Letters to the editor
Stop Bickering
I am writing in response to the anonymous letter "Contracting out is
risky" [FCW, Oct. 1] that points a crooked finger at fellow U.S. citizens.
I take offense to this letter, which said that we as Americans are at risk
because contractors are allowed to perform work for our government.
First, the opinion of the author of this letter plays right into the
hands of the terrorists by pitting law- abiding American against law-abiding
American. Rather than being suspicious of terrorists, they want us to be
looking over our shoulders at our neighbors. Second, I have been a contractor
for more than 16 years, and I take the letter-writer's opinion personally.
I know for a fact that at every government agency I have supported or worked
with during my years in the Army, every contractor goes through just as
intense a security check as the government workers he or she supports.
Third, the government and its agencies have used contractors for many
reasons for many years. Government employees and contractors alike have
worked as a team throughout my career, so I do not think the letter-writer
represents reality. I suspect the author is really upset about the use of
contractors rather than government people and is using this unfounded "risk"
as a smoke screen for his or her own personal bias.
Americans and civilized people around the world should be pulling together
to defeat the terrorist infestation rather than bickering among ourselves.
Name withheld by request
Turning to Feds
Milt Zall certainly hit the nail on the head in his Oct. 15 FCW column,
"More feds, not fewer." I've been thinking much the same thing, but he is
the first person I have noticed saying it publicly.
Airline security, when entrusted to the private sector, was mostly for
show and done as cheaply as possible. As soon as the Sept. 11 attacks happened,
politicians of every political stripe suddenly were jumping on the bandwagon
of federalizing airport security, yet about half of them are in the camp
that says that the private sector can do a better job than the federal government
at any task. I hope the next time they are tempted to say that, they think
of that smoking pile of rubble in lower Manhattan.
What's next? I trust you have noted, as I have with a mixture of amusement
and outrage, that the insurance industry now wants the government to get
involved as the insurer of last resort. The private sector will make all
the money, of course, but if they don't have enough in reserve to accommodate
their liabilities, the American taxpayer is supposed to bail them out.
All I can say is that we certainly live in curious times.
Chris Oberlin
Wheaton, Md.
IT Workers Wanted?
This is regarding the government's current hiring practice for information
technology personnel.
I'm currently a federal employee. I have more than four years of solid
programming experience. I have applied for several positions requiring my
skills. The positions I have applied for have been with agencies having
multiple positions to fill. My question is this: How can these agencies
say they have trouble finding skilled IT workers when after at least six
months, a resume reflecting strong programming skills gets no reply, no
notice of ranking or even a thanks-but-no-thanks letter?
Here are the issues that trouble me most:
n Is the applicant expected to accept that the position applied for
is not going to be filled for a year or two?
n Does being a current government employee taint my viability as an
IT candidate?
n Why do human resources personnel seem to do their best to not keep
the applicant informed of his or her status in a current so-called hiring
or recruitment effort? What good is it if your contact person has no idea
of when the position will be filled or when applicants will be scored?
n I've used the online resume service and applaud the effort of those
that created it. But if the hiring process at the agency or the Office of
Personnel Management remains a huge black hole, then the online resume builder
is useless.
I ask, where is the real problem with finding skilled IT workers? Has
anyone else encountered these obstacles? Is outsourcing the answer rather
than hiring an applicant already on the government payroll?
My current career objective is to keep my IT skills in the government.
If that's not what the government wants, then I wish they would inform me.
Name withheld by request