US Army accumulates $900 million in useless, obsolete parts
RT
April 02, 2013
The eight-wheeled Stryker armored vehicle, which enjoyed a visible role during the US mission in Iraq, is now the subject of reports of a badly managed maintenance program that is likely to cost taxpayers something around a billion dollars.
According to Washington State’s Tacoma News Tribune, nearly $900 million worth of parts accumulated at an Auburn, Washington warehouse, essentially collecting dust as they were never installed on General Dynamic’s Strykers deployed overseas – if they were ever needed in the first place.
For example, a suspension issue that existed between 2007 and 2009 called for 15 replacement gears called pinions, though the Army ultimately purchased 9,179 of the parts, with the extras amounting to $572,000 in unneeded spending.
Another equally puzzling purchase came in the form of 7,568 units of gear netting — while the Army kept purchasing more units, costing a total of $892,896, there never existed a need for the parts as replacements. …
