We recently received these 2" x 1" "improved" steel slugs for a tool we use.

The Department of Defense, in its infinite wisdom. Thought that it was perfectly reasonable to pay $550.00 for this.



My shop alone received 60 of these. 60 x 550 = $33,000.

I was pissed off for about a week every time I looked at these things. By my estimation the DOD bought about 3,500 of these at $550 a piece. So approximately 2 million dollars on bits of steel.

This kind of crap happens every day.

I think this would be a prime example for defense cuts instead of medical coverage for troops.

Does anyone else have any stories of Govt. waste?

The sad part is that I am not surprised.

Originally posted by watchitburn
We recently received these 2" x 1" "improved" steel slugs for a tool we use.

The Department of Defense, in its infinite wisdom. Thought that it was perfectly reasonable to pay $550.00 for this.

My shop alone received 60 of these. 60 x 550 = $33,000.

I was pissed off for about a week every time I looked at these things. By my estimation the DOD bought about 3,500 of these at $550 a piece. So approximately 2 million dollars on bits of steel.

This kind of crap happens every day.

I think this would be a prime example for defense cuts instead of medical coverage for troops.

Does anyone else have any stories of Govt. waste?

what are they for and what are they made from and do they have a civilian application

I have had one of the $500 hammers and other high price tools.

The were special non magnetic non sparking tools for working around high explosives without blowing your self up.

Many time the government pays a lot for special tools that have little to no civilian application and are custom made just for military applications.

What you are not told is that if a civilian company had to buy special tools custom made and meeting the same requirements they also would pay the same price or higher.

When i was in the navy i served on minesweepers and the being 1/3 the size of a destroyer cost three times as much because the whole ship had to be built from non magnetic materials even down to the engines.
Try to build a non magnetic 2600 hp diesel engine then take into account we have 7 of these big V12 diesels on board at a million apiece. (WAUKESHA (L1616 DSIN) non magnetic diesel engine)








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Sit down sometime when you're bored... lol... download the 2013 NASA budget and search a state, any state for vendors...

You'll find some great ones... one I particularly find fascinating is a DBA in the State of Michigan:

Haworth Volunteer Fire Department in Holland Michigan... 2013 budgeted amount $18.59 million and has 9,000 employees...

LMAO... certainly is by far the largest 'volunteer fire department' in history huh?

Maybe they should be required to spend 1/2 of the money on Diplomacy with hostile nations,, and see if we can learn to live with each other somehow,, instead of spend it all on new ways to kill each other???

just a thought


this is also why I refuse to pay federal taxes any longer until it changes,,

how about Occupy April 15th to protest??

this how the black budgets get padded I'm sure

Originally posted by watchitburn
We recently received these 2" x 1" "improved" steel slugs for a tool we use.

The Department of Defense, in its infinite wisdom. Thought that it was perfectly reasonable to pay $550.00 for this.

This kind of crap happens every day.

I think this would be a prime example for defense cuts instead of medical coverage for troops.

Does anyone else have any stories of Govt. waste?

I spent 24 years in the Army - I retired as a Major. I spent the majority of my time in Special Operations. I have seen waste the likes of which would make people insane with anger.

I wasn't even really high in the corporation enough to see a good deal of the "real" waste in R&D. Sometimes we'd get a new system or gadget (or even an upgrade) in before anyone even knew how to use the last one, which worked just fine.

I tried to be a steward of the public trust when I had the power to do so - say when I was in Command of something and actually made decisions. I have seen unit’s waste money on so many things that make you go humm. Then I have seen what I consider legitimate needs go unfunded for years.

Like I said - I think that it’s not the amount of money congress gives DOD that is the problem. They give them plenty it's how the egg heads and bean counters chose to spend it that is wrong. For instance we have more General Officers in the US Army today at 500K soldiers or so than we did on active duty in all the services during WWII when we had millions of men in uniform.

They cry foul when congress cuts their money and target the pay and benefits hoping to hit a heart string of the people and get them to fight their battle for them using sympathy. They need to just cut all the silly crap out of the budget.

The military is the only industry I know that buys a tool or system then invents a use for it rather than making a tool or system to fill a need.

Military and defense spending has to be cut FIRST and FOREMOST before ANY other cuts are made, PERIOD.

The spending for military and defense is so ridiculous that its beyond painful.

It is DRAINING this country.

I recall speaking with a British army officer who stated that every year, a high ranking officer and junior NCO from regiments take a trip over to France to seek out and arrange the years wine supply for the officers. The figure he quoted as an average budget was six figures..and i'm not talking low six figures.

As you can imagine, i loved hearing this when i had to buy my own gear in Crossmaglen because the army stuff wasn't up to the job. Oh sorry, my mistake, the newer stuff was up to the job, however it was being worn by the desk staff up in Lisburn HQ so we never saw it.

CX.