ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Pentagon is junking millions of dollars’ worth of gear, including combat boots, helmets, vests and aircraft parts, rather than storing or selling it as surplus to suppliers who sometimes sell it back to the military when a need arises.
Of roughly $1.8 billion worth of equipment that the Defense Department downgraded to scrap from January through June, at least $330 million worth, came from categories of gear that the Pentagon most frequently buys back from surplus dealers, according to the National Association of Aircraft & Communication Suppliers. Those include parts for aircraft, weapons and communications systems, the group said.
The association, a lobbying group for surplus dealers, is worried that the military’s recent decision to shred retired F-14 “Tomcat” fighter jets is the start of a broader effort to destroy Pentagon leftovers that surplus dealers once bought routinely. Iran is aggressively seeking F-14 components for its own aging Tomcat fleet.
In a new lobbying campaign, association members and other surplus buyers urge Congress to force the Pentagon to do a better job separating sensitive surplus from items considered safe to sell, rather than lumping both types of surplus together and destroying them.
The association’s claims of Pentagon waste during the war is hitting a nerve with some lawmakers.
Rep. John Shadegg, Arizona Republican, wrote to Lt. Gen. Robert Dail, director of the Defense Logistics Agency, asking whether surplus equipment is being scrapped, including new items such as Camelbak backpack-style hydration packs.
“I have received reports that usable items such as sleeping bags and gloves, and auto parts such as mufflers, are being scrapped because DRMS has stated that it is unable to identify them,” Mr. Shadegg wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the Associated Press. The DRMS is the Pentagon’s Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service.
Mr. Shadegg said he also is concerned about the loss of government revenue from surplus sales and about harm to small businesses in the surplus industry.
The DRMS sells military surplus through an Arizona-based contractor, Government Liquidation. In fiscal 2005, the Defense Department earned $57 million from surplus sales.
A spokeswoman for the Defense Logistics Agency, Dawn Dearden, said the military is destroying only surplus it no longer needs. The Pentagon is aware of the surplus dealers’ concerns, she said.
The agency reviewed its rules for handling surplus but hasn’t decided whether to make changes, she said.
The trade group said it supports tougher government screening of surplus buyers to help prevent military gear from getting into the wrong hands.
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