Audit: Navy Storing $Billions of Excess Parts
By Bryan Bender, Globe staff
WASHINGTON _ Government auditors today identified at least $7.5 billion worth of unneeded spare parts stored in Navy warehouses, the latest example of wasteful military spending that prompted calls for the incoming Obama administration to take bold action to rein in the bloated Defense Department.
Between 2003 and 2007, the Navy's supply of replacement parts for ships and aircraft far outripped its needs, according to the Government Accountability Office. In some cases it found stocks of equipment the service is unlikely to use up for decades to come -- such as 13,852 engine blades for its F/A-18 fighter jets, estimated to be worth $3.6 million.
In total, the Navy currently has nearly 2 million more aircraft parts than its own projections deem necessary, while it is storing a whopping 10 million ship parts designated as excess. The cost of storing the equipment alone is $18 million, GAO estimated.
"Based on Navy demand forecasts, inventory that exceeded current requirements was sufficient to satisfy several years, or even decades, of supply needs," according to the investigation, which was requested by Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent.
Several factors have led to the unnecessary purchases, including inefficiency in the Navy's inventory management and a limited ability to accurately forecast equipment needs, according to the audit.
"As a result, the Navy had billions of dollars in excess inventory against current requirements each year," GAO concluded, including some pieces of equipment that are still on order but already slated for disposal because they won't be needed.
Sanders, who cosponsored legislation earlier this year to create a special oversight board to root out wartime waste, called the findings "unbelievable and outrageous" and urged the incoming Obama administration to take much-needed action next year to safeguard taxpayer funds.
"At a time when the nation has a $10.6 trillion debt, we simply cannot afford the continuing uncontrollable waste across the federal agencies,” Sanders, a member of the Budget Committee, said in a statement.
He added: "Unfortunately, this is not just the Navy, but something the entire military has to address. I hope the next administration will take the issue seriously."
The Pentagon, which concurred with the report's recommendations for improving management of the supply chain, pledged to take action. "The Department continues its focus on reducing potential excess," Jack Bell, the deputy under secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness, said in a written response to the report.
The findings come as the Commission on Wartime Contracting, established by Congress earlier this year to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in Pentagon purchasing, prepares to hold its first public hearing in early February.
But Sanders, in a telephone interview from Vermont, said far more needs to be done, vowing to author new legislation to make it illegal for the military to spend appropriations on spare parts it cannot justify.
"It is not good enough to say 'do a better job.'" Sanders told the Globe. "We have been talking about this issue of unused and unneeded spare parts for many years. We need legislation to make sure the Pentagon is not wasting billions of dollars."
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Problem is that in many cases, the Navy has to make a judgement about future parts needs years or decades in advance. Most of the time, if they don't buy the extra parts at the time they are buying the initial system, the parts will be End-of-Life and unavailable when needed later. Or worse than that, sometimes the company itself that made the special part no longer even exists.
There is such a large lead time between the initial design of the system (when concepts about numbers of parts needed, use of the system, etc are made) and when it's actually fielded, that it's tough to always guess right, and the cost to UNDERestimate is many times the cost of overestimating, so they usually err on the side of caution.
Definitely weight that can be trimmed, but please do so intelligently rather than kneejerk reactions that hurt our military...
Part of the problem is politicians protecting jobs by having the arm forces taking things they don't want or need.
Despite the crunch, I would say the bullet has to be bitten here. Even though noone hopes for the catastrophic scenario that would make these stockpile look like ingenious decisions by our military the scenario exists. When we do battle, I always see reports that we struck first at sites we suspect manufacture weapons and other supplies needed to withstand or carry out lengthy campaigns. What if Boeing or Raytheon or any of our other contractors were to be taken out in the beginning of what turns out to be a long battle with multiple opponents? I think everyone would feel better knowing that our military leaders had seen the wisdom in stockpiling 10-15 years supply of what they needed, down to the windshield wiper blades for jeeps. I love efficiency, despise wasteful spending, but noone wants to be the guy/gal that decided we don't need 10 a 10 years supply of ANYTHING when the day comes when that thing is the most needed component of our arsenal. Just a thought....
Good for you Sen. Sanders, but this is just the tip of another iceberg I'm afraid. Don't let up, be the Independent you are and continue to push.
"In some cases it found stocks of equipment the service is unlikely to use up for decades to come -- such as 13,852 engine blades for its F/A-18 fighter jets, estimated to be worth $3.6 million. "
And I'll just bet that the manufacturer of those blades is located in some powerful congressman's or senator's district....
Gee, I wonder why so many were made and purchased by the Navy?
Yeah Bernie Sanders, why are we storing parts and supplies for the Military, who are protecting us, when you could give the money away to illegal aliens for healthcare?
Doncha love all these pacifists who become military experts when it behooves their ridiculous Idealogical agenda.?
How about not spending our money on prevailing wage laws in every government contract and guaranteeing pensions for short term members of congress?
that's not wasteful, that was fighting deflation, and keeping parts on hand for when companies fail in the coming years, yes, it was known 5 years ago.
As a defense contractor with the Navy, this article is a bit one-sided. The Navy has to stockpile huge quantities of spare parts due to the expected life-cycle of a weapon system. A missile designed in the 1970s and built in the 80s may be expected to last until 2020 or beyond...at which point the manufacturer of those parts may have gone out of business or closed down their old production lines, making acquisition of spare parts in the future impossible. Bernie Sanders is simply trying to score cheap political points with the Left by attacking the military.
Here's a thought - distribute the excess parts to the american taxpayers who paid for them - perhaps one of those jet engine blades will work on my ceiling fan!
The parts involved are in excess of "its (the Navy) own projections" Nevertheless, most of the comments here defend the waste. Obviously you folks are part of the "culture" that has pushed Defense Dept spending from $300 billion in 2001 to $750 billion in 2008. And the enemy we're pursuing with all this sophisticated hardware are for the most part dining on goat stew in the mountains of the Hindu Kush. Do I read you folks right ? Since General Motors might go out of business, if I buy a GM car now I should also buy enough spare parts to rebuild the car several times over? Why not? If things go amiss, I can always blame that handiest of scapegoats, Congress.
Take it out on the tool & parts secretary for not saying something! The chain of command really shines when theres a mushroom at the top calling the tune. The free market in big business self regulation has failed, and, it appears there is still room for improvement in the $1200 hammer world. We have all seen the news stories on the whiz bang latest system that supercedes all that went before. Making things obsolete and having spare parts should not be the primary function of military procurement. By the way I love my WW2 folding fox hole shovel with the OD green cover, belt mount and belt hooks.