Pentagon Cannot Discover Thousands and thousands of {Dollars} Price of Elements for Premier F-35 Fighter Jet

The Pentagon is within the information once more, this time due to a report that reveals they’ve misplaced copious quantities of F-35 fighter jet spare components housed all through the world. The F-35 is used not simply by the USA however by our allies everywhere in the globe, making it mandatory for spare components to be positioned at important places for when they’re inevitably wanted.

It seems that the five-sided constructing isn’t certain the place these components are or who even has them. And but they proceed to be probably the most well-funded federal company within the land.

Your tax {dollars} are arduous at work buying huge quantities of navy gear from the military-industrial advanced simply to be misplaced to the void, maybe falling into the fingers of nefarious actors or illicit weapons sellers. So let’s dive in and uncover how alarming this stock discrepancy is.

BREAKING: The Pentagon can’t account for a whole bunch of 1000’s of spare components price hundreds of thousands of {dollars} which can be saved worldwide for the US and allies that use its costliest weapon, the F-35 jet, in response to congressional auditors.

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) May 24, 2023

Who Is In Cost?

A Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO) report has found that the Pentagon has not been monitoring tens of 1000’s of spare F-35 fighter jet components price hundreds of thousands of {dollars}.

The report mentioned:

“Protection Division initially didn’t intend to personal the F-35 belongings, which embrace the worldwide spare pool and assist gear, particular tooling and particular take a look at gear.”

The worldwide pool the GAO refers to is stock positioned strategically all through the globe for our allies to make the most of for his or her F-35 jets. So why didn’t the Division of Protection assume they would wish to personal the F-35 belongings?

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Your guess is nearly as good as mine. The report goes on to clarify what has been occurring in its stead:

“As a result of DOD didn’t develop a plan to handle this…the prime contractors continued to take care of accountability.”

The prime contractors which have been doing the job of the DOD can be Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney. However because it isn’t truly their accountability, the constancy of this stock is questionable at finest.

The concept the Biden admin is working with any tips to make sure oversight and accountability for botched drone strikes is laughable given Biden’s “righteous strike” killing an assist employee and youngsters in Kabul resulted in, in response to the Pentagon, no accountability. https://t.co/Oscn2ibxeK

— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) May 21, 2023

Not A Clue

The GAO report nails the Pentagon program workplace accountable for the F-35, stating:

“The F-35 Joint Program Workplace was unable to supply the fee, complete amount and places of spare components within the world spares pool, and continues to depend on the prime contractor’s data for this info.”

Take into consideration that for a spell. The workplace that’s staffed and outfitted by you, the taxpayer, and is anticipated to know all issues associated to the F-35 has no concept what number of spare components now we have, what number of are misplaced, how a lot was paid for them by our allies, and even how a lot they’re price.

The GAO famous that this system workplace had spent about $12 million up to now three years to get a deal with on the spare components stock. Whose cash? Your cash.

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I argue that isn’t cash effectively spent. Add to that these spare components are meant for a world pool stock; try to be much more enraged.

Our F-35 spare components are simply out for our allies to take as they please as if we function these inventories much like neighborhood pantries or libraries. Nonetheless, as a substitute of ‘take a can, go away a can’ or ‘take a e book, go away a e book,’ it could appear we function in a ‘take an Electro-Optical Focusing on System go away no matter you need’ system.

Waste, fraud and abuse is nothing new. The Pentagon’s growing reliance on non-public contractors within the post-9/11 interval raises a number of questions of accountability, transparency, and effectiveness. [4/5] https://t.co/PcfqZ3arp0 pic.twitter.com/2t4Lm4mMxb

— The Prices of Battle Challenge (@CostsOfWar) May 22, 2023

No one Cares

For those who’ve been paying any consideration, it’s clear that the Pentagon has but to develop an idea of primary accounting or stock practices. In February, they had been compelled to admit that that they had misplaced practically $220 billion price of apparatus given out to navy contractors over time.

To elucidate to you what meaning, in numerous places worldwide, there are civilian contractors that work for the navy. These contractors are sometimes given for a brief interval cool navy gear and gear to make use of for the execution of their duties in assist of the DOD.

Ideally, these contractors return these cool devices, however most don’t, it could appear. If that’s not dangerous sufficient, final yr, the Pentagon failed its fifth consecutive audit, solely accounting for about 39% of its $3.5 trillion price of belongings.

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Meaning 60% of all belongings owned by the Pentagon are unaccounted for or, to place it plainly – misplaced. And this week, the Pentagon allow us to all know that on account of an accounting error, they had been capable of “unencumber” $3 billion for assist to Ukraine.

Their wording is hilarious, as if we ought to be grateful that they had been capable of “unencumber” funds for Ukraine, versus alarmed that they overvalued weapons already despatched. Undoubtedly, some officer obtained a medal for locating these “further funds.”

The pentagon failed the audit each time. They’ll’t account for $3 trillion from a long time. Now this new failed audit. But they wish to audit each one among your $600 txn.

RULES FOR THEE, NONE FOR ME pic.twitter.com/qKnUmZj5oA

— 🌋🌋 Deep₿lueCrypto 🌋🌋 (@DeepBlueCrypto) May 24, 2023

No Want To Steadiness

Day-after-day I steadiness my checkbook. I don’t do it in the identical style that my mom balances hers; as a millennial, I’ve embraced expertise and do all my balancing of my private books and small enterprise through my laptop. 

I additionally hold a fairly tight month-to-month price range that’s reviewed repeatedly. I do that as a result of, as an everyday American citizen that’s comparatively accountable, I do know that my cash and my issues are my accountability to handle successfully. 

However this similar precept doesn’t apply to the women and men within the five-sided constructing. Give it some thought, at this level, once they get caught, they only overtly admit to not having a clue the place their stuff is, and our elected politicians proceed to maintain giving them extra stuff!

In 2021 Congress requested $30 billion greater than President Biden requested for the protection price range. In 2022 President Biden elevated his preliminary request from $780 billion to $813 billion. Then Congress requested for a further $45 billion taking it to a record-breaking $858 billion. 

This yr Biden is anticipated to request $886 billion, a 3% improve from final yr, making it the biggest peacetime navy price range in historical past—more cash for the Pentagon to lose. For some perspective, in response to World Inhabitants Assessment, Uncle Sam spends $150 billion extra yearly than the following 10 nations mixed.

In the meantime, Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy said yesterday that cuts to protection spending are “off the desk.”

Why is that? As a result of in response to him, the protection of our nation is crucial, and spending (or dropping) copious quantities of taxpayer {dollars} in its title is the one option to hold us protected. 

You aren’t fooling anybody, Kevin. Don’t imagine the hype; America, Congress isn’t involved with the protection of this nation as a result of in the event that they had been, they’d maintain the Pentagon accountable for doing such a horrible job of it.

As a substitute, they’re involved with the protection lobbying beast that whispers candy nothings of their ears yr after yr. 

What the… https://t.co/4itU7HBsTv

— ThePoliticalInsider (@TPInsidr) May 23, 2023