REPORT TARGETS DRUG OFFICE

McCaffrey's Military Style Threatens Efforts And Morale, Authors Say

WASHINGTON - An independent review of the White House drug czar's office
has found an understaffed and troubled bureaucracy led by a director who is
a "high-pressure and military-oriented" leader, driving many career
professionals to quit.

A 53-page report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, obtained by the Globe, was
mandated by a House and Senate conference committee, which was concerned
about reports of problems in employee retention and the management style at
the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The General Accounting Office
is overseeing the $125,000 report, which is "still a work in progress," a
GAO official said yesterday.

A final report could be issued next week and would include comment from the
drug control office. The House and Senate asked for an outside review to
underscore the appearance of impartiality in investigating part of the
executive branch.

The report positively noted that the office has set clear goals for reduced
drug use around the country and is "results-oriented and effective in
performing its responsibilities externally." It called the organization
"generally sophisticated" in that regard.

But even with clearly defined goals, the office's own strategy report
issued this year found that it has come up short in the most important
measuring sticks of America's war on drugs. This year's report found a
record level of drug-related deaths in America and some of the lowest
prices ever for cocaine and heroin on the street.

The PricewaterhouseCooper review of the office's troubled inner workings is
at odds with the public face of its often-charming and articulate director,
Barry R. McCaffrey, who spends 54 percent of his non-office time involved
in media events - making an estimated 386 public appearances a year, the
report noted. In contrast, he spends 43 percent of his time in
policy-related matters.

But in recent interviews, more than a dozen past and current office workers
have told the Globe that McCaffrey runs the organization with the firm hand
of the four-star Army general that he once was, causing morale among many
to suffer.

The report also follows a lengthy New Yorker magazine story sharply
critical of McCaffrey's role in the Gulf War. The article, written by
Seymour Hersh, quotes by name several people who served under McCaffrey's
command saying that he unnecessarily attacked fleeing Iraqi soldiers,
killing an unknown number. McCaffrey has vigorously denied any wrongdoing,
saying Iraqi troops first fired on his soldiers.

Pancho Kinney, the office's director of strategy, declined to comment
yesterday on the PricewaterhouseCoopers report. "We would be happy to
comment on it once it is finalized," he said.

The report's authors, who based their conclusions on office documents and
interviews with 25 named employees with the office, found it took the
equivalent of 20 full-time workers to manage McCaffrey's schedule, about
one-seventh of the total office staff.

In a section titled, "Leadership Style: `He's difficult to work for," - an
often-heard comment from staff members - the report's authors said
McCaffrey's "leadership style has been described as aggressive,
high-pressure, and military-oriented. Under the current directorship, a
military structure has been imposed on a previously civilian culture. As
incompatibilities have developed, people have made the decision to leave."

The report also said: "The leadership is focused on `the mission and the
budget,' with little attention given directly to the organization's people."

In 1999, the office experienced a turnover rate of 27 percent. This year,
the report estimated that turnover could increase to 38 percent, a
reflection somewhat of the high number of political appointments expected
to leave after this fall's elections.

But McCaffrey, a Boston area native, also has been unable to consistently
fill deputy director posts, which have been vacant 73 percent of his
four-year tenure.

Instead, he has often used acting deputy directors, which the report noted
"serve at the pleasure of the director, but confirmed deputy directors (by
Congress) can only be dismissed by the President or impeached by Congress."

One of the most bothersome aspects of the office's internal workings, the
report said, was the strong possibility of a loss of continuity when
McCaffrey leaves office.

It said the "authority and institutional knowledge are concentrated
centrally with the current director and ... the knowledge base appears to
be weakened and vulnerable."

The report said that if McCaffrey had deputy directors in place, "there
would be less risk to the overall continuity and long-term benefit of the
organization."

The number of deputy directors forecast by the end of the year, when
McCaffrey is expected to step down:

"Zero," the report said.

John Donnelly's e-mail address is j_donnelly@globe.com