Portrait of an Inessential Government Worker
Glory isn’t part of the deal when you go to work for the federal government.
“I’ve only thought about one problem in my life,” says Art Allen. “Which is how to improve Coast Guard search and rescue.”
Photographer: Annie Tritt/BloombergThe following is adapted from a new chapter for the paperback edition of “The Fifth Risk,” which will be published by Norton in November.
I found Art Allen standing on the lawn just outside his front door, a few miles inland from some uninviting Connecticut beach. He was in his mid-60s, and a scientist — but a scientist with a man-of-action feel to him. He wore a Coast Guard Search and Rescue polo and a massive Fenix 3 GPS watch, and he had this snow-white Hemingway beard. Six canoes hung from hooks inside his garage, a scrum of mountain bikes leaned against the wall, and all looked as if they had a lot of miles on them. So did he.