What's the Worst Example of Government Waste You Saw in the Service?

[Mike in Michigan]

1968 aboard the USS Ranger CVA-61. I was assigned to a work party bringing up ordnance from the magazines to be loaded on aircraft going to visit Charley and friends. It was the last air ops before heading back to the States. The bombs were loaded on push carts, placed in elevators and raised to the hangar deck for loading on the aircraft. The carts were supposed to be stacked and returned to the magazines for storage. The PO incharge on the Hangar Deck decided it was not worth the effort and time so we were ordered to shove them over the side. About 15 of them went into the Gulf of Tonkin before a CPO saw what was happening and put a stop to it.

[csm14thbn]

I am living through it right now in Iraq! If the public knew the amount of waste going on here heads would roll! I am not talking about magazines in dumpsters or anything like that I am talking in the millions or more!

[0440]

Second Lt's.............

[Liam]

As an Army linguist, we took our language studies just after BASIC, and before AIT. Before AIT because of the length of time it takes to do the background for the TSSI clearances required to access the materials utilized in AIT. My very expensive basic Russian course was 47-weeks long. Chinese and Arabic even longer. And they were given at the beautiful Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. Just up the hill from Monterey Bay, Steinbeck's Cannery Row, etc. So, I had over a year of time in when I arrived at AIT. Well, just as we undertook the demanding classified studies in varied shifts, a group of 4 or 5 fellow linguists announced they were gay. All at once, which suggested some planning was involved. This was 1985, prior to "don't ask, don't tell." This announcement put the breaks on their forward motion through the system. They all served continual casual duty until I moved on the Fort Devens for additional studies on Electronic Warfare. Don't know what happened to them. Last I saw, they were trimming hedges at Goodfellow AFB, TX. What I do know is that they took advantage of the top-rate language training, and when required to start applying those expensive, tax-payer funded skills, they opted out. And were probably drummed out.

[fjruple]

built new buildings & repaved runway at Glenview NAS 2yrs before closing it!!!!

I seen the same thing take place in the Philadelphia Naval Yard. The Navy gave two painting contracts to two different contractors accidentally. A painting contract is a contract and must be completed. Unwilling to admit the mistake the Navy let one contractor start painting on one side the building and the other contractor to start on the opposite end! After each contractor painted over each others work, the Navy tore the building six months later and within two years the Philadelphia Naval Yard was closed! Don't you love your tax paying dollars at work.

[Major Tom]

THE biggest government waste was VIETNAM! Period!

[Mike in NC]

Not my story, but from my father who was in the Marines from 1951 to 1953. When he was stationed at Treasure Island in CA, he saw a Navy officer doing inventory of leather flight jackets. They wanted to throw them away, so they took brand new jackets and cut them with a knife so they could be classified as damaged and discarded. I didn't see it, but that was his story.

[RETREAD123456]

In late '71. I was at FUTEMA MCAS OKINAWA as a E4. Was assigned to a hilltop warehouse complex that was receiving gear and equipment from RVN as the "standout was in full swing
Reported for duty one day and saw a brand new Caterpillar Bulldozer behind the gate. My supervisor, S/SGT. XYZ said it had come in the night before with NO paperwork
It was there all of 2 days and it was gone. Asked the S/SGT where it went and he said it went for a swim..... I think it was dumped at sea, cause it was giving some logistic guys a headache
I wonder what Uncle Sam had pain for it ?

[Fred]

Back in 1992, an Army Corps Of Engineers Major at Jefferson Barracks pointed out to me some sinkholes on a map where the army had buried several trucks that were full of outdated weapons. Garands and trapdoor Springfield’s mostly. The trucks were driven into bulldozer enlarged sinkholes on some high ground where the trucks were buried under dirt pushed over them.

[Andouille]

This thread hasn't had any activity for a while so I thought to resurrect it.

After the cease fire in 1973, the military was delivering beaucoup equipment to South Viet Nam because anything they had at the end of the cease fire period could be replaced if later damaged. Part of the equipment consisted of C-130 aircraft that were parked on the flight line at Than Son Nhut, not going anywhere because VNAF had not aircrew trained to fly them or maintenance people trained to take care of them.

Evidently that was later rectified at least in part because a VNAF Major did yeoman service flying the last one out to Thailand right at the end of the collapse in April 1975. It's parked at Little Rock AFB.

http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40806

[m1ashooter]

I got to be part of the team that decided what to spend the remaining bases year end left over budget money on at Eielson AFB Alaska. It was like a feeding frenzy. I thought spending 50,000 on flowers to brighten up the housing are for the 90 days of good weather was a waste.

[lyman]

I did not serve, but did know a few guys that were Quartermasters,

they were given a budget, and want list at the beginning of the year,
if funds were left near the end of the FY, they were told to spend it,
on whatever, they just had to have a 0 balance or slight negative to guarantee the funds would be appropriated for the next cycle

they ordered new office equipment , pens, paper, tents, tires , just at random to spend the cash,

in came the new desk, the old went to another depot for sales or tossed,

[Former Cav]

just think of all those hueys shoved off the decks of aircraft carriers to make room for the Vietnamese.
Nobody addresses the "waste" of 59xxx LIVES, and about 150 to 300K wounded and crippled for life either.
I'm not saying this to be "mean". but I am one of the crippled whom the va and us govt has NOT honored "their contract" with.

[RED]

IIRC, In February, 1969 The USS Saratoga CVA-60 came out the yards after being refurbed with all the latest and greatest electronics, radars, and equipment that existed at the time. Including a hands-off Automatic Carrier Landing System (ACLS). Carrier Air Group Three (CAG -3) had also been updated and went aboard in March. We had two fighter squadrons with 14 brand spanking new F-4J's each, and three attack squadrons (1, A-6 and 2 A-7) all equipped with the latest and greatest aircraft and systems. You are looking at maybe $100 million invested and our destination was WestPac.

We had a little stopover in the Caribbean for a Operational Readiness Inspection and it was a nightmare. The ship failed miserably. So, we were sent to the Mediterranean and the USS Kennedy was sent in our place. Within 2 months our squadron (VF-31) was down to 2 aircraft that were "combat ready," with operable radar systems and could have fired Sparrow III missiles, and few more of the 14 could be flown and still use Sidewinders. That went on for months and then our E-9 Maintenance discovered the reason the radars were down all the time was traced to a $1 capacitor in a particular module. The regs were to replace the module and those were all going (as they should have) to WestPac, so our chief replaced the capacitor with a heavier one and we had radar again!

The Admiral went ape sh!t! Our Skipper and the Chief was put in hack and were ordered to throw the new capacitors away! Going around the supply system was a huge no no... It was late 1972 before the Saratoga and CAG-3 got to Vietnam. She barely saw combat and was the last operational carrier to make that trip. All those spanking new F-4J's were by then not so spanking and those millions of dollars of new planes and systems were never used in combat.