290 replies to this topic

[VINCENT A CEFALU]

Mr. Melson and Hoover have shown their total and complete disregard for Federal law and policy. Hundreds of complaints are being ignored and intentionally disregarded. ATF EEOC has one of the worst reponse times to complaints (over 300 days) when the law states 180. They Marshal the ATF attorneys against hard working employees to disregard and disrupt their lawful WB complaints. Letters of apoligy stating (administrative problems) for not addressing nationwide abuses by managers. Does the ATF leadership REALLY think the dedicated Agents, Inspectors and clerical staff is going to be bullied and just Go Away? Who told you that? Chief Counsels Office? Guess what, again they were wrong. You have been told to your face by dozens nation wide and in writing. Ronnie C and Edgar have both stated that poor counsel from the attorneys is at the root of our agency's problems. Don't ask the Agents if you are going to ignore them. And stop spinning. Question for the Media, "Where does the buck stop in ATF"? Where is the accountability for the senior managers responsible for ALL the failures of the last 5 yrs? Tens of millions of dollars wasted and thrown around w/o any questions!!!!

Look Billy is stepping down 3 levels after the worst failure of senior management since the Waco cover-up. SACs and ASACs across the country are openly stating that the Bureau is broken and out of control. Why aren't they challenging Melson, Hoover and Holder? Well let's see, as Edgar stated, they don't want to commit career suicide. Not good enough fellas. You are SESs. If you do not have the stones to step up either individually or collectively, step down because you are cowards and no one will ever follow or be loyal to cowards. Stop kingdom building. Those of you who ARE running your programs properly should be holding your peers accountable.

[Doc Holiday]

Look, Billy is stepping down 3 levels after the worst failure of senior management since the Waco cover-up. SACs and ASACs across the country are openly stating that the Bureau is broken and out of control. Why aren't they challenging Melson, Hoover and Holder? Well let's see, as Edgar stated, they don't want to commit career suicide. Not good enough fellas. You are SESs. If you do not have the stones to step up either individually or collectively, step down because you are cowards and no one will ever follow or be loyal to cowards. Stop kingdom building. Those of you who ARE running your programs properly should be holding your peers accountable.

[Doc Holiday]

If Mr. Melson is truly fastracking Newell into a critical position such as the Mexican attache' when he illustrated no character or judgement related to the domestic side of firearms trafficking, Mr. Melson has lost all wisdom and discretion and should be called before the Congress to find out what he knows about the man he appointed. Likewise, continuing to allow ASAC Gillette to supervise ignites liabilities due to his egregious abuse of subordinates and relationships with informants. His conduct during the arson attempted homocide investigation of one of our own Agents, Jay Dobyns can only be characterized as obstruction of Justice and should be referred to the United States Attorneys Office.

[bythebook]

Word is Congress is taking a hard look at the abject and across the board abuses of ATF senior management. Let's don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Save ATF, go through the 5th floor with a push broom. Mr. Melson has opened NOT ONE mechanism to include the field and obviously Mr. Traver is trying to ignore our failing agency.

Mr. Melson/Mr. Traver we are hearing that Phoenix SAC Newell recommended to you that one of his current ASACs replace him, this will ensure nothing changes in the Phoenix FD. With all of the problems exposed in Phoenix please do not let this happen. If the allegations of retaliation against potential whistlblowers is true, you need to change the management in Phoenix. Bring in a proven SAC to address the problems, don't let the problems continue. This is an opportunity for you to make a change, please take it!!

[Iceman]

Word is Congress is taking a hard look at the abject and across the board abuses of ATF senior management. Let's don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Save ATF, go through the 5th floor with a push broom. Mr. Melson has opened NOT ONE mechanism to include the field and obviously Mr. Traver is trying to ignore our failing agency.

[limestonenerd]

Look, we have had a nominee for months who has sat silent thinking he will ride under the radar of the activities and claim only general knowledge. All these adjustments placing lawyers in what should be solely law enforcement leadership roles are not being done in a vacuum. Nobody not even Melson would dare make senior level changes or pass rulings w/o the incoming Directors blessing. They know they can serve the anti-gun agenda of the administration thru smoke and mirrors, Melson leaves and Traver says Ill have to review these ridiculous policys and promotions or assignments. Why else would the sweeping changes be happening right before a Director is confirmed. How is congress and the gun lobby ignoring the outrageous misrepresntations to the State Department to impede the import of a bunch of old Korean was rifles? The information came out of the same shop Ficaretta now oversee's. The same shop that gave the Washington post skewed trace data (which is against the law ). Just like flooding guns to justify an emergency ruling on multiple sales of long guns. And who authorizes the wholesale straw purchases (Not controlled deliveries)of long guns full well knowing ATF NEVER walks guns, and on that .000000001 percent of the time we do, we arrest the violators and retrieve the firearms.

Andy Traver where are you? You got the nomination and then went underground. Decisions are being made in your abscense that are going to affect your entire tenure as Director. Who is making these for "your" ATF? If you are, from behind the scenes, then is that the type of leadership we can expect. Show your face and get in the game. Hiding waiting for the confirmation process is making you look bad in the eyes of the agents and sending a message that you are just a White House puppet. Get off to a good start and engage the problems. They will soon all be yours and you should be seen andn heard right now on their resolutions.

[Iceman]

Look, we have had a nominee for months who has sat silent thinking he will ride under the radar of the activities and claim only general knowledge. All these adjustments placing lawyers in what should be solely law enforcement leadership roles are not being done in a vacuum. Nobody not even Melson would dare make senior level changes or pass rulings w/o the incoming Directors blessing. They know they can serve the anti-gun agenda of the administration thru smoke and mirrors, Melson leaves and Traver says Ill have to review these ridiculous policys and promotions or assignments. Why else would the sweeping changes be happening right before a Director is confirmed. How is congress and the gun lobby ignoring the outrageous misrepresntations to the State Department to impede the import of a bunch of old Korean was rifles? The information came out of the same shop Ficaretta now oversee's. The same shop that gave the Washington post skewed trace data (which is against the law ). Just like flooding guns to justify an emergency ruling on multiple sales of long guns. And who authorizes the wholesale straw purchases (Not controlled deliveries)of long guns full well knowing ATF NEVER walks guns, and on that .000000001 percent of the time we do, we arrest the violators and retrieve the firearms.

[Doc Holiday]

Don't hold your breath Thor. The reason we are this boat is because our leadership HAS no discipline and spend anytime it suits their grandstanding ways. We have some many pet projects being overseen and unregulated by SES managers. Remember, the doing and undoing of Crenshaws year long stint as AD cost the Bureau FIVE moves plus per diem. Our plight is the direct result of unchecked waste Fraud and abuse with NO consequences to the abusers. I hate to ask again but HOW much money have we paid to DSZ unecessarily?

Happy Holidays and New Year to the Acting Director and his minions. It is obvious that ATF will have to
actually start doing some management vs. mismanagement since the budget will be so tight in the next couple of years. For some of us, the budget has always been tight! It will be interesting to see what kind of discipline some of these executives have, if any!

[Thor God of Thunder]

Happy Holidays and New Year to the Acting Director and his minions. It is obvious that ATF will have to
actually start doing some management vs. mismanagement since the budget will be so tight in the next couple of years. For some of us, the budget has always been tight! It will be interesting to see what kind of discipline some of these executives have, if any!

[Thor God of Thunder]

Mr. Melson, When are you going to stop the abuses occurring in the Atlanta Field Division? ASAC Sweetow and the Atlanta management team are sadistic, vain and policy breaking managers! How many EEO complaints does this guy (Sweetow) have to have before you step in and tell him to leave employees alone? How many acts of retaliation will he be allowed to perpetrate before something is done? If you are truly serious about reprisal and retaliation in the workplace, you must step in NOW!

[Patriot]

I am not surprised that someone in Intel has sold the SLT on another system that will be incompatable with anything we currently use in spite of efforts to stop doing that. I have a suggestion, let put some money into our bread and butter system, NForce. It is outdated, often broken and user unfriendly and only kept alive by a few very dedicated people who have to manage it with no funding. How is it that we spend funds on untested or needed software or Spanish Etrace and the one system used by the majority of this bureau is broken. Interesting that the FBI is in the verge of scrapping their second attempt at creating a case management system to the tune of 750 million spent to date. Imagine what we could have at a fraction of that cost.

[Doc Holiday]

If Mr. Melson and Hoover are not concerned about lying to and misleading Congress, why would they be concerned about a measly ONE MILLION DOLLARS. Hell, they throw more than that away Just on internal employee disputes. Not their money and they won't care unless and until they are held accountable.

[Iceman]

When we are being scrutinized by DOJ for virtually every decision we make, we purchase prediction mapping software that has no application to law enforcement or ATFs mission ? With budgets being slashed and the Director publicly defending our shortcomings on lack or assets, we buy a million+ software program designed for military applications? Word is a former senior manager from the Intel branch, sold this bill of goods to ATF,even after concerns were raised that this program was years away from any sort of implimentation? We have no issue with tryin new things when the budget is fat, BUT we should not be scratching the backs of contractors (ex ATF or not)when we ignore NIBIN mapping software that would produce real time results. Word is that this purchase was pushed from inside intell even after it became clear this software doesn't have any significant value to ATFs crime fighting mission. Sold Mr. Melson another embarassing bill of goods. This may be more counter-productive that SAC Torres use of comstat. We need Agents with field experience making these decisions, not self serving Intel bosses looking for after ATF jobs.

[VINCENT A CEFALU]

Since MY confidential communication to the Ombudsman (was one of the communications)that was turned over to Chief Counsels office, I think I have standing to weigh in.I filed an internal grievance, Billy just ignored it. After the proper time, I then grieved it to Mr. Melson. Then and only then did Billy even respond with some excuse laddened response. Had they manned up and just done their job and not always rely on Chief counsel to answer for them, this situation may have been minimized. I do not know Ms. Ketels personally and believe she was/is a decent person being directed by those who insulated her position from the Director by moving her to the office of management. That was the only way her info could be filtered from the Director. It has been proven time and time again that the Executive staff at ATF is a very vindictive bunch and I'm sure Ms. Ketels was put on notice what she could and could not say to the Director. HOWEVER, for whatever reason her office has now been completely diminished of any credibility or trust. I am certain there are many important positions in HQ that Ms. Ketels is extremely qualified to do at no personal loss to her. Merely assigning an Agent and an IOI to the Office will NOT restore ANY credibility to that Office. Anyone Billy has a hand in appointing would be immediately suspect unless the field gets to weigh in. Unless the Ombudsman reports Directly to the Director unfiltered, we might as well disband the position as suggested by ProConfesso.As long as counsel or the executive staff can control the flow of information, the position is worthless. Just One mans opinion.

[ProConfesso]

The Ombudsman position was a "red herring" at best and more like a "wolf in sheep's clothing" as she acted like a "spy" for mgt. Shame on you. The office in practice didn't bridge any employee/mgt gap and contacting the Ombudsman was a waste of time as she didn't apply any ATF orders or the like when needed. Hey, Congressional aides out there!!! Hey, Commisson on Budget Reform!!! Want to save some$$, eliminate this useless position..and by the way many more like it in HQ. More and more criminal investigators are handling no investigations in this Agency.

[ProConfesso]

And what about identifying those affected by the Ombudsman's bad actions and a remedy. Swept under the rug?

[Doc Holiday]

Word is Mr. Melson has acknowledged the extreme ethics violations by the Ombuds office and her feeding confidential information to Ms. Loos and Chief counsel. That's a start. Its unfortunate and Ms. Ketels was probably just following orders from the fifth floor since Ronnie and Billy removed her from DIRECT contact with the director. Read past posts Mr. Melson, this could have been prevented. We predicted it. Now, you're gonna try to rehab trust by putting a couple field folks in there? If you're husband or wife cheated on you, would he or she still be around? I'm certain the are other positions of equal pay etc for Ms. Ketels.

If he is inserting field personnel into the Ombuds office, he HAS to know that anybody chosen by the 5th floor will be immediately suspect. Why not panel the WHOLE field, let them throw their names in the hat and then let the field pick? Two emails and done. Anybody can suggest a name and whoever gets the most votes is it. Wow, novel tranparent idea. It sounds.....SO AMERICAN. Remember Mr. Melson, these people don't HAVE to be in HQ to be effective. Risky move for sure. Wonder if they have the stones?

[Iceman]

Word is Mr. Melson has acknowledged the extreme ethics violations by the Ombuds office and her feeding confidential information to Ms. Loos and Chief counsel. That's a start. Its unfortunate and Ms. Ketels was probably just following orders from the fifth floor since Ronnie and Billy removed her from DIRECT contact with the director. Read past posts Mr. Melson, this could have been prevented. We predicted it. Now, you're gonna try to rehab trust by putting a couple field folks in there? If you're husband or wife cheated on you, would he or she still be around? I'm certain the are other positions of equal pay etc for Ms. Ketels.

[Iceman]

How is Vidoli allowed to continue to reign after multiple SACs and DADs have expressed a vote of no confidence? Oh yeah, another Billy Hoover friend. He decimated the UC program because of personality issues. He has no background in Special Ops. So why is he there. Hey here's an idea. Let's draft people to HQ jobs who actually have some skills and experience at the job we are placing them in. Novel huh?

[caseproducer]

Time for some answers to simple questions. I know that Mr. Melson reads this. My suggestion is that he prints a copy and takes it to an SLT meeting and gets some answers. Someone needs to be held accountable for the decision making questioned below:
1. Why all the tunnel vision toward the SW border. Is it because you asked for funding and now have to justify it? There are other enforcement priorities that need some attention.
2. Spanish E-Trace is not more important than fixing a broken N-Force. Does anyone know why an “upgrade” has rendered supervisory review of management logs impossible? Does anyone care? What about the new portal that is not user friendly at all?
3. Why is there no oversight of SOD? New weapons are being ordered that are not suitable for daily concealment by the majority of working agents. Once again an SOD decision that we will have to live with for the next ten years. We are not a one size fits all agency. The new guns are fine if you are in uniform, not street clothes. The new armor is arguably the best available for the military or SRT. Why did you allow one person in SOD to choose that equipment? Was it because he had similar equipment in the military and he forgot that we do something different? Did anyone ask the average agent? Have any of you put it on and attempted to get in or out of a passenger vehicle? Maybe that explains why our SRT rides the rails on the Bearcats, they can exit a vehicle safely either while wearing the armor.
4. Who authorized personnel assigned to HDQTS, yet working from home to receive DC locality pay?
5. Who has authorized the hours of training mandated by SOD. No one will argue that training is necessary and important. The proposed number of hours just in the firearms, tactical and arrest area is excessive. Cleverly, the proposals exempt senior leadership only seen by the field as a way to avoid oversight. Same with the exemption for senior leadership to carry a primary firearm.
6. Why do we have so many agents outside the country? How are they on “the frontline of violent crime”? Seven positions dedicated to Canada and Canada does not trace 100 percent of their crime guns. What do our people do there every day that could not be done electronically? Who is accountable?

SOD ordered all those new vests for the feild, without checking with anyone. Well guess what, they are too bulky and now the Bureau has to send all those Remington 870s back to get collapsable stocks, becuase Agents can't operate them properly when wearing those vests. What will the cost of those replacements be, app. $150 per weapon, Bureau wide. But yes we do look good in those vests, thanks SOD.

[Doc Holiday]

Mr. Melson, Check this out; Guy Thomas, Zeb Graham, Tom Brandon,Sweetow, Charlie Smith,Mike Boxler, Hiram Andrades, RECOGNIZE those names? Probably not. They are JUST a bunch of bosses who do their jobs with no drama, and no abuse or fear tactics and that's why you probably don't know their names. They are repected by their peers and they are respected by their troops. See that aint so hard. Stop recycling the same bosses who have used ATF for their own self serving playground.

[Patriot]

Time for some answers to simple questions. I know that Mr. Melson reads this. My suggestion is that he prints a copy and takes it to an SLT meeting and gets some answers. Someone needs to be held accountable for the decision making questioned below: 1. Why all the tunnel vision toward the SW border. Is it because you asked for funding and now have to justify it? There are other enforcement priorities that need some attention. 2. Spanish E-Trace is not more important than fixing a broken N-Force. Does anyone know why an “upgrade” has rendered supervisory review of management logs impossible? Does anyone care? What about the new portal that is not user friendly at all? 3. Why is there no oversight of SOD? New weapons are being ordered that are not suitable for daily concealment by the majority of working agents. Once again an SOD decision that we will have to live with for the next ten years. We are not a one size fits all agency. The new guns are fine if you are in uniform, not street clothes. The new armor is arguably the best available for the military or SRT. Why did you allow one person in SOD to choose that equipment? Was it because he had similar equipment in the military and he forgot that we do something different? Did anyone ask the average agent? Have any of you put it on and attempted to get in or out of a passenger vehicle? Maybe that explains why our SRT rides the rails on the Bearcats, they can exit a vehicle safely either while wearing the armor. 4. Who authorized personnel assigned to HDQTS, yet working from home to receive DC locality pay? 5. Who has authorized the hours of training mandated by SOD. No one will argue that training is necessary and important. The proposed number of hours just in the firearms, tactical and arrest area is excessive. Cleverly, the proposals exempt senior leadership only seen by the field as a way to avoid oversight. Same with the exemption for senior leadership to carry a primary firearm. 6. Why do we have so many agents outside the country? How are they on “the frontline of violent crime”? Seven positions dedicated to Canada and Canada does not trace 100 percent of their crime guns. What do our people do there every day that could not be done electronically? Who is accountable?

[Doc Holiday]

Not only MUST the Ombudsman operate independantly of every other Directorate, But SA Plott needs to make an all hands announcement clearly stating that business will be done differently and reinforce the neutrality and confidentiality standards that will be maintained. There is no secret Ms. Ketels is being replaced due to prior ineffectiveness. CUATF only exists because of the across the board dismal state of affairs at ATF and gross mismanagement. We encourage change and will support positive change, but smoke and mirrors won't work. The VERY FIRST TIME Mr. Plott violates the Ombudsmans mandates, YOU WILL HEAR ABOUT IT.

[VINCENT A CEFALU]

It is absolutely true that the Ombudsmans office as it is currently designed, allows for the information to be filtered to the Director. Its is true that currently the Ombudsmans office has NO credibilty with the field they serve. It is true that they have previously colluded with Chief counseld office in MY situation. BUT if Mr. Melson is serious about reinvigorating the program, the Ombudsman must report DIRECTLY to him. If there is no accountability, Mr. Plott is just a new name.

[Need2Know226]

The one and ONLY "reasonable" suggestion for Mr. Melson is: Q U I T If there's a better way to screw up a one car funeral, ATF's senior staff certainly knows how to do it. An agency that hasn't had REAL, honest, dedicated, constructive and professional leadership for over six-years - why do any ATF employees thing anything will be changed? AD FO basically runs ATF - and he's a car wreck in trying to formulate any kind of a decision (guess that's why he relies so heavily on the corruption that permeates the Chief Counsels office like ripe limberger in a subway car on a hot DC day). I think an organization is truely flying the flag of ineptitude when the AD OPRSO is a raging lunatic (with prior investigations) and of the five people that have applied for the DAD position (vacant since August) three are either under, or have been investigated by IA). It's NEVER going to get better as long as ATF remains leaderless and the SLT continues to be dominted by "good-ole-boys" (even some with all their teeth) and criminals (well, it is DC - look down the street and you see Congress). Happy Trails

[abteilung]

Regarding the latest results on the government-wide job satisfaction survey -- Mr. Melson's response seems to be a nice way of spinning things. For the past few years, ATF has trumpeted its ranking as "one of the twenty best places to work in the federal government" [refer to any USAJOBS announcement, for instance]. Now, we've dropped to 41st place. Mr. Melson [and probably by extension, the people who wrote his response to the survey] seems to have no problem with the drop. It would be one thing if conditions improve so much at those agencies which moved up and passed us on the survey, while ATF improved slightly or stood pat. But the cold, hard fact is, ATF's numbers actually dropped. It's not that 20+ agencies got better; WE GOT WORSE. And what about the remark about only 40% of ATF responded, while government wide, the response rate was 52%? ATF should be ashamed of the response rate. I dare venture to guess, if more people responded to the survey, ATF would be actually lower than #41. My opinion is based on the fact that of those who did respond, the vast majority stated that they thought their responses to the survey would do nothing to affect how ATF is run. So there is a rather large percentage of ATF employees out there who are so disenchanted with ATF or who have a feeling of alienation that they didn't even want to respond. Sitting down with Billy Hoover and other senior ATF officials isn't going to improve things. The problem lays with the SES's who run this agency. Mr. Melson, I'm directing this to you specifically. I have no intent to be disrespectful to you. But the cold, hard truth is, you are being lied to. You are receiving bad advise and counsel from the SES cadre and the agency's lawyers. You should instead seek out your senior GS-13's, those men and women who have been with this agency for 15+ years, who are not in management, and seek out their advice and counsel. We haven't put our career interests first, unlike too many of those SES's upon whom you rely for information [or, as the Soviets would say, dizinformation]. We have put the interests of the American public and the US Constitution first, all to often ahead of our own self-interests. We are the ones who will be brutally honest with you. We can tell you that the 40% response rate is only the tip of the iceberg. We will tell you that the morale of the workforce, the BACKBONE, of this agency, is at a record low. We will suggest to you how to restore the prestige of this agency and how to put up in the top ten, let alone top twenty best agencies. Don't let the SES's tell you that being #41 is good enough. You have good people on this site, like Hiram, Doc Holiday, and many others, upon whom you should rely. Please don't rely on someone who spent the first three years of their ATF career "piggy-backing" on someone else's investigation until they found a position at the Division or at HQ to start their politicking for a GS-14 job, followed a few years later by a GS-15 slot. Those who can, investigate. Those who can't, find administrative jobs as soon as possible.

[Retired and loving it]

Melson, like all of the commenters have said, you haven't done what you said you were going to do. The Field is pleading with you but to no avail. Start cleaning house and begin by sweeping out Loos. If you can't fire her, then at least stick her in some closet where she can inflict no more pain on employees who have legitimate complaints.

[Doc Holiday]

Mr. Melson, two thoughts.... First the standard has always been " the APPEARANCE of inpropriety". How Could Mark Potter even THINK an all hands in Atlantic City in our current national economic situation, not to mention with Bureau cutbacks looming would be perceived as appropriate? If there were NO nafarious or questionable decisions by SAC Potter, then #1 why cancel the training when it was leaked to the media? #2 Why publicly lie about the reason for the cancellation by laying it off on OPSEC. Everytime management lies or in the new terminology, LACKS CANDOR, you all lose a littie more credibility. We are not stupid!!!!!!

[Snake bite]

I believe that each of today’s posts on this thread cut to the core of what ATF as a whole is going to have to do in order to survive as an agency. This agency use to stand head and shoulders above the other federal law enforcement agencies. Sadly, those days have passed in favor of people not being committed to investigating the most violent criminals in America in exchange for self preservation, career advancement and the betterment of self and not the betterment of the majority.

The core problem with this agency are the clueless, self important, head hunting managers that have infected ATF from the FO level all the way to crystal palace. There have been multiple generations of bad leaders within ATF. What saved us before was the bad leaders were outnumbered by quality law enforcement oriented leaders. Those generations are long gone and ATF is reaping what it sewed in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. ATF created their own monster by letting the three year wonder agents pull a tour in HQ and come out with 5 years experience, minimal street agent experience and tossing them the keys to an office to run and agents to supervise. Unfortunately, most of the field divisions are being “led” by these 3 year super agents.

As always, I want to note that not all of the managers are cancers and some are out and out top shelf. From my stand point, it has been years since I have worked for a good boss in this outfit.

Mr. Melson you have stated many times that you want to make ATF an exemplary agency. In order to do this, you must make some tough decisions and hurt some people’s feelings. We have been hearing you, but we have not seen any significant changes. Quit listening to the stuffed shirts who have been telling you things are getting better and get out of the crystal palace and talk to the agents and IOI’s on the street. If the people you talk with are worth their salt, they will tell you were the problems are within the chain of command.

Another great suggestion would be to take some of the advice given on this site. Today’s suggestions are the best suggestions I have seen in a long time. I really like the suggestions voiced by Patriot, X1811 and avatar. I think the suggestions make a whole lot of sense and would be a big step towards getting ATF back to being a good police agency. I also think it would be worth the price of admission to see some of the bumbling idiots who have infested the ATF management team actually give up being “carpet cops” and find out if the headlights on their GOV actually work.

[avatar]

Wow, you seem to have hit the nail on the head! Concentrating on the core mission tends to make an agency more efficient. Superfluous and collateral missions and projects as you outlined takes an agency away from its strenghts. There is too much duplicity in jurisdictions, missions, and objectives among the many federal and state aagencies that create blurred lines of jurisdiction, turf wars, and angst among those cops and agents in all law enforcement organizations. By cutting the fat, streamlining the bureuacracy, and returning to core values, the ATF and other agencies will benefit from such efficiencies. Yes, let the State Department and FBI handle the foreign operations, reduce financial waste, reduce the levels of management, eliminate redundancies. Good post!

I concur, and hope to add something to this excellent post, by suggesting how it might be taken further.

At the end of the day, the folks who ultimately pull ATF's strings are the folks who fund ATF's operations --- that is, Appropriations. If you look at the language of the funding, you'll see some interesting things; for example, a rider on ATF's appropriations during some years prohibited ATF from disclosing firearm trace data (based on firearm transfer records maintained in part by licensed gun dealers) and multiple handgun sales reports data for any purpose other than supporting a criminal investigation or agency licensing proceeding. But such language can be crafted to apply to darn near anything the Subcommittee wants to target.

Any citizen or group is free to express opinions to Appropriations as to how public money ought to be spent on ATF's mission. ATF has multiple missions that are funded using public money, and the key to influencing ATF's mission is to get to the Appropriations. By "Appropriations" I mean the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives. The Chairman of the Subcommittee is Alan Mollohan (WV), the Ranking Minority Member is Frank R. Wolf (VA) address: Room H-310 The Capitol, House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515, Phone: (202) 225-3351. The best way to communicate is to call and ask to speak with the professional staff member who deals with ATF matters, and take it from there. Appropriations is notoriously difficult to influence, for lots of reasons --- everybody from other Members of Congress on down is looking to get something. The matter of representing ATF and its missions is something critical to understand to be able to hope to influence how ATF is managed, and how institutional missions are prioritized. Sure, the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary, and the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs all have jurisdiction over ATF in some form, the real power is in the budget --- and I would respectfully suggest figuring that into any approach taken towards the reform of ATF.

If you think the CNN coverage of ATF caused grave psychic disruptions on the 5th Floor, if you get CNN poking around into how ATF's budget is divvied up and what gets priority and doesn't, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

If any CleanUpATF suggestions find their way onto the Appropriations agenda, you can bet that ATF managment will receive its blast, and get fried, boiled, roasted and fricasseed for not having acted diligently enough to address valid demands for institutional reforms. Particularly if Appropriations decides to, for example, use report language to urge ATF to address internal personnel matters and knock off doing retaliation (it would be more gussied up than that, more like "resolve internal matters brought to its attention openly and transparently" or something like that. Basically, Appropriations and other report language doesn't bind an agency, it isn't law. It's generally a good idea to comply (which is why report language is now being used to hide earmarks) because if an agency doesn't, the appropriations committee may cut its budget next year.

Finally, with respect, it doesn't help CleanUpATF for people to post with name calling and exhibit unprofessional behaviors. Given the 1st Amendment, and needs for some to blow off steam, it is doubtful that CleanUpATF will be anything like a refereed professional journal in which there is peer review (quality control) over what gets posted.

There's nothing easy about any of this, and I don't mean to come off like tossing off this post and suggesting there is anything easy. I would respectfully suggest that a start would be somehow formalizing the CleanUpATF entity in some fashion, such that CleanUpATF has a credible, knowledgable, politically savvy representative who is willing to take the time to try and work something with Appropriations. The key here is to transform CleanUpATF from what amounts to a huge blog into a key group worth of the attention of the Subcommittee on Appropriations. Find the right professional to represent CleanUpATF, and take it from there.

[x1811]

We are in trouble and no one seems willing or able to make the effort to fix it. Mr. Melson, I am sure is well intended, but clearly has been mislead and does not know our culture. I heard him advocate outside employment as long as it is cleared with the ethics attorney’s. He said he does it. He does not recognize the implications. He says we have to run ATF more like a business, yet we continue to waste money on areas so far afield of our core mission. He has not been around long enough to learn from the past and that is evident when he speaks about our future. We are in a financial crisis so let’s talk about saving money. We can only do that when we change the way we do business. No money should be spent on anything not related to our core missions. Simply defined as, cases, defendants, prosecutions and industry compliance. I believe that results in those areas are the only thing that resonates with Congress. Why do we have so many people outside the country? We have no jurisdiction and how necessary is it to our core mission? If we need international support, let’s use State and FBI resources, they can get it done and we would build better partnerships. Mexico makes sense because there is a direct impact on our border. Why so many in Canada, a friendly nation. Can we not accomplish what we need there electronically? Bring everyone back to the US and put them to work doing investigations. How about the K9 program? It was timely and innovative when it was created. The usefulness has run its course. We have supplied so many state and local agencies with K9’s that we do not need our own any more, all we need to do is enforce our agreements with those agencies to support us. Put those agents back to work and stop funding trips to golf tournaments, baseball games and NASCAR races under the guise of high profile events. Why are we funding ethnic and race based conferences that are exclusionary to others, these continue to divide this agency and drain resources. Remember the business model, what is the cost benefit to ATF. Do not institute any new programs that are a luxury. i.e. control and arrest techniques, two classes at FLETC. We have been there before. Good stuff, but not a necessity during fiscal crisis. How about office space? What is the cost difference between cubicles and old fashion desks, might be a wash, but worth looking at. Why do IOI’s who telework maintain office cubicles? Double the cost? There are so many examples of financial waste, I could go on for pages,Mr. Melson, it is time to get serious or you should move on. Focus on what we do best and let the work speak for itself. This agency has always been results driven and the people here will do the job for you if you define it and not spread us thin in the areas that matter. Eliminate all extraneous work and focus on being the domestic violent crime agency and nothing more. Time to get lean and efficient. If you need more ideas on how to save money, just ask the people in the field for suggestions. You are not getting accurate guidance at this time.

Wow, you seem to have hit the nail on the head! Concentrating on the core mission tends to make an agency more efficient. Superfluous and collateral missions and projects as you outlined takes an agency away from its strenghts. There is too much duplicity in jurisdictions, missions, and objectives among the many federal and state aagencies that create blurred lines of jurisdiction, turf wars, and angst among those cops and agents in all law enforcement organizations. By cutting the fat, streamlining the bureuacracy, and returning to core values, the ATF and other agencies will benefit from such efficiencies. Yes, let the State Department and FBI handle the foreign operations, reduce financial waste, reduce the levels of management, eliminate redundancies. Good post!

[Patriot]

We are in trouble and no one seems willing or able to make the effort to fix it. Mr. Melson, I am sure is well intended, but clearly has been mislead and does not know our culture. I heard him advocate outside employment as long as it is cleared with the ethics attorney’s. He said he does it. He does not recognize the implications. He says we have to run ATF more like a business, yet we continue to waste money on areas so far afield of our core mission. He has not been around long enough to learn from the past and that is evident when he speaks about our future. We are in a financial crisis so let’s talk about saving money. We can only do that when we change the way we do business. No money should be spent on anything not related to our core missions. Simply defined as, cases, defendants, prosecutions and industry compliance. I believe that results in those areas are the only thing that resonates with Congress. Why do we have so many people outside the country? We have no jurisdiction and how necessary is it to our core mission? If we need international support, let’s use State and FBI resources, they can get it done and we would build better partnerships. Mexico makes sense because there is a direct impact on our border. Why so many in Canada, a friendly nation. Can we not accomplish what we need there electronically? Bring everyone back to the US and put them to work doing investigations. How about the K9 program? It was timely and innovative when it was created. The usefulness has run its course. We have supplied so many state and local agencies with K9’s that we do not need our own any more, all we need to do is enforce our agreements with those agencies to support us. Put those agents back to work and stop funding trips to golf tournaments, baseball games and NASCAR races under the guise of high profile events. Why are we funding ethnic and race based conferences that are exclusionary to others, these continue to divide this agency and drain resources. Remember the business model, what is the cost benefit to ATF. Do not institute any new programs that are a luxury. i.e. control and arrest techniques, two classes at FLETC. We have been there before. Good stuff, but not a necessity during fiscal crisis. How about office space? What is the cost difference between cubicles and old fashion desks, might be a wash, but worth looking at. Why do IOI’s who telework maintain office cubicles? Double the cost? There are so many examples of financial waste, I could go on for pages,Mr. Melson, it is time to get serious or you should move on. Focus on what we do best and let the work speak for itself. This agency has always been results driven and the people here will do the job for you if you define it and not spread us thin in the areas that matter. Eliminate all extraneous work and focus on being the domestic violent crime agency and nothing more. Time to get lean and efficient. If you need more ideas on how to save money, just ask the people in the field for suggestions. You are not getting accurate guidance at this time.

[x1811]

The points of x1811 below are well taken. The last lines though got me. Yes things could be worse. Yes we are lucky to have guaranteed pensions and benefits. But, for so many of us, this job was never about the perks. That's never been enough for ATF Agents and it should not be now. We never compared ourselves to INS, Customs or FBI agents. They compared themselves to us. We might have been cowboys but we kicked serious ass. It sucks being mediocre. I'll leave it at that.

The Agent Haters Club (SAC's and ASAC's, not all of them, about 90%) are meeting in DC this week. Here is what to expect. Everything is fine. We are doing a great job and are well respected at DOJ. We do not harrass or retaliate. Moral is at an all time high. Some moves are going to be made in the near future. They are working on the problems of the agency and doing all that is possible to improve. Be patient, change takes time. We need to cut money and we have sent several ideas on how to do that to main Justice. Southwest border issues are a priority. We don't know what the status of our Director is. DOJ has asked us not to talk about it. We are one big family.

I guess I could keep going but you have all heard it before. It's the SES's broken record. When was the last time any of us heard anything interesting, different, dynamic, aggressive, sincere or even possessing a remote possiblity of creating some inspiration for field agent from any of these guys?

Hey you SES's (again, most, not all) resign and give ATF a chance. Your club is viewed as windbags, liars, cowards, "just say no", insecure, out of touch, never did much but tell great glory stories, pat each other on the backs, vanilla pudding milktoast, bunch of empty suited asskissers who got to where you are by friends not actions, intelligence, experience, leadership or guts. Tell me I'm wrong and I'll list 30 of you right off the top of my head who the previous description would fit like a glove. I'd bet a weeks pay that each of your field divisions gets more done with you guys out of the office this week than it ever would have with you in it.

Lead and do it now or get your sissy punk asses out of the way and let someone else try. Especially you guys who are doing nothing but hanging around waiting for the best corporate opportunity to come your way. You know who you are. So do we.

I made the statement about pensions and benefits just to demonstrate that we, as feds and 1811's enjoy financial security. When you retire, you will appreciate this comment, especially in this economy. It is true that we did not join this job for the benefits. In working with many joint task forces, I met agents from all agencies who do their job for the love of it, regardless of who they work for. Each agent is proud of their agency and it is only natural to protect their turf. But as I stated in my original post, the jurisdiction lines are blurred. We can all come up with anecdotal examples of this issue. I recall a senior agent once telling me that the criminal justice field; territories, crime problems, and jurisdictions are like a huge apple orchard with unlimited fruit to pick. There is no shortage of interesting work for aggressive agents to pursue if they are motivated to work. However, as I discover in these forums; No good deed goes unpunished" (Dr. Soskis). The issues and problems noted on this web site clearly indicates a wide gulf of mistrust between management and agents. Without a strong leader, a Director, these issues will never be resolved and ATF will continue to float in a dark sea of uncertainty. As such, Jumpers statement of Customs, INS, and FBI agents "comparing themselves to us" seems a bit of a stretch. After retirement I did some consulting with human resource professionals about job satisfaction as part of my Masters thesis. One of the criteria used was attrition due to disciplinary problems or negative self esteem in the job. Not surprising was that agencies like the Postal Inspectors, IRS-CID, Secret Service, and the FBI had the lowest attrition rates in Government and high job satisfaction. An empirical study was done to provide reasons why this phenomonon was so prevalent. In each case one of the reason was due to clear lines of communication between management and the field; clearly stated goals, purposes, and objectives; and most of all accountability. These vary from agency to agency, but overall, many of the 1811's in these agencies are pretty satisfied. That translates into low attrition. Let's hope that these problems that plague the ATF will be resolved so that those dedicated agents who believe in their mission will be able to enjoy the fruit of their labor.