Navy audit finds $126M in parts

A Navy- Marine audit last year found $126M in aircraft parts no one knew about, in a warehouse no one knew existed. Many of the parts could have been used to return grounded aircraft to service. Within a couple weeks of being put into the system $20M in parts had been requisitioned.

Even the vendors were encountering situations where they had parts, they knew they had parts, but they had no way to enter them into the system to audit.

www.military.com...

Sounds like the military has not improved that much with keeping track of things. I remember when the airbase was here, I knew someone in receiving and they had all kinds of parts they did not order, evidently some high ranking official ordered parts for them because some congressmen decided that they needed the parts and supplies to keep their manufacturers in money. They auctioned off two brand new fighter jet engines, less the fuel delivery system, for the cost of scrap...the engines did not fit the jets they had here. Those auctions were great, they had many brand new ladders they sold for pennies on the dollar, sent to them by the system even though they did not need them and they were cluttering the storage areas. Great auctions. I was at the one with the jet engines and the one with the ladders. I know who got the ladders, I did not need that many so I bid a hundred bucks, he got it at two hundred for maybe twenty commercial grade step ladders and extension ladders. I know some people who went every year and made a bundle selling the stuff they got. I never got a bid myself.

At least they found the stuff before it went obsolete.

a reply to: Zaphod58

And that is with so called modern computerized inventory systems...how did our forefathers ever manage to run and win WW2 without all that....very sad statement about 21st century humans....



"Logic is dead. Long live BS"
Zaphod58
Famous American Military Philosopher.

So true, so true.....smh...

a reply to: rickymouse

Some of the parts were for F-14s according to the article. I'd say those were obsolete. At least most can be used.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: rickymouse

Some of the parts were for F-14s according to the article. I'd say those were obsolete. At least most can be used.

The engines at the base here were considered obsolete too, but they were bought at great expense by the military even after they were obsolete. One guy made a jet car out of one of them I guess, but he had to pay about five grand for the fuel system...but the engine was less than a thousand. He was using it to entertain people at the county fair, it looked impressive and was really loud. I was at one of the fairs he was at. I do not know what happened to him, maybe he blew it up or something because he wasn't around the third year after he built it. Probably a mouse nest or something in the engine. I did not personally know that guy except for seeing him at the auction, he was pretty old to be buying a jet engine. He bid against a friend of mine that bought lots of metal stuff to recyle, he owned a junk yard.

a reply to: M5xaz

I always love seeing the new ways the Pentagon comes up with to top their previous facepalm moments. Seriously, how in God's name do you forget you have a warehouse.

a reply to: Zaphod58

It's all right there on that 5" floppy.
No problem.

On my first tour I was stationed in an Apache unit. I was an E-2 at the time and we had to do an inventory of our connexes.

There was a bunch of stuff that didn't belong in them and it all went into the dumpster. There was nothing wrong with the equipment it just didn't match our list and we also needed to order more equipment to use up our funds. We had a whole bunch of chains for all kinds of things like vehicle recovery and tie-downs. There were also about 35 brass chains used to secure the helicopters that were listed at 8K apiece. All of it went in the dumpster.

I went back that afternoon with the key to the motor pool and took all the chains out of the dumpster and put them in the back of my pickup. A few days later with the weekend off I drove down to Austin from Killeen to the scap yard and sold all of them. Made $530 and had a great weekend.

a reply to: Grimpachi

You're busted dude.

I wonder if quarter ends factor into it. Does unused inventory put a dent in next year's bugdet?

It's kind of interesting how this stuff happens more often than you think. If there are a handful of people that are aware of something, and some PCS, some go TDY, some deployed, it doesn't take long before things are forgotten because it's assumed someone is accounting for it somewhere.

a reply to: Phage

No idea. It was the first and last time I ever got involved in it. I was just low-rank muscle for the clipboards.

I heard stories though, of mechanics burying tool chests out in the field so the could order new ones. I am pretty sure that is unspoken SOP because in one field exercise we were digging fox holes and came across some equipment that was obviously buried that looked like parts to the old jeeps.

a reply to: Grimpachi

I think a certain amount of waste is unavoidable.
But how else are they going to support the interplanetary marines?

a reply to: Grimpachi

You're talking about Fort Hood? My last unit was Aviation, Apaches were out there on that side of Hood.

I remember pulling inventory from connexs in those damn Motorpools and hated every minute of it.

Spend all day out there laying it out, Commandee taking their sweet time, finally show up, looks around and checks off her clipboard, "put it away" in less than 5 mins, ugh.

a reply to: Phage

Usually not. It's usually just unspent funds that affect the following year. A lot of the time things will disappear or break just to use that funding.

a reply to: Zaphod58

A whole warehouse full?
Sometimes?

a reply to: Arnie123

Yeah, I was talking about Fort Hood. And I hated it too. That's why I got certified on every vehicle in the motor pool and some that weren't and made sure every time something like that was coming up I was on an important mission with a like-minded NCO.

a reply to: Phage

No, that's just sheer incompetence. A few computers, with new ones bought at higher prices than normal, tow chains, vehicle body panels, that sort of thing.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Damn.

And here I was told our military was the most competent. Bureaucrats and all.

0.02% of the DoD budget. Not much when you look at it that way, but I continue to enter the Publishers Clearinghouse.

Anyone with a garage has experienced this.

When your looking for something, it's gone into a black hole not to be seen until you are looking for something else.

Then amazingly enough what you were looking for last time magically appears, and what you are currently looking for is missing.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I just said this on another thread but the US Gov sucks at management.

Walmart can track every widget from distribution to truck to store to register and then automatically reorder the widget and put it on a truck to one specific store among thousands. The US Gov? Nope, they can't keep track of missiles, much less wrenches or reams of paper.