Border chief defended on ‘no confidence’
Here is a clear case for someone looking at the noonday sun and proclaiming it to be midnight! This moves the Border Patrol management into some other universe than the one that actually exists these days on the border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner W. Ralph Basham says a “no-confidence” vote against Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar by leaders of the agency’s rank and file is “derisive, detrimental and blatantly unfair” and wants to meet with union leaders to tell them the chief is the right man for the job.
Right. Like his words are going to fix everything up after years of counter-productive management filtering down from the higher managers, like maybe the Customs and Border Protection Commissioner. My guess is that his credibility will be at least zero, if not moving into the domain of negative numbers.
“From my personal experience, I do not believe the rank-and-file agents have lost confidence in this chief,” Mr. Basham said.
Some people still believe the earth is flat, that we never went to the moon, and that 9-11 was a (U.S.) government plot too…but that doesn’t mean their beliefs have a basis in reality! Besides, having worked for the Feds for a long time, the Chief has observed that higher management rarely has any SERIOUS personal interaction with the people actually doing the job…most of such “contact” is generally carefully controlled, sort of on the order of a Potemkin Village type show.
Mr. Basham said. “I would very much like for the union to come to the table, have a dialogue at this time of great challenge and great opportunity. I’m extending my personal invitation and laying my personal reputation on the line.”
Excuse me? Based on the state of the border, and Border Patrol these day, the Chief has to wonder just WHAT personal reputation is there to lose anymore? I mean, when border agents are thrown to the wolves, prosecuted, and imprisoned for doing their jobs, all on Basham’s watch, his personal (professional) reputation is pretty much D.O.A. at this point.
Not to fear, the effort to blow smoke up their rectal orifice doesn’t impress the Union:
But National Border Patrol Council President T.J. Bonner yesterday called Mr. Basham “a political hack who blindly supports the president’s ill-conceived immigration agenda without regard for the damage it does to the mission of the agency and the security of our borders.”
Well spoken! The Chief heartily concurs!
Mr. Bonner said the council leadership, which represents all 11,000 non-supervisory Border Patrol agents, is willing to talk with Mr. Basham, but has “serious doubts” about his sincerity. “He appears to be far more concerned about the public perception of the bureau’s leadership than the underlying problems that led to the vote of no confidence,” he said.
Shocking! Such a thing in OUR government!
The rest of the piece has more pot-shotting between the managers and the union.
As far as the Chief is concerned, the Biblical test tells one what they need to know about the situation: …”by their fruits ye shall know them.” The border is broken. ’nuff said.