During an April 2001 speech, Harry C. Stonecipher, then the president of Boeing Co. and now its chief executive, touted the "partnership" he'd helped to set up with the Air Force.
Stonecipher singled out for praise Darleen Druyun, then the Air Force's second-ranking acquisition official, who'd described herself as the "godmother" of Boeing's C-17 cargo plane.
[...]
In his first month as chief executive, Stonecipher is trying to recover after two top Boeing executives - his predecessor, Philip M. Condit, and the chief financial officer, Michael M. Sears - left amid allegations that Druyun was recruited for a job as she negotiated a $21 billion contract for airborne tankers.
[...]
Stonecipher, 67, also must contend with a separate Justice Department investigation into Boeing's possession of thousands of pages of proprietary Lockheed Martin Corp. documents that might have helped Boeing to win rocket-launch bidding while he was president in 1998.
The Air Force stripped Boeing of $1 billion in business after an inquiry in July, and the military will incur $223 million in extra costs as a result because it shifted launches to Lockheed Martin. The Air Force won't try to recover the money, a spokeswoman said.
What the fuck is wrong with the Air Force? I know $223 million is just lunch money for a crooked Air Force procurement officer and her new employer — but, jeez, don't appearances even count anymore?
