An astonishing $420M worth of weapons and “sensitive items” have disappeared from U.S. bases in Afghanistan and they “are not likely to be recovered due to mismanagement and improper accounting.” Next time we hear politicians wailing and lamenting about needing more funding for some project, remember what fabulous stewards the government is of the money they have already taken from you.
Washington Free Beacon reports “Some 15,600 pieces of equipment—including ‘weapons, weapons systems, and sensitive items’—went missing in the past year from Army facilities in Bagram and Kandahar, accounting for around $419.5 million in losses, according to the report, which was issued in late October and marked ‘for official use only.’ ”
The losses were only uncovered by the Inspector General in an internal audit at the Pentagon. The IG recommended military leaders institute a series of reforms to uh..not loose expensive and dangerous military equipment.
Apparently, after the missing equipment was discovered, the Army failed to report it properly. “The Army did not effectively report [fiscal year] 2013 inventory losses at the Bagram and Kandahar, Afghanistan [Redistribution Property Assistance Team] yards,” the report states. “The missing equipment included weapons, weapons systems, and sensitive items.”
What could go wrong?
“For example, between 2006 and 2010, there were 174,247 pieces of equipment listed as unaccounted for” and totaling $429.5 million, according to the report. “As of May 30, 2014, only 40,690 (23 percent) of the total pieces of equipment and $191.1 million (44 percent) of the total dollar amount have been recovered.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member