Proenza is unjust.

[kevin]

...Civil servants do not have a responsibility to their bosses but to the American people, which they often ignore.

Not true - the quickest way for Mr. Proenza to be removed from his current position is to disobey the instructions sent to him in the memo in question...

As stated in the memo, "In the future, I will not accept..." means just that - no other intentional acts will be tolerated...

It is good that the NHC Director is concerned, as he should be, but, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things - if he is removed from his position for continuing to go against his superiors, what good will this concern do us then?

That kind of thinking was good in the television program MASH, when Hawkeye Pierce would continually go over the heads of those in Government or Military in order to get what he wanted, but, in real life, that behavior will quickly get someone the front door - I don't like it either, but, truth is truth...

Sometimes, in order for a person to get want is needed or wanted, things have to be done gently and quietly - less is often more...

I agree. There is a difference between doing one's duty and doing what is in one's interests. His duty is with the American people since as a civil servant he has agreed to serve them. Whether that keeps him in his job is another matter.

[MGC]

Our government, ya gotta love it. As a government employee myself I feel for Proenza. My agency has its share of pin-headed bosses. If most of you even had a clue of the massive mismanagement that occures on a daily basis, you would really be worried. This is a classic example of inter-agency politics. Proenza has outed the mismanagement in NOAA and now management has a score to settle.....MGC

[HurricaneJoe22]

Miami Herald story in Tuesday's paper about a senator defending Proenza:

http://www.miamiherald.com/884/story/143967.html

Sen. Nelson defends hurricane center chief

Sen. Bill Nelson accused NOAA of trying to 'muzzle' hurricane center Director Bill Proenza, as the agency worried that the affair was becoming a distraction.

BY MARTIN MERZER AND LESLEY CLARK
mmerzer@MiamiHerald.com

Members of Florida's congressional delegation on Monday defended Bill Proenza, embattled director of the National Hurricane Center, blasting a critical letter he received from a supervisor and vowing to investigate the matter during Senate hearings.

At the same time, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the hurricane center's parent agency, said officials feared that the bureaucratic battle was becoming a distraction -- at an inopportune time.

''We've had two named storms and we're not even in the meat of the hurricane season,'' said Scott Smullen, NOAA's deputy director of communications. ``This is usually the time when we're preaching the message of preparedness to the American public.

''I would argue that this is a distraction from our main mission,'' Smullen said.

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Miami, objected to a letter handed to Proenza Friday by Mary Glackin, acting director of the National Weather Service, at the hurricane center in West Miami-Dade.

Nelson called the letter a ``blatant attempt to muzzle a dedicated public servant.''

In the letter, Glackin said Proenza's comments about the imminent failure of a key weather satellite ``may have caused some unnecessary confusion about NOAA's ability to accurately predict tropical storms.''

That satellite, called QuikScat, is beyond its designed life and no replacement will be launched for at least seven years. Proenza and other experts said some hurricane forecasts could be 16 percent less accurate without ocean surface wind data.

Glackin ordered Proenza to more closely adhere to the government's chain of command and to NOAA's procedures for discussing such matters with the media.

`NOT A REPRIMAND'

On Monday, Glackin said she was merely telling Proenza how she expected him to conduct himself.

''The letter was not a reprimand or correction,'' she said. ``I'm just making clear my expectations for Bill Proenza.''

Nelson, Klein and Díaz-Balart viewed it differently. ''This is no time for NOAA to create this kind of dissonance or problem,'' Klein said.

''I personally appreciate [Proenza's] openness and frankness and letting us know potential problems with the satellite,'' Klein said. ``People are not used to seeing people working for this administration risking criticism from superiors for speaking truth.''

Díaz-Balart also expressed support for Proenza, calling him a ``straight shooter who is doing a heck of a service.''

''He's protecting people the best he can,'' Diaz-Balart said, ``and I don't think that's something he should be criticized for.''

Proenza was traveling Monday and was not available for comment.

Since taking over in January, he also has made harsh comments about budget shortfalls at the hurricane center and a costly public relations campaign undertaken by NOAA, which controls the weather service and the hurricane center.

Earlier this month, Nelson told The Miami Herald that he had offered to ''run interference'' for Proenza.

On Monday, he wrote a letter to Carlos M. Gutierrez, secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which runs NOAA and its component agencies.

DOING HIS JOB

''By identifying these issues, Dr. Proenza was upholding the highest standards of public service,'' Nelson wrote. ``Failure to have done so would have been a dereliction of duty from our most senior hurricane forecaster.''

Nelson also said ``clearly there are parties within NOAA who don't appreciate having their shortcomings identified to the public and Congress. However, shooting the messenger is not an acceptable response. . . .''

Nelson intends to investigate, during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing next month, ``whether officials who raise valid safety concerns are experiencing retaliation as a result.''

Though Proenza characterized Glackin's letter as a reprimand and a possible first step toward his dismissal, NOAA backed Glackin's statement that it was not.

''The letter is clearly a statement of expectations by the new head of the weather service,'' Smullen said. ``It's part of her overall message that we need to focus on preparing the American public for what could be an active hurricane season.''

[Toadstool]

Proenza has time on his side, unfortunately, since whatever the public thinks of him now, when the QuickScat satellite dies (it's already way way past it's expected lifespan) the public will be on his side.

[Aslkahuna]

MGC I was in Civil Service for 12 of my 30+ years of Government Service so I know well of what you speak (BTW the same type of BS happens in the Military as well and there one has very few options).

Steve

[Stormsfury]

Our government, ya gotta love it. As a government employee myself I feel for Proenza. My agency has its share of pin-headed bosses. If most of you even had a clue of the massive mismanagement that occures on a daily basis, you would really be worried. This is a classic example of inter-agency politics. Proenza has outed the mismanagement in NOAA and now management has a score to settle.....MGC

I have to agree about "government mismanagement" completely as well... Having been a Postal Service employee for 10 years, did I see my share of mismanagement (especially from many a clueless supervisors) and pin headed ppl that oversee operations from the outside trying to tell how the best way a route should be managed that never sorted or delivered a piece of mail in their lives...

I don't know but that would seem like having Bill Gates trying to run an ice cream truck ... (sorry best analogy I could think of) ...

I applaud Proenza for at least having the passion and tenacious perserverance to attempt to get things done and make the requests of things he feels that would help serve the purpose of his position. It's just unfortunate, however ... we see millions of dollars go to research on things like how does a sponge work ...

SF

[Frank2]

Well, I have to come to the defense of civil service - the beauty of it is that is a not-for-profit venture, as is private industry....

And, while some folks are better employees than others, we do have many good, talented, dedicated folks who work very hard (even harder than me) to do a good job for their Agency...

I can say this because I see the contrast, since I work two jobs - one civil and one private, and, those poor folks who are at my private-industry employment are basically required to work whenever they are asked (including Sundays), lest they get fired (my position only requires me to be there during the week)...

I thank the Lord that I can be at a primary job where my only "requirement" on Sunday is to attend Mass - not a day where I have to be making a profit for a privately-owned company...

Sadly, that was not always the case, but, for many people, today it is - sadly, slavery, it seems, still exists - just in a different sense...