My question today is: WHY IS THIS GOVT SO ADAMANT ABOUT RE-INVENTING THE WHEEL? I ask this after observing that after vociferously ensuring that they shut down every crime initiative of the former regime-PNM, theyve wait about 3+ years to replace it with the same thing. Upon gaining office in 2010, they went about getting rid of the BLIMPS, which were used for surveillance and the 3 OPVs which were earmarked for coastal patrol and protection. They are intent now,on replacing them with DRONES and INTERCEPTORS (high speed patrol vessels). Now lets observe the pluses and minuses of these strategies. 1) Blimps fly at a higher altitude than Drones which means the span of visual coverage is wider with bigger cameras 2) Blimps are manned by humans, which means at times the human element which may be necessary to deal with an unforeseen situation eg: giving directions about a possible intended situation before it occurs, is present. 3) Because of its high altitude patrol, it is more difficult to be eliminated, ie:Drones are easily shot out of the sky, ask the US Military in Iraq and Afghanistan. When it comes to the OPVs versus the Interceptors; 1) The OPVs can carry more sailors, which means they can engage almost any size opponent, Interceptors carry about 5-7 persons. 2) The exposed coastal areas of TnT are EAST, NORTH and SOUTH; 3 OPVs at each point gives more coverage of each area. 3) Due to its holding capacity, OPVs can venture further and stay out longer with crews being changed and refreshed with supplies whilst holding the HIGH GROUND. 4) Present crime prevention methods suggests it is more economical and effective to do pro-active (preventative) crime fighting than re-active (responsive) crime fighting ie: Deter the criminal from committing the offence instead of trying to capture him/her after commission; with the OPVs strategically placed at the aforementioned cardinal locations, smugglers, drug runners etc would think twice about entering our waters under the fear of detection, instead of chasing after them hoping to catch them. 5) The positioning of the OPVs with state of the art technology will operate like virtual fences instead of Interceptors acting like chase dogs. 6) OPVs act as virtual bases located offshore from which smaller fast craft can be launched, faster response time. Having made these observations, its clearly visible that either this Govt has not done any type of feasibility study before they ventured into this plan of action or they are still caught up in the old Political mentality of making the opponent look bad. Either way, its the citizenry who suffers, because its our tax $$ being spent. As Ive always said Its easy to spend OPM : OTHER PEOPLES MONEY!!! But the longest rope has an end. Dont beat up, its just my opinion.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 13:28:25 +0000
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