Recently, Congress Daily reporter Megan Scully wrote the article "Osprey Helicopter Nears Overseas Deployment."  In the article, the Project On Government Oversight's (POGO) Defense Investigator Todd Bowers was quoted as saying "I think it would be smarter to have more rigorous testing and more thorough testing and more in-depth analysis of that testing." This comment has apparently ruffled some feathers with defense blogger Kevin "Hognose" O'Brien.

The Congress Daily article was posted on the Rotary Wing Forum yesterday, and Mr. O'Brien responded with an onslaught of erroneous comments aimed at POGO and Mr. Bowers:

Todd Bowers and POGO have a similar record to CDI. When they were trying to get the Stryker buy canceled, among other tactics they used was mailing the media pictures of dead guys in Strykers. He's really a class act -- not. By the way, their attack on the Stryker was supported (financially and otherwise) by FMC, and their proposal was that instead of Strykers the DOD buy a Vietnam-era APC made by .... need I draw you a picture... FMC.

If Mr. O'Brien had taken the time to fact-check his assumptions regarding Mr. Bowers and POGO's stance on the Stryker, there would not be an issue.  But we here at POGO would like to point out that since Mr. Bowers joined our staff in April 2006, we have done minimal reporting on the Stryker program, if any at all. In the past, POGO has raised concerns regarding the Stryker program, basing our views on official Army documentation.  Specifically, we focused on a Center for Army Lessons Learned report , which stated that the Stryker Slat Armor solution was only defending the Vehicle from 50% of the rocket propelled grenade (RPG) threats.  At no point did POGO ever ask that the program be cancelled.  We were, however, concerned about the safety of the men and women inside the vehicle.

We were appalled and feel slandered by the accusation that POGO sent pictures to the media of Strykers with dead soldiers inside.  At no point has POGO or anyone on our staff (past, present, or future) sent photos of dead soldiers to any media outlet of any kind.  His statements are simply and horrifyingly wrong.  This is unacceptable.

The comment made by Mr. O'Brien that POGO's "attack" on the Stryker was "financially and otherwise" supported by Food Machinery Corporation (FMC) is false in its entirety.  In its 25 years of existence, POGO has never accepted funding from corporate entities.  POGO has had no contact with FMC and has  never accepted funding of any kind from FMC.  By operating in this manner, POGO is able to investigate, report, and recommend corrective measures without any outside influences threatening the integrity of our institution.

Finally, POGO would like to state that we disagree with Mr. O'Brien's statement that  "He's really a class act -- not."  Mr. Bowers served two tours in Iraq and was decorated for valor and awarded the Purple Heart.  His efforts here at POGO mirror his efforts in Iraq: he has worked unstintingly to  ensure that members of the Armed Services are protected with the best equipment our government can provide.  Since Mr. O'Brien is also a  member of the Armed Forces, he should not only understand these efforts, but support them.

-POGO

The original version of this blog included a reference and link to Aero-News.net and its affiliation with Kevin "Hognose" O'Brien.  POGO has since learned that Mr. O'Brien no longer writes for Aero-News.net. 03-27-07