Former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy had ‘personal limousine service’ to work, says report

[devilbones]

What do you think of this?

Instead of driving from his home in Vienna to Bolling — a roughly 25-mile trip — former DIA deputy director David R. Shedd on many days would park his car at a closer intelligence facility in Tysons Corner, briefly go into an office there, and then get into a Pentagon-provided vehicle for the rest of the trip.

Former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy had ‘personal limousine service’ to work, says report

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

Did he break a policy or defraud the government? That's a drop in the bucket, however unethical honest people may feel it is.

 

[AWP]

Spend a gazillion dollars for unused facilities in Afghanistan? Promotions for everyone!

Less than a 50-mile round trip in a limo everyday? How dare you?!?!?!?!?!

 

[Grunt]

I could be wrong here, my brother...but, that bothers me about as much as the personal use of office paper clips and post-it-notes.

I just can't get worked up about that when the VA is failing my brothers and sisters on a monumental scale and we are still losing our brothers in third-world rat holes.

 

[DocIllinois]

I could be wrong here, my brother...but, that bothers me about as much as the personal use of office paper clips and post-it-notes.

I just can't get worked up about that when the VA is failing my brothers and sisters on a monumental scale and we are still losing our brothers in third-world rat holes.

In similar news:

Senate aims for VA Choice overhaul by May

I work through this program with the local VA outpatient facility, and to say its a headache getting vets into my clinic (or any private provider) who need our services would be a huge understatement.

VA change does happen, it just takes a long time and way, way more work than it rightfully should.

 

[Brill]

What do you think of this?

Former Defense Intelligence Agency deputy had ‘personal limousine service’ to work, says report

Fuck yes this bothers me and is absolutely the mentality of many DISES and DISLs in the IC. Employees are sick of the "let 'em eat cake" philosophy.

 

[Brill]

Did he break a policy or defraud the government? That's a drop in the bucket, however unethical honest people may feel it is.

He has a clearance and is expected to follow policies, regulations, and laws. If the IG raises eyebrows, it's probably wrong and he knew it. What else is he doing?

 

[devilbones]

He has a clearance and is expected to follow policies, regulations, and laws. If the IG raises eyebrows, it's probably wrong and he knew it. What else is he doing?

The article also reports:

Investigators also cited “40 trips to and from restaurants … without sufficient explanation for why those locations on those occasions were essential to accomplishing the DIA mission.” When asked about these trips, the report said, Shedd “explained the food at the DIA cafeteria was poor.”

Did he do anything to improve the quality of the food at the cafeteria for his people? Some employees that were stationed at the Pentagon would park at the DIAC and pop in to 'check email' and then take the shuttle to the Pentagon to complete their day, due to the limited parking there. Once the employee council got wind of this they restricted the shuttle to those that were just conducting business there and not for the assigned place of work.

 

[Brill]

The article also reports:

Some employees that were stationed at the Pentagon would park at the DIAC and pop in to 'check email' and then take the shuttle to the Pentagon to complete their day, due to the limited parking there. Once the employee council got wind of this they restricted the shuttle to those that were just conducting business there and not for the assigned place of work.

I'm sure those same "employees" considered the transit time "regular work hours" for timesheets too. But I'm sure those same people exercised proper analytic integrity standards in their reporting.

 

[Marauder06]

I'll be honest, I don't see an issue with people parking at the DIAC (which is in Anacostia) and then taking the shuttle to the Pentagon. To me that seems to be exactly the kind of thing the DIA has a shuttle like that for in the first place. It's an interesting wrinkle though if, as Lindy indicates, they were clocking in when they got to the DIAC and then "leaving the meter running" during the time to/from the Pentagon. That's some straight up fraud waste and abuse right there.

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

He has a clearance and is expected to follow policies, regulations, and laws. If the IG raises eyebrows, it's probably wrong and he knew it. What else is he doing?

That's why I asked the question in my original comment. The article doesn't state he broke any policies or laws. I'm with you, if he is wrong, than he is wrong. But the way that article is written, it sounds more like a witch hunt vs a this guy defrauded the government and we're going to make him the example to stomp out any future transgressions.

 

[devilbones]

I'll be honest, I don't see an issue with people parking at the DIAC (which is in Anacostia) and then taking the shuttle to the Pentagon. To me that seems to be exactly the kind of thing the DIA has a shuttle like that for in the first place. It's an interesting wrinkle though if, as Lindy indicates, they were clocking in when they got to the DIAC and then "leaving the meter running" during the time to/from the Pentagon. That's some straight up fraud waste and abuse right there.

But its not used for that. It is for people that have a meeting at the Pentagon (or for the Pentagon employees to come to the DIAC) not for your daily commute. I think the article is trying to highlight the fact that he used this service to get to work when he should have been driving himself. Even though its only a 50 mile round trip, this can be over two hours in DC depending on the time of day.

 

[Brill]

Where was his place of duty: DIA main or DIAC?

 

[Marauder06]

But its not used for that. It is for people that have a meeting at the Pentagon (or for the Pentagon employees to come to the DIAC) not for your daily commute. I think the article is trying to highlight the fact that he used this service to get to work when he should have been driving himself. Even though its only a 50 mile round trip, this can be over two hours in DC depending on the time of day.

Does it cost any more to have 10, 15 extra people on the bus? If it doesn't, then again, I don't see an issue unless there's some kind of fraud involved.

 

[devilbones]

Does it cost any more to have 10, 15 extra people on the bus? If it doesn't, then again, I don't see an issue unless there's some kind of fraud involved.

The government doesnt provide you transportation to and from work. That is where the fraud is involved.

 

[Brill]

The government doesnt provide you transportation to and from work. That is where the fraud is involved.

Misuse of government property for personal gain...by an executive at that.

 

[Marauder06]

The government doesnt provide you transportation to and from work. That is where the fraud is involved.

That's inaccurate. There are many subsidies and special dispensations to help with transportation, especially in the D.C. area. When I was in grad school, I had government-provided vouchers for public transportation. I never used them, but they were there.

 

[devilbones]

That's inaccurate. There are many subsidies and special dispensations to help with transportation, especially in the D.C. area. When I was in grad school, I had government-provided vouchers for public transportation. I never used them, but they were there.

This is not my opinion it is a fact. You cannot take the shuttle to get to or from work, just as Mr. Shedd misused the GOV to take him to work. It seems like a waste to have a shuttle run that is not full, but you still cannot use it as part of your daily commute. The DOD IG found that Mr. Shedd misused the GOV as well as his duty driver.
http://www.dodig.mil/FOIA/err/Shedd Wise Manzelmann ROI (Redacted).pdf

 

[Marauder06]

This is not my opinion it is a fact. You cannot take the shuttle to get to or from work, just as Mr. Shedd misused the GOV to take him to work. It seems like a waste to have a shuttle run that is not full, but you still cannot use it as part of your daily commute. The DOD IG found that Mr. Shedd misused the GOV as well as his duty driver.
http://www.dodig.mil/FOIA/err/Shedd Wise Manzelmann ROI (Redacted).pdf

You said "the government does not provide you transportation to and from work." I said that statement was inaccurate. And it is. I'm not disputing the specifics of Mr. Shedd's situation.

U.S. Department of Transportation | TRANServe | Participants

 

[devilbones]

You said "the government does not provide you transportation to and from work." I said that statement was inaccurate. And it is. I'm not disputing the specifics of Mr. Shedd's situation.

U.S. Department of Transportation | TRANServe | Participants

I dont agree with that either

The transit benefit is a subsidy, not an entitlement. Simply stated, it can go away.

. If in fact the government was in the business of providing transportation to and from work, they would ensure that its always available to you. Its just a benefit that you can use in order to take Mass transportation. Not the privately contracted shuttle that is for conducting official business.