"A spokesman for the Homeland Security Department told us today the low morale was the fault of the media and its focus during Hurricane Katrina on FEMA, another of the troubled agencies under the department."

Ya think, liberal Media?

No surprise in these results. "Brownie you're doin a heckuva job". Then, there is Chertoff who was "elsewhere" during Katrina. Reap what you sow is the appropriate motto here. Leadership is non-existent.

This is scary. If HSD is as well run as the war -- which is what this sounds like -- perhaps we should ask for a change

I'd be curious to know where US embassy personnel rank on that list.

I know here in China, I cringe if I have to deal with the embassy people.

There are so many power plays going on in that place, you can almost hear the bullets zinging past.

Then you have the visa department.

I'm about as shocked as Inspector Renault was when he learned that there was gambling at Rick's.

The incompetence defies belief. I'm a merchant marine officer. Post 9/11, every holder of a merchant mariners document was vetted through a long and expensive security check.

Of course, going to or from a ship means a one-way flight. Guess who gets selected for additional screening? One end of the DHS doesn't communicate with the others.

And don't get me going about running the wand around somebody's head. Do they really expect to find anything?

I work on a tanker carrying Alaskan crude to U.S. West Coast ports. Many times while entering Washington state waters we'll be boarded by the Coast Guard where we're all made to wait on deck while they board the ship, and then we're herded into a common room where we have to show our identification. It's a nice exercise for the USCG, but does nothing to enhance security. A half dozen Coast Guard guys aren't going to find somebody hiding out on a 975 ft. long ship, and it kind of implies that we don't know who our own shipmates are.

DHS puts on a great show at an incredible cost. Meanwhile, real security remains a dream.

I’m just totally dumbfounded how so many people are willing to do anything to throw our country into the toilet just to make sure Bush is a loser! Wake up! Bush will not be the only loser folks!

Brian,
Your report on Homeland Security was right on the money. I am a TSA employee who was laid off from the business sector after 22 years. I have a college degree and I have worked for a few major corporations. It is NOT the medias fault. It is the goverment's fault. They run it like a military operation. It is NOT a military operation. It is a civilan workforce. The management at this location have no managerial skills or people skills. I invite you to come to this location and interview me and other employees who are not afraid to tell you the truth. This is nothing more than a blanket to make the public feel safe. Believe me if someone wanted to get a bomb thru this airport they would have no problem. I wish they would do a test here. Please feel free to contact me concerning this issue. Please do not let this fall by the waist side. I am doing what I can to support my family, and I am in a very uncomfortable situation. I thought I could help my country and at the same time have a rewarding career. But this is a joke and a major waste of tax payers money! Please contact me.

The man we elected President, who himself doesn't have a clue so he creates a agency with the same mentally that he has, blame everyone else for his stupidity. People in this country better wake up soon if it's not too late.

One reason the Department of Homeland Security is disfunctional is that it has dismantled the old GS-system and has implemented a system of so-called "Merit Pay"for rank and file and large bonuses to management.

Under "merit pay" only a small percentage of workers get a raise every year. Some departments are only alloted 3% who can expect a raise.

Since it is such a small number, it has been abused by managers and is used to reward "Yes-men" and good ole boys, with minorities and women sprinkled in for appearances.

It has also lead to a surge of ill-concieved "pet projects" that are developed to impress the boss.

In the Federal Air Marshal service it lead to pressuring Air Marshals into filling out intelligence reports to meet a phony quota as a pre-requisit for being considered for a raise. The quotas of course made the management look good so they could mention it for their cash bonus.

Needless to say many rank and file workers end the year without any reward for their outstanding performance.

Work rules have not been enforced since the day DHS was created. The Federal Air Marshal Service has abused overtime laws since the creation of DHS. It owes tens of millions in back pay to the men and women protecting the flying public.

The GOP provided substandard oversight at best during the last Congress and should hold part of the blame. Their attempts to suppress whistleblowers and workers rights contributed to the poor results

Nobody in the rank in file was suprised to see the results of the survey.

What is it with this administration?

*Everything* is the media's fault!

Gimme a break.

DHS is nothing more than welfare for the educated. Don't blame the media or the American people if you can't do your job.

I have been a DHS employee for over 14 years and have worked in a variety of law enforcement positions within the former INS and the current DHS. I am a college graduate with a Master's degree in Criminal Justice. Many of the problems associated with the DHS can be traced to the former INS. The severe lack of leadership, wide-spread demoralization of employees, and rampant promotion of incompetents that was the "business as usual" attitude in the former INS has continued to define the DHS. The results of this survey are not a shock to those of us who are employed by the DHS. The DHS is just the old INS with a newer window dressing. It's about time that the public was made aware of the deplorable conditions that exist within the DHS. The only questions is whether the public will place enough political pressure on the government to make the necessary changes to the "old guard" leadership structure that still exists in District offices around the country in order to effect the type of reformation that the agency needs. This is just the tip of the iceberg folks. Kudos to Mr. Ross! If you continue to dig deeper Sir you will be amazed and sickened at what you will find.

HSD was never needed to begin with. It was an excuse for the government to build a huge bureaucratic nightmare.

Instead, we could have easily used the tools we currently had (CIA, FBI, INS, ...)

HSD is also in charge of the Ramos and Compean fiasco (which he doesn't address). But tell me, who at INS is having a blast these days? These men on the border must be terrified, knowing their own supervisors will turn on their own.

ATF = Clinton's Mess
HSD = Bush's Mess

Every president needs a legacy. and this is what we get.

To say that those who work for DHS are engaging in "welfare for the educated" is the height of ignorance, no, more like stupidity. Those who work at DHS do the best they can to perform important work. Unfortunately, the resources provided to do that work are limited and the culture at DHS is one which focuses on positive PR spin rather than giving people the tools to do the work and then motivating them properly. Last time I checked, that was the job of management. The results of the survey reflect frustration and the simple fact that the agency is mismanaged. To blame the employees because they aren't given resources and aren't involved in designing the processes by which work is done is the height of knee-jerk conservative ignorance. As my mother used to say, "if you don't have anything smart to say, then keep your mouth shut". I learned my lesson, but some people obviously haven't. That being said, do we really have to wait 40 years for things to get straightened out at DHS?

Of course DHS management blame the media.

It is the only forum through which the managements incompetance can be exposed.

As some mentioned earlier, the whistleblower act has been weakened under GOP.
Whistleblowers have no expectation that they will be protected for exposing gross negligence. (Something that was supposed to be encouraged after 9/11)

Look at the Federal Air Marshal blogs and you will see that drama played out.

It wasn't until ABC news and others exposed the FAM service to the public that bad policies began to be reviewed.
The upper management in Offices responsible for oversight within DHS are all staffed by individuals who are old buddys with the various Dept heads.

Just as in Iraq, the "contractors" walk away with Kings' ransoms, while the front line "soldiers" do the dirty work for "serf" wages.

The GAO published a report that said 85% of the money "earmarked" for New Orleans debris hauling was eaten up by sub-chronies, er, -contractors, and 15% went to the subcontractor who actually did the hauling.

While the latest group slopping at the "earmark" trough is security gizmo manufacturers, those who actually inspect things get low wages, poor management, lame training, and public scorn.

Everyday, thousands of soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors risk their lives in Irag and Afghanistan. Working 12 to 16 hours a day, exposed to death by the minute, seeing what no one should ever have to see.

Why is it that their morale is high, that they are proud of what they are doing? Because they have leaders, gunnies and captains who stand by them, enduring what they do.

Where is the leadership in DHS? Leaders do not make excuses (such as it's the fault of the media). Leaders lead, admit when they are wrong, and give credit to their men and women when they are right.

Wasn't Clark Kent Ervin the IG who was fired from DHS for his report on air marshalls being easily picked out at airports? Figures that ABC News would leave that out...

Morale? Leadership? Management Skills? People Skills? The score sheet says 0 at DHS. I am a 5 yr employee of DHS. I have been told this is the way it is, deal with it. As a previous blogger stated, it is a Cilivian workforce not a military base and until they change that nothing will change. They are to busy looking for liquids if a real IED came through they would never catch it. Their focus is so way off it is unreal. Don't stop at this investigation,continue to look deeper you will be amazed!

If you want to change DHS and make it better. You need to the officers who carry firearms and badges. Give them a pay increase, enough so that they can live comfortable and not rely on overtime as a means of income. As well as 6C coverage for the retirement. Get rid of the old guys who are so disgruntled that that complain every damn day they come to work and You'll see a change for the better, and keep employee retention up.