An incredible defense of the status quo and acquired privileges

09/07/15

Dearest Director, in the past I have read in your web magazine something about the Coast Guard reorganization, but now, following the recent political-media debate, I feel the need to report almost entirely the article written by Gianandrea Gaiani, a colleague and director of the online analysis defense journal.

The piece is on the news, beaten on Wednesday 8 July by the agencies, concerning the amendments by the Honorable Ernesto Carbone to the Delegation Act on the reorganization of the PA (law Madia) in which precisely proposed the total return (of all functions) especially that of Coast Guard inside the Military Navy and therefore the consequent suppression of the function and role of the Coast Guard General Commander who would return to be the Head of the Corps of the Port Authorities (a body already belonging to the Navy).

This news has unleashed the wrath of the pentastellati members of the Defense Committees; Constitutional Affairs and Transport, with the result, it would seem, that these amendments were withdrawn at night. Ah, the power of the lobbies that cling to the insubordinate warships. Dreams of glory and power. Yes, the power, the worst, given by the bureaucracy that is able to block any progress here in Italy. It would seem! I use the conditional because here it is difficult to confirm. Yesterday, however, some colleagues in the press agencies were left to consider such considerations: "on the occasion of the next 150 ° anniversary of the establishment of the Corps of Port Authorities we hope it will be a day of celebration and not of mourning".

The thing borders on the ridicule if you think about it. As Gaiani said well this provision, if it were implemented would lead only to savings, none of the coast guards currently present in Italy, among other things already sailors with stars, that is, military, would be sent home. So we do not talk about reducing organic but only to heal incomprehensible, yes, double dependencies of figures such as those of the General Commander and Admiral Inspector of the Corps of the Harbor Office that in his military role depends on the Military Navy Summit but , independently of this, with the Minister of Transport. This is not an incomprehensible dichotomy.

Reorganizing, making the whole apparatus leaner, does not mean to militarize as it is feared by the pentastellati, but only to reorganize in terms of efficiency, making everything more agile, lean and reducing the shopping centers. So the question that many people ask themselves, including the writer, why are so reluctant to improve? Why a defense so shamelessly to defend the status quo bordering on the ridiculous, because the information they give are vitiated by such incompetence and ignorance? Yet the pentastellati had accustomed us to an honest and studious attitude of the problems, completely out of the logic of lobbying that in these cases are unleashed. Once again, the Andreotti adage is very timely: "To think badly of others is a sin, but we often guess".

Citizens are tired of seeing certain palace games and the opposition at all costs to the new that advances, to a lean and efficient way of thinking, but above all Italian citizens are tired of safeguarding certain acquired position gains or privileges acquired in the past that are no longer sustainable today. The privileges of the past should be finished and can not be passed as an essential service for the people (service that inter alia would not stop but it would cost less) even if to defend them take to the field all the Stars of the firmament. In this case the Stars are only 5 although noisy.

Julian Hamilton

 

(from the article by Gaiani) After at least 40 years of debates on the need to reorganize and reduce the presence of bodies of the State that have competences in the sea finally the Renzi government seems determined to go to the facts with a couple of amendments to the bill for the Reform of the Public Administration of Madia Minister.

The executive intends to put the Harbor Office of the Coast Guard directly employed by the Navy, of which it has always constituted a Specialist Corps, and to dissolve the Corps of Forest Guards by assigning departments, vehicles, personnel and expertise to Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza and Fire fighters. The summit of the Navy will take over the tasks currently held by the Coast Guard General Command including the functional relationships with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. Decisions that should allow for strong savings by eliminating heavy command and control structures but without reducing the presence of forces and the services offered.

For this reason, the outburst of the M5S in defense of the autonomy of the Capitanerie di Porto / Coast Guard leaves puzzled above all taking into account that the Grillo movement has requested and obtained votes criticizing waste in public spending. (Omitted) ...

... Disconcerting statements for a movement that would like to be "new" and instead reflects the clichés of the old left-wing pacifism with a slogan of social alarm about the "militarization of the country" and the inevitable match with F-35 but above all because the reform will not change the tasks of the 11 thousand men and women of the Capitanerie that are already already military in all respects.

Someone explain to the Grillini deputies that Marina and Coast Guard sailors study in the same schools starting from the academy and attending the same courses. The direct dependence from the Marina will allow to halve the cost centers from the management of the personnel to the logistics to the maintenance of vehicles, boats and aircraft, freeing up resources and personnel for the operational tasks.

Not to mention that the offshore component and the coastal component of the Coast Guard can be better integrated with those of the Navy.

It is also better to explain to the M5S members that the dependence on the Navy will not involve the use of Fucilieri del San Marco ("armed soldiers up to the head") to patrol the beaches or missile launchers and destroyers for the control of pleasure boats.

Integrating the Capitanerie / Coast Guard with the Navy is also very useful today that the threat coming from Libya in terms of illegal migration flows sees the Navy operating in the front line in front of the waters of the house and cooperating closely with the Coast Guard.

What sense would it have, in operational and financial terms, to keep separate general and territorial commands, but still forced to dialogue and cooperate closely?

(photo: Coast Guard)