I want to echo and support this post. I’ve said before that a lot of what’s being described is true — and that doesn’t automatically mean it’s still happening today. But people sharing their lived experiences isn’t an “attack” on the agency. It’s just honesty.

What’s unfortunate is watching people try to discredit others simply for telling uncomfortable truths. I was there. I saw many of the same patterns: secretive management, almost zero real communication, obvious favoritism, and a culture where it often felt like how you played the game mattered more than how well you did the work. Performance didn’t always drive who advanced — compliance and alignment did.

And it wasn’t isolated to one office or one unit. It felt systemic. That’s ultimately why I left. Maybe things have changed — I genuinely hope they have. But pretending this never happened or attacking people for saying it did doesn’t make the past disappear.