Is the Coast Guard Significantly Changing How It Manages Deepwater?
By Michael DeKort Originally published on POGO blog with comments from myself and even the Coast Guard Earlier this month Nick Baumann at Mother Jones reported that the Coast Guard would no longer be using the services of the Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS)—a joint-venture of the government’s top two defense contractors, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman—for its Deepwater modernization program. But it looks like the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate still needs outside help. Alice Lipowicz at Washington Technology reports that the Coast Guard may be issuing requests for proposals (RFP) for as much as $650 million in program management, engineering, acquisition, and administrative services. If it comes to fruition, this RFP would continue two troubling trends that have decreased accountability and transparency in contracting at the Department of Homeland Security: relying on contractors to provide inherently and/or core governmental functions, and, because the Coast Guard see
