Post a Comment On: Sipsey Street Irregulars

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Dracula: "Renfield, go write me an apology for the NFA Branch screw-ups."
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Renfield: "Yes, master! Yes, master! We can get it in the next issue of Small Arms Review! Oh, look, master, a fly!"

Well, the ATF snitch John Brown has reared his ugly head again, this time in the pages of Small Arms Review, a magazine owned by his fellow snitch Dan Shea. Long-time readers will recall previous appearances of the President of NFATCA, the National Firearms Act Trade and Collectors Association (the machine gun equivalent of the NRA) in the true story of Ramsey A. Bear and more recently as the strangely-protected and unindicted actor in the case U.S. v. Clark, (which I understand is close to completely imploding in nuclear fashion).

Mr. Brown's latest service to the ATF bureaucratic state can be found in his article "Turning Up the Heat" in SAR. Some relevant excerpts:

As the summer came to a close, NFATCA board members resumed their weekly conference calls. . . One of our board members was furious about how long transfer times were taking as the year progressed. It was interesting to hear not only the frustration but the pure anxiety of what some of are members were actually feeling from the constant delays in processing as we all were falling victim to the slow grind of how a growing phenomenon is not being handled well by the government. In spite of the economy the number of Forms being processed by the NFA Branch continues to explode while the resources available to handle this ever growing situation seem to dwindle. At last count the NFA Branch had ten available examiners that were handling the work what would normally be staffed by twelve personnel.

With the increased work load weighing heavily on fewer people, it looks like this is a losing battle for the Branch. Ted Clutter is on top of this stack of Forms trying his best to manage the onslaught of work. With the recent change to handling Forms according to state, the NFA Branch managed to get a handle on transfers for a short period of time; however, being short on examiners insures that the tide will continue to rise.

Just how bad is the rising tide? The truth of the matter is that we are slowly approaching the one hundred thousand transfer mark faster than we expected. This means that it is likely that when ATF meets its fiscal year in October that the monthly average on Forms processed will likely exceed 9,600 forms per month. If you do the simple math this means that each examiner in the NFA Branch is responsible for approximately 50 forms a day once you have taken out all of the holidays and other activities required in their jobs.

Form 4 transfers are taking about five months and when you look back at where we were four years ago when a Form 4 only took 22 days it is hard to believe that the processing time has deteriorated to such a point. Believe me when I tell you that the Branch team in place is bailing water as fast as they know how. We need to reach out to our congressional representatives to make certain that we support the NFA Branch with appropriate funding support to meet the increasing demands that we the industry are putting on the branch. . .

The bottom line is simple. ATF and the NFA Branch is making every effort to keep up with the demand that is ever increasing with the industry with the huge increase, not in machine guns, but in SBRs, SBSs, AOWs and suppressors. There are however two critical elements that must occur in order for this to be successful and move us back to the days when Forms were processed with the speed that is reasonable and palatable. First and foremost, we as industry's members must be diligent in our preparation of all of the forms and information that we submit to the NFA Branch. If you want to know why the NFRTR is as inaccurate as it is, you must remember one simple rule: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Many of the bad information items found in the NFRTR that are found today can easily be traced back to bad input. So be careful what you submit.

Secondly, each and everyone one of us (sic) has a responsibility to support the initiatives that agencies like ATF need in order to get the job done. Take the time today to let your local representatives know what you expect and why. With both of these efforts we can all offer the support to help the NFA Branch reach the goals necessary to provide the type of customer service that we are all expecting.

And in addition to all that, come and support the NFATCA in its efforts to bring positive changes to how the industry and ATF work together. Join us and help the entire industry make the difference in a positive way. Contact us today at www.nfatca.org.

Here is an analysis of this by someone who has watched the NFATCA and Mssrs. Brown and Shea for years:

ATF Apologist in Chief, John Brown, has published another evocative essay in the December issue of Small Arms Review. Purporting to speak for the NFATCA, Brown issues a clarion call to rally NFA collectors owners and the industry in support of increases for the ATF budget. He goes so far as to recommend that readers make phone calls and write letters to their congressional representatives in support of funding increases. The increases are necessary because ATF is the victim – the increased demand is the fault of the industry.

The primary focus of the essay is the NFA Branch. Delays in processing NFA forms and errors in the NFRTR data base are the problems identified (Brown claims that the NFRTR error rate is 40%. This refreshes fading memories of the roll call training for ATF HQs personnel conducted by a former NFA Branch Chief, Tom Busey). However, this is not the mid 90s. This is December 2011.

Brown provides an explanation for those who are too stupid to figure out what causes processing delays and errors in a data base.

1. There are too many forms (Brown describes this phenomenon as an onslaught);

2. The NFA Branch is grossly understaffed. They are working their fingers to the bone but just can’t keep up with the onslaught;

3. The industry is sloppy in completing forms.

Brown posits facts, without attribution. (Most readers will readily recognize that these are factoids that did not originate with the people regulated, by the people regulated, or for the people regulated. They are all self serving and obviously came from those served by them. Who knew that an association such as the NFATCA, whose reason to be is to advance industry goals and objectives, would be in full court mode supporting more government?)

The essay concludes with solutions:

1. More funds to hire more ATF processors;

2. Those submitting NFA Forms should spend additional time completing them to ensure that they are error free.

3. Everyone should call or write Congress to urge more funds for ATF.

Could be worse, the essay could have recommended “Occupy the Industry.”

Indeed.

"(E)ach and everyone one of us (sic) has a responsibility to support the initiatives that agencies like ATF need in order to get the job done."

Given that John Brown and Dan Shea have been doing everything they can to support ATF "initiatives" like those mounted against David Olofson and the economic Waco against Len Savage, Brown knows of what he speaks.

He's just not plain in enunciating exactly what that means.

But then, what do you expect of a compromised snitch?

The only question I have is how long is the NFATCA going to put up with this sorry spectacle?