• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
FRANK RICCI: Secret Service’s Leadership Structure Is Out Of Whack. It’s Time To Fix It

FRANK RICCI: Secret Service’s Leadership Structure Is Out Of Whack. It’s Time To Fix It

July 24, 2024
Trump Issues Order To End Green Energy Gravy Train, Cites National Security

Trump Issues Order To End Green Energy Gravy Train, Cites National Security

July 7, 2025
The Right Doubted Amy Coney Barrett. Then She Suddenly Delivered Trump Admin’s Biggest Legal Victory

The Right Doubted Amy Coney Barrett. Then She Suddenly Delivered Trump Admin’s Biggest Legal Victory

July 7, 2025
New Navy Aircraft Carriers Face Delays As Shipbuilding Woes Persist

New Navy Aircraft Carriers Face Delays As Shipbuilding Woes Persist

July 7, 2025
TRENT ENGLAND And JASON SNEAD: Time To Say Goodbye To Ranked Choice Voting

TRENT ENGLAND And JASON SNEAD: Time To Say Goodbye To Ranked Choice Voting

July 7, 2025
DOJ ‘Thoroughly’ Investigating Hamas Apologist Group Favored By Democrats

DOJ ‘Thoroughly’ Investigating Hamas Apologist Group Favored By Democrats

July 7, 2025
Judge Blocks Defunding Of Planned Parenthood In ‘Beautiful’ Law

Judge Blocks Defunding Of Planned Parenthood In ‘Beautiful’ Law

July 7, 2025
White House to Families Impacted by Texas Floods: ‘Trump Loves You, We Are Praying for You’

White House to Families Impacted by Texas Floods: ‘Trump Loves You, We Are Praying for You’

July 7, 2025
Russian Minister Turns Up Dead By Apparent Suicide Hours After Being Fired By Putin

Russian Minister Turns Up Dead By Apparent Suicide Hours After Being Fired By Putin

July 7, 2025
California Ready To Rumble With Trump To Keep Men In Women’s Sports

California Ready To Rumble With Trump To Keep Men In Women’s Sports

July 7, 2025
Fox News Host Appears To Choke Up As Mother Describes Search For Daughter In Texas Floods

Fox News Host Appears To Choke Up As Mother Describes Search For Daughter In Texas Floods

July 7, 2025
Planned Parenthood Sues Trump Admin To Keep Taxpayer Cash Flowing

Planned Parenthood Sues Trump Admin To Keep Taxpayer Cash Flowing

July 7, 2025
Leavitt Looks Baffled After Reporter Asks Why Texas Flood Alerts Were Sent ‘While People Were Likely Sleeping’

Leavitt Looks Baffled After Reporter Asks Why Texas Flood Alerts Were Sent ‘While People Were Likely Sleeping’

July 7, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Tuesday, July 8, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

FRANK RICCI: Secret Service’s Leadership Structure Is Out Of Whack. It’s Time To Fix It

by Daily Caller News Foundation
July 24, 2024 at 5:30 pm
in News, Wire
250 2
0
FRANK RICCI: Secret Service’s Leadership Structure Is Out Of Whack. It’s Time To Fix It
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Daily Caller News Foundation

The resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle highlights a crisis of competence within the agency. The systemic failures and the spread of a toxic diversity, equity and inclusion(DEI) culture throughout the government bureaucracy indicates that merely cutting off the head will not cure the cancer.

Charles Krauthammer stated: “The reason people believe in conspiracy theories is because they think the government is competent.” He argued that many supposed conspiracies are the result of incompetence rather than deliberate, coordinated actions.

While Krauthammer’s insight is sharp, it does not fully capture the pernicious progression from incompetence to what might be termed “soft corruption.” When ineptitude, irresponsibility and incompetence persist, they metastasize into a form of corruption.

The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump underscores the urgency of this issue. Public accountability demands a thorough examination of failures, not just at the top or at the point of the catastrophic failure, but an in-depth evaluation of the slow drift that preceded it.

These are the small, often unnoticed lapses that, taken individually, may seem insignificant. Bad behavior or policy ignored is reinforced by a repeated positive outcome. This results in devaluing the threats over time — leading to greater vulnerability.

In this incident, the absurdity of not ensuring that a clear line of sight from an elevated position was not blocked or that law enforcement was stationed there is glaring. The failure to detain someone with a range finder is incomprehensible.

Moreover, if employees always performed their duties flawlessly, the role of supervisors would be diminished. Supervisors exist to provide oversight and correction, yet they are not immune to complacency or incompetence.

Organizations that implement multiple layers of supervision without clear lines of authority are setting themselves up for failure. During the recent House Oversight Committee hearing, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle referenced these levels of oversight in reviewing the site plan for the Trump rally.

By using the management cliché that “we are all responsible,” she obfuscated the issue of command authority.

This is akin to having everyone at a pool party tasked with watching the children — but, ultimately, no one is truly watching, and complacency sets in.

Effective planning requires clear lines of authority and a mechanism to record dissenting views at each level. This ensures that the next supervisory layer does not merely perform a pro forma check-off but engages in a substantive review, asking pertinent questions. The absence of such rigor can lead to significant oversights.

Training and resource allocation must also be scrutinized. The agency’s commitment should end with following the law, treating everyone with respect and ensuring the mission is the north star.

Instead, we see this agency drinking from the poisonous well of identity politics with a focus on DEI initiatives at the expense of the mission.

The focus must remain on merit and mission effectiveness. The aim should be to ensure equal opportunity, not seeking equal outcomes. Equity has become a code word for quotas and other schemes that compromise standards.

Merely replacing the head of the agency will not cure the underlying cancer within the agency. The line between incompetence and corruption is thin but critical. Persistent failures, unaddressed, can evolve into a culture of corruption.

It is imperative to look beyond immediate failures and address the systemic issues that allow incompetence to fester. We must demand accountability at all levels and reform our protective services. Without it, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past, placing our leaders and our nation’s security in jeopardy.

Frank Ricci was the lead plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Ricci v Destefano.  He retired as a Battalion Chief in New Haven, Conn. He has testified before Congress and is the author of the book, Command Presence.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Featured image credit:  (Screen Capture/CSPAN)

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Tags: big-tent-ideasDCNFU.S. News
Share196Tweet123
Daily Caller News Foundation

Daily Caller News Foundation

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th