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Commentary - Agency Drops the Ball on Air America - Again!, by Gary B.
Bisson. Section 1057, of Public Law 111-84 required the DNI, in
coordination with the Agency, to summit a report to the Congress by
April 28, 2010. The purpose of the report was to help Congress determine
whether to pass legislation granting civil service retirement credit and
benefits to Air America employees or their surviving spouses for
services performed during periods when Air America or its associated or
predecessor companies were owned and controlled by the Agency. The
periods involved have previously been identified by the Agency as July
10, 1950 through May 11, 1975. Rather than comply with this mandated
deadline, DNI's Director of Legislation has instead issued two interim
reports. The reports were issued 180 and 90 days respectively following
passage of Section 1057 and provided no substantive information. The
second interim report dated July 28, 2010 states in part: "Compiling a
comprehensive history of Air America and associated companies, reaching
out to information sources within and outside these companies, gathering
or reconstructing information (oral or written) on previous
investigations and administrative and legal actions, and making a
determination of the equities involved in this matter, including
possible legislative recommendations, and conducting necessary
coordinations, represents a significant investment of time and
resources." The second report then concluded: "Given the scope and
complexity of the tasking, we estimate the work will take up to nine to
twelve months and may require additional funds."
It is truly astounding that it took 270 days for DNI/CIA to provide such
scant information to the Congress. It is even more astounding when one
parses the interim report paragraph quoted above: 1. Compiling a
comprehensive history of Air America and associated companies: This work
has been already been accomplished by the Agency. As stated in Appendix
B of the late Professor William Leary's publication "Perilous Missions"
(University of Alabama Press (1984): "(There is) an "official"
(classified) history of the Air America complex in the Far East. Several
individuals with agency connections who have read the document assured
me that it was the definitive treatment of the topic." Finally, most if
not all, of the Air America historical data needed to satisfy the
requirements of Section 1057 is available in the unclassified 2009 joint
CIA/University of Texas at Dallas publication (and accompanying DVD)
"Air America: Upholding the Airmen's Bond: A Symposium Acknowledging and
Commemorating Air America Rescue Efforts During the Vietnam War." For
the DNI/CIA to suggest that significant manpower and financial resources
may be necessary to satisfy this report requirement is not only
misleading but patently outrageous. 2. Reaching out to information
sources within and outside these companies. This relates to the
personnel information requested by Section 1057. All of the personnel
information requested is available from official Air America personnel
records in the possession of former Air America Counsel William J.
Merrigan. On multiple occasions, the information has been offered to
both DNI and CIA, but the proffer has been ignored consistently. The
latest interim report states that 318 boxes of personnel records must be
reviewed. Reaching out to Mr. Merrigan to obtain the required data from
his more complete duplicate original records would save the American
taxpayer a great deal of contracted effort and money.
3. Gathering or reconstructing information (oral and written) on
previous investigations and administrative and legal actions. This
relates to past administrative claims by former Air America employees
for retirement credit before OPM, the Merit System Protection Board, and
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Since such claims
were finally denied by the Federal Circuit in Watts vs. OPM, the
legislative remedy currently personified in Section 1057 emerged.
Nowhere does Section 1057 require reconstruction of prior investigations
and administrative actions. To expend time and effort gathering data
which is not requested is simply a waste of taxpayer money and should be
construed as an obvious delaying tactic. 4. Making a determination of
the equity involved in this matter, including possible legislative
recommendations, and conducting necessary coordinations. The equities of
this unsatisfactory situation are quite clear to anyone with even a
modest knowledge of Air America. DNI/CIA's continuing failure to give
Congress what it needs creates a discouraging and undeserved hardship
for the remaining Air America employees, and more importantly, the
surviving widows of these employees. This is truly a serious neglect of
the heroic and largely unheralded actions of this group of de facto U.S.
Government employees whose mission was wholly designed, directed and
deployed by the Central Intelligence Agency. CIA has belatedly heaped
praise and accolades on Air America and the contributions of its
employees. The time has come for it to support Congressional action to
accord these employees the same benefits Congress has made available to
other proprietary organizations. The time has come for CIA to act with
honor and fairness with respect to its most illustrious proprietary.
Finally, as noted by the late Professor Leary: "The nebulous status of
Air America was devised for covert purposes, not to release the
government from obligations to its employees." (Emphasis added.) [Gary
B. Bisson is an AFIO Member and Former Air America Assistant Legal
Counsel, Taipei and Bangkok.]
