DOD waste

I think of this kind of stuff when people tell me that we shouldn't or cant afford to cut the military budget.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/11/02/afghanistan-43m-gas-station-colossal-waste-us-taxpayer-money/

And they have no clue what the special inspector general is talking about.

As well as this.

http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/drone-company-misled-military-into-buying-uavs-that-were-basically-toys-lawsuit

Basically the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and NASA, among other federal agencies, were lazy enough not to research and but small drones that are comparable to $5,000 hobby drones for $240,000 each. But its not their money so what do they care?

This is the tip of the ice berg. Literally millions of dollars at a time were given out to the local militia generals to switch to our side or just not attack our troops. Pallets of cash were given away like this. These sand fleas now have more money than you could dream of making in a life time.

I remember that. But this is actually equipment being bought and even that is so unimaginably wasteful.

Kind of explains why we have 20 some odd people lined up to spend billions for a job that pays 400k a year.

And the millions upon millions spent on a single Congressional Seat.

We need to start a fantasy league for politicians and count how much money they rake in weekly outside of what their salary is supposed to be.

I made my fortune selling hammers and toilet seats to the Federal Government. They were paying $400 per hammer, I gave them a huge discount and sold them for $300 plus a small handling fee.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pentagon-soldiers-pro-games-20151104-story.html

Quote :

The Pentagon and National Guard paid professional sports teams to publicly honor soldiers at sporting events, according to a Senate oversight report released Wednesday that labeled the practice “inappropriate and frivolous.”

Since the end of 2011, the military has spent $6.8 million on sports marketing contracts, according to the report

Quote :

In recent years, on-field flag rollouts and other ceremonies saluting military personnel have become commonplace at National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer games around the country. The majority of the contracts analyzed in the report — 72 of 122 — showed that the Department of Defense paid for the tributes that included national anthem performances, ceremonial first pitches, puck drops, color guard presentations and enlistment ceremonies.

Quote :

The 150-page report said that the Pentagon has not fully accounted for the “nature and extent” of the practice.

Quote :

In a Nov. 2 letter, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell informed the senators that an audit of all contracts between NFL teams and the military was being conducted to investigate recruitment funds. Any inappropriate payments, he wrote, would be refunded.

“We strongly oppose the use of recruitment funds for anything other than their proper purpose,” Goodell wrote.

This year, the senators led an effort to amend a major defense spending bill to prohibit spending taxpayer dollars on the practice and called on teams to donate profits to armed forces, veterans and their families. The senators said they are hopeful President Obama will sign it.

The money spent on the ceremonies was revealed in a May report by NJ.com, which found that over three years, the Pentagon paid 14 NFL teams for military tributes and other advertising at games, while the National Guard paid 11 teams. The New York Jets, it reported, received nearly $377,000.

This is suddenly a surprise to the Goodell's non-profit, tax except NFL, having no clue or idea this was happening. Guess Roger also misses in in the $7.3 billion dollar TV contract there are Army, Navy ads about every segment, those Roger aren't cheap, but you didn't know that was occurring right Roger? Or are Fox, CBS, ESPN, NBC not getting paid for the ad time on your contact Roger? Whatever Roger. Hey Roger if your oblivious to the paid for Army and Navy ads slots within your NFL games, why not simply stipulate the practice can't be done unless free? Because Roger you don't give a crap, you get your $45 million annually tax free and don't let the details of operating your non-profit interfere with your lifestyle. Roger, here's a finger for you.

Another few billion in Afghanistan, $113 billion for for rebuilding Afghanistan after we bombed what little was there. The metrics measuring success for "rebuilt" are what?

Out of the $113 billion there's $8.4 billion spent on counter narcotics since 2002. Yet in 2014 was the best year for opiate production since we invaded. Largest consumers of opiates, US of A. The DoD doesn't have a clue how the $8.4 billion dollar expenditure has curtailed any of the drug production.

In it's entirety it seems the US military is being used to protect the illegal drug trade. What else could explain a booming business? Solution, more government to go after the illegal trade and use within the US.

Simple supply and demand. If you get your shit and your families shit together there is little need for drugs and therefore little need for supply.

Which begs the question. How many millions of tons of drugs are imported into the country every year? If it's that easy to get drugs in country. How hard would it be to bring in a much smaller per volume content of a bio agent or dirty bomb using the same people and routes? The people of our country have been screwed over 14 times over. It's not if, it's when. If you don't have a border, you don't have a country. I'm sick of these fake over attenuated reasons for continuous war. Our country has manufactured all of this BS so we can go fight more wars. The USA is unique where we are the only country were war is a profitable industry. We manufacture up this hate for stomping on the ant pile, then importing the ants to our country (asylum/refugees by hundreds of thousands annually) Without this, they don't have a away into this country to carry out any harm. If we had a real terrorist problem in this country malls would be blowing up left and right. The silent majority has spoken and for whatever reason aren't falling for the manufactured BS. It's time to start holding people and government accountable for actions.

$2.3 trillion, not sure where it went.



Rumsfeld event admits losing track of the money under Congressional testimony while under oath.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ralph-nader/uncontrollablepentagon-an_b_9499050.html

Not often I like Nader but I have to agree with this blog post of his.

Hopefully Trump won't bring out the checkbook for the Pentagon. Unfortunately he's been doing a lot of talk (voter pandering) as if he might - more wars, better equipment, and a stronger military. He argues he would quickly end wars and I could see some chance of that but war requires too much money spent in logistics, equipment replacement, country rebuilding, veteran healthcare,.... It's a no win. War should be a last resort.

I hope we have learned over the last two wars that it is not as simple as going in, kicking ass and taking names. We must have a post war plan in place.

Yesterday, I was watching a documentary on Dien Bien Phu, the battle also known as the French's Waterloo of Viet Nam. Something I found interesting was that when WWII was over, we rearmed the Japanese troop in South Viet Nam to fight the Chinese in the north. I never had heard that before.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-07/damage-extensive-for-crippled-u-s-littoral-ship-in-singapore

Lockheed seems to have a problem.  IT can't make planes air worthy, or ships sea worthy.  Costs, well they only go up.  Double, triple original projections.  When they talk about rebuilding our military, concentrating on the enemy and at what spend should have consideration.  But there's something larger at play.  They know what their doing.  Who benefits from these contracts and gets paid.  They could give a rats if it flies or floats.

The LCS in 2005 had a projected cost of $220 million per ship.  Now it's $528 million per ship.

The only defined enemy targeted was fast attack boats.  Guess we have a big problem on the open seas with them.  Or they were hassling spring breakers in Florida or something.

Quote :

Carter and his predecessor, Chuck Hagel, have cited that concern and budget priorities in cutting back the planned fleet to 40 from an initial 52.

Whining about cutting the number of ships by 27%, while it's full speed ahead of the per unit cost of $528 million or $21.1 billion to produce the scheduled 40 at a 240% increase from the original projection.

Post war plan in the ME is a pipe dream. W sold American's about Iraq being a fledgling democracy. The culture in the ME knows nothing about democracy, nor does any of the religious, cults, or ideology, tribal areas in the region. This region has been at constant conflict for thousands of years. Thinking we know what's right, it's ut so naive to think we can show up, install democracy and it works over there. Our best supposed ally in the region is Saudi Arabia. They follow a strict teaching of Sunni Islam or "Wahhabism" where Sharia law is strictly enforced. Media propaganda worked up Americans all worked up because ISIS running around the ME cutting heads off. Saudi Arabia does it all the time as part of their normal judicial (Sharia) process. Not a word a thought elsewise by Americans in comparison.

Our best post war strategy is to not be involved. Keep our sons and daughters here. Not allow them into our country. Sorry forcing diversity is the largest failures of globalism and of mankind ever. Ethic groups have shown time and time again they like to live and socialize with their own. There's nothing wrong with that. Maybe when eagles and fish start living in harmony, humans can give it another try.