Some Army surplus unlikely to be used

[unhappycamper]

Some Army surplus unlikely to be used
By Matt Kelley - USA TODAY
Posted : Monday Jan 12, 2009 14:40:43 EST

WASHINGTON — The Army had an average of $3.6 billion in excess spare parts annually during fiscal years 2004 through 2007, congressional investigators say in a report to be released Monday.

Though some of the parts may be needed over the next 10 or more years, the Army will probably never use about $900 million of the equipment it had in storage in 2007, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

“This is waste, pure and simple, and it’s waste that has to end,” says Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a member of the Senate Budget Committee and one of the lawmakers who requested the report.

Army spokesman Paul Boyce did not return messages seeking comment.

The report also found the Army has an average $3.5 billion annual shortfall in some types of spare parts needed as it fights in Iraq and Afghanistan. The report says Army officials told the GAO that the shortages didn’t always directly affect military operations. That’s because the Pentagon’s definition of a shortage doesn’t mean the Army has run out of necessary parts; it means the Army doesn’t have as many spares in reserve that it anticipates needing.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/01/gns_army_surplus_011209/%2e

[Enthusiast]

1. I love Bernie Sanders!

Military spending has got to become more transparent. Even if we removed ALL the waste there is still little justification for outspending the rest of the entire world combined.