It is perhaps the logical next step to blogs for whistleblowers. Michael De Kort, a Lockheed engineer, has posted a video of himself on You Tube, blowing the whistle on what he says are serious security issues with Coast Guard patrol boats in the Deepwater project.
According to Michael De Kort, he had attempted to bring the matter of the security problems with the Coast Guard patrol boats to the authorities, but nobody seemed to care. He had even brought it to the attention of government investigators, and congressmen.
Finally, in desperation, he decided to bring it to the masses by making a video of himself detailing the security issues with the Coast Guard patrol boats, and posting the video to YouTube.
De Kort’s You Tube blurb says that the You Tube video is a “Video describing serious safety and security problems with the Deepwater Program – specifically the 123 class of patrol boats. This video is factual . I created the video and posted it hoping someone with the right connections sees it and can assist me in fixing the problems. While the DHS IG is currently investigating the issues the US Coast Guard has been stonewalling and not cooperating fully. As such the investigation cannot conclude. My hope is to instill a sense of urgency.”
Explained De Kort, he asked himself “What could I do that would be novel enough that it draws attention to itself, and through drawing attention to itself, something gets done?”
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In the video, De Kort explains “What I am going to tell you is going to seem preposterous,” and “It may be very hard for you to believe that our government and the largest defense contractor in the world [are] capable of such alarming incompetence and can make ethical compromises as glaring as what I am going to describe.”
The security problems he then describes include that there are blind spots in the ships’ surveillance systems which would allow for an attack on the ships’ crews, that the secure communications system is not so secure and is actually vulnerable to eavesdropping, and that some of the equipment – which is required to function in temperatures of as little as 40 below zero – does not in fact work under such extreme cold.
In response to the video and Michael De Kort’s allegations, a Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Coast Guard has “taken the appropriate level of action.”
That “appropriate level of action” includes the Coast Guard claiming that De Kort’s allegations are without merit, and, of course, Michael De Kort has been laid off.
You can see the De Kort YouTube whistleblower video here
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