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Crane whistleblower alleges safety violations with explosives at Indiana base





CRANE WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES SAFETY VIOLATIONS WITH EXPLOSIVES AT INDIANA BASE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Boris Ladwig   The Herald-Times


A whistleblower and former safety chief at Crane Army Ammunition Activity said
after he warned a federal agency of possible explosions and deaths at the
facility, government agents destroyed evidence and fired him in retaliation.



Rick Ward said safety violations first identified after a 2013 explosion that
hospitalized five people continue to endanger people at the southern Indiana
military installation.

“We’re talking catastrophic type stuff here,” he said. “I want to see people not
die.”

An Army spokesman said via email the Army takes workspace safety “very
seriously” and its investigation revealed no personnel at Crane “were in
immediate danger of being seriously injured.”

From the archive: Safety violations found at Crane Army division during March
accident

Ward in October 2020 filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration alleging the Army had failed to address several safety
violations, some of which date back to OSHA's investigation after the 2013
explosion.




Ward said last week that the U.S. military still is failing to follow proper
procedures at Crane, including the handling of explosives.

He said personnel at the facility in some cases are moving explosives with
chains and slings that have not been inspected or certified for years. If those
chains or slings fail, the bombs can drop, which Ward said has happened. The
bombs could explode, blow up buildings and kill workers.

“They’re just sloppy,” he said. “They don’t follow (standard operating
procedures.)”

Ward said people were injured by explosives at Crane on several occasions during
his time there. In July, failure to follow proper procedures contributed to a
“huge fire,” he said. News reports at the time indicated no one was hurt and the
cause of the fire was under investigation.




WHAT DO THEY DO AT THE CRANE?

Crane is about a 30-minute drive southwest of Bloomington. The installation on
its website says its mission is to "safely receive, inspect, store, ship,
renovate, demilitarize, and manufacture conventional ammunition, missiles, and
related components to support Army and Joint Force readiness."



Marshall Z. Howell, spokesman for the Army, said via email that due to ongoing
litigation and privacy protections, he could not answer all questions, but he
said the Army takes workplace safety "very seriously, especially when it comes
to inherently dangerous activities such as ammunition handling and production."

"The matters raised by Mr. Ward were properly investigated by the Army; these
investigations did not indicate that any personnel at CAAA were in imminent
danger of being seriously injured," Howell said. "However, we always encourage
our employees to identify areas where the command can improve, especially in the
areas of life, health and safety."


WHISTLEBLOWER: ACCIDENT AVOIDED ONLY BY CHANCE

Ward is a major with four years of active military duty and 22 years in the
reserves. He served most recently as the installation’s civilian safety chief.

He said the installation has avoided another catastrophic incident only by
chance. Ward said unless the U.S. military addresses the concerns, a deadly
incident is only a matter of time.



“I’d like to see the problems (solved) that have been swept under the rug for a
decade,” he said. “People need to be held accountable.”

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The U.S. Army investigated Ward’s complaint after the former safety chief took
his case to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal
investigative and prosecutorial agency that derives its authority in part from
the Whistleblower Protection Act.

A letter that U.S. Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner sent to President Joe Biden
and Congressional leaders this month indicates the Army’s investigation
substantiated, either fully or partially, five of eight allegations Ward made.



The letter also states that as a result of the report’s findings, the Army will,
among other things, contract for a new hazard analysis/risk assessment of
roughly 2,000 areas and review all weight handling equipment “to ensure any
equipment with outdated inspections or certifications is tagged inactive and not
used.”



Ward said the remaining issues he identified were not substantiated only because
the Army fixed them after his complaint.


'EVIDENCE OF WRONGDOING'

A news release from Washington, D.C.-based law firm Tully Rinckey, which Ward
had hired, also alleges “government evidence of wrongdoing, including pictures,
was destroyed by the command when Mr. Ward was sent home and his phone and
computer were confiscated.” 

Ward, who has worked for the U.S. Department of Defense for almost 20 years, was
fired on Jan. 5, 2021, on what he says are “fabricated” misconduct charges.

Howell, the Army spokesman, said because of Privacy Act protections, he could
not provide details on Ward's federal employment.



"We can say that claims of safety violations played no role in any personnel
decision," Howell said.

The release from the law firm also states that three days after Ward filed the
OSHA complaint “he was assigned to investigate his own complaint. Due to COVID
restrictions, OSHA did not send anyone to investigate.”

“They used COVID as an excuse,” said Dan Meyer, an alumnus of Indiana
University's law school and now managing partner at law firm Tully Rinckey.

Even now, the agency won’t send out anyone to investigate the complaint, he
said.

OSHA could not be reached for comment.

Ward said he wants to see the long-lingering problems fixed.

And ultimately, he wants his job at Crane back. The U.S. military has revoked
his security clearance and prohibited him from entering the military
installation on threat of arrest, he said.




Ward now works for a private military contractor, but the job will require him
to soon move out of state and away from his wife and children who want to remain
in Indiana.

Meyer said to reduce the risk of another serious mishap, someone outside of the
U.S. Department of Defense should investigate Ward’s complaint and affirm
publicly when all of the safety violations have been corrected.

Meyer said the lack of a response also sends a chilling message to other
potential whistleblowers: Why would anyone step forward and risk reprisals if
complaints about serious safety violations fall on deaf ears?

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.

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