Shame on Boeing

I listened with interest to the coverage re the controversy over the awarding of the Air Force contract for refueling planes to Airbus and Northrop Grumman rather than Boeing. I, like many of the people you interviewed, am outraged at this outcome. I am outraged at Boeing which cares so little for our troops and our country that it didn't bother to make the best product at the lowest cost and did not even bother to submit a prototype boom. I am outraged that they did such a pitiful job that they did not come out on top in even one of the 5 criterion. I am outraged that we have citizens who are so unthinking that they simply say Boeing makes the best planes despite the overwhelming data to the contrary. I am outraged that Boeing is not devoting its time and energy to analyzing why they did not win the contract and doing what they need to do to make sure that such an outcome will never happen again, because they will fix the problems that led to such an outcome. I am outraged that instead they are assuming the favorite position in America today...that of victim and responding with the weapon of choice, a lawsuit.

How stupid do they think we are? The Air Force would have welcomed the opportunity to give this contract to Boeing, but by their decision to assume they were entitled to this contract, Boeing did not give the Air Force that opportunity. We live in the land of opportunity. We have some of the most productive, hard working employees in the world. We have only ourselves to blame if we let our complacency and entitlement mentality interfere with our willingness to focus on the fundamentals for success, namely:

--Creating a safe workplace
--Being as productive as possible and finding new ways to be more productive
--Producing a quality product and finding new ways to increase quality
--Eliminating waste and cost
--Delivering the product on time

It is time for Boeing to stop whining and spinning and start figuring out what needs to be done to insure that they can be competitive against the best in the world, wherever they may be domiciled. How dare they suggest we should buy an inferior product from them, because they are an American Company. Our troops deserve better.

Shame on Boeing.

--Mary in Dayton