85,551 things the Pentagon could have bought with that wasted $125 Billion

Harold C. Hutchison
Feb 5, 2020 7:03 PM PST
1 minute read
Army photo

SUMMARY

A recent report by FoxNews.com and the Washington Post noted that the Pentagon bureaucracy covered up over $125 billion in…

A recent report by FoxNews.com and the Washington Post noted that the Pentagon bureaucracy covered up over $125 billion in "administrative waste" over five years. So, what could the Pentagon have gotten for $125 billion? Let's take a look at a combination of three things that the wasted money could have bought for the troops:


21 Zumwalt-class destroyers at $3.96 billion each (total: $83.16 billion)

USS Zumwalt, first of three commissioned DDG-1000 Destroyers | U.S. Navy

The Navy, short on land-attack hulls, could use the extra firepower for amphibious groups. The thing is, buying 21 more Zumwalts would probably also knock down the unit cost some more, as buying in bulk usually does. If you don't believe me, compare the price of soda at Costco to the cost at your local grocery store.

As a side effect, getting 24 Zumwalts would probably have saved the Long-Range Land-Attack Projectile from cancellation, largely because with a larger purchase order, the price per shell would have gone way down.

200 F-22 Raptors at $154.6 million each (total $30.92 billion)

F-22 Raptors from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, fly over Alaska May 26, 2010. | U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

With this, you get a much larger force of F-22 Raptors – the premiere air-dominance fighter in the world. The fly-away cost is actually comparable to the LRIP cost of the F-35. The real thing this does is it gives the United States Air Force more quantity for the missions it has. Originally, plans called for 749 airframes from the Advanced Tactical Fighter program (which lead to the F-22).

Congress has already studied putting the Raptor back into production, incidentally. The 200 purchased would push the total to a little more than half of the initial planned total.

360 Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles at $22 million each (total $7.92 billion)

(Photo: U.S. Marine Corps)

The AAV-7A1 first entered service in 1972. It's slow, not as-well-protected as other armored vehicles, and has only a M2 .50-caliber machine gun and a Mk 19 grenade launcher as armament. It also has great difficulty keeping up with the M1A1 Abrams tanks in the Marine Corps inventory.

The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle not only brought better protection, it had a 30mm chain gun, and could keep up with the Abrams while carrying 18 fully-armed Marines. It got cancelled by then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Maybe Secretary of Defense Mattis can bring it back?

85,000 XM25 Counter-Defilade Target Engagement Systems at $35,000 each (total $2.975 billion)

U.S. Army photo.

This system has been in budget limbo since some initial combat deployments with the 10st Airborne Division (Air Assault) showed great promise. In fact, this system was quickly called "The Punisher" by the troops. The Army Times reported in 2011 that firefights that would usually take 15 to 20 minutes ended in much less time.

Why buy 85,000 systems? Well, the Army will need a lot to equip its active and National Guard forces. But why should the Marines, Navy SEALs, and other ground-pounding units be left out?

So, think about what that $125 billion could have bought … then be furious that the money got wasted and that the waster was covered up. Oh, and food for thought: That means there is $25 billion a year in "administrative waste" every year.

So, what would you use that extra $25 billion a year for after taking care of this shopping list?

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