Nuclear Security; Homeland Questions Abound.

The man, refusing to give up on something he considered important, then filmed the security guards at the plant dozing off in a ready room and sent the tape to the local CBS affiliate television station. Finally, after the newscast showed guards nodding off on the job, action was initiated against the company supplying the guards.

Exelon, in as much a damage control move as it was a sincere effort to actually guard their important nuclear facilities, fired Wackenhut at all ten of their power plants and took over security in house. Now heat is being applied to Wackenhut, one of the nation’s leading suppliers of security, as more and more negative information about this company comes to light.

Since 2001, Wackenhut has been receiving criticism all over the country including, California, Tennessee, and Florida for having lapses in security as well as practicing unfair labor standards.

Union officials of the Service Employees Union have filed complaints stating the company is blocking efforts by Wackenhut’s employees to unionize. The Wackenhut guards, who receive very low pay even for the security guard job sector, have on numerous occasions filed complaints of lack of training, excessive hours and little interest by the company to look into their concerns about security.

Wackenhut, of course, says none of this is their fault. In the case of the Exelon guards sleeping, Wackenhut officials have stated that Exelon must define what is expected in their security implementation. One would think that even without specific guidelines, that sleeping on the job would not be part of a nuclear facility’s employee handbook.

Wackenhut also laments that businesses and government agencies requiring security have cut costs so that they are down to the “bare bones" when hiring guards. This would be true except that Wackenhut hierarchy, chief operating officers and board members all continue to increase their pay and lavish spending well into the upper six figure category all the while they cut back on staffing and hourly pay for guards who are the front line, real world defense, against an attack on a nuclear facility.

The NRC is just as much to blame as anyone. Their failure to actually check into complaints as serious as these, show a total lack of understanding of what would happen if a plant was taken over by terrorists. Don’t worry though. The NRC is about to spend a fortune on another feasibility study to determine what they should do in these cases.

Amazingly, with all the bad press against Wackenhut, the Feds have approved a five year, $569 million dollar contract to Wackenhut to guard the Y12 nuclear weapons and materials storage at Oak Ridge Tennessee. That sounds like a real “bare bones" price tag to guard a well secured facility doesn’t it?

Some senators are stating they want to hold hearings on Wackenhut to see if they should have this contract and other federal contracts pulled from the security firm. How about doing another feasibility study boys. I’m sure terrorists who are always looking for our weakest link are deep into a high priced, time consuming feasibility study on whether to hit a nuclear site or go to Disney World for a vacation first. I will wager they have time to do both.

We continue to confront but not remedy the failures in our national security. The terrorists can stay on vacation. We will still be here, unprepared as ever, when they decide to come.