U.S. Army Has $3.6 Billion in Excess Spare PartsJanuary 15, 2009
The Army has excess spare parts that it is unlikely to ever need and at the same time has too few of the spare parts it actually needs, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report found that the Army had an average of $3.6 billion in excess spare parts during the fiscal years 2004 through 2007. Congressional investigators wrote in the report that many of those parts would be needed over the next 10 years, but nearly $1 billion worth of equipment in storage in 2007 would probably never be used. "This is waste, pure and simple, and it's a waste that has no end," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told USA Today. The report blames the lack of proper inventory control on inaccurate computer models used to forecast demand for equipment and the fact that the Army does not set cost efficiency goals, USA Today reported. The Army has directed its inventory managers to update these computer models so that they accurately reflect the amount of equipment used and needed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The GAO report provided a few examples of the excess inventory. Fearing a shortage, the Army ordered $7.7 million worth of a spare part used in the steering system of armored bulldozers. Because it never needed those spare parts in the end, the Army is stuck with about 836 extra parts. The Army also has excess parts, including batteries, for Patriot missiles; excess tools used on UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters; and too many crates for shipping tank parts. |
|
