Billion dollar devices. Serious problems for the US Army

$1.3 billion worth of military vehicle parts were stored outdoors or in other risky ways, as we read at DefenseOne. This is more than half of the equipment important for maintaining the army in proper technical condition.

The report cited by DefenseOne shows the US Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) stockpiled in July 2022 2.17 million parts and components to repair ground combat systems. These include, among others: engines and gearboxes of tanks and armored vehicles. The total value of all items is US$3.8 billion.

However, as it turns out, up to 67 percent of all $1.3 billion in inventory was stored incorrectlyThat is, it showed “serious deficiencies, in accordance with storage guidelines” set by US regulations. This is a big problem for the local military, because improper storage means that components may become damaged and require repair before use.

In the United States, the equipment storage problem is not just about the way important machine components are stored. During an Association of the United States Army conference in October, Gabe Camarillo, the local undersecretary of the Army, claimed that the Army has so much equipment that it doesn’t know where to store it.

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The valuable components stored abroad are: A problem that may lead to serious failures. Their presence, in turn, may identify difficulties in servicing critical vehicles for the Army. DefenseOne journalist Sam Skov notes that “Storage errors cause deterioration or increase the risk of deterioration“Resulting in the potentially costly work of restoring or purchasing new materials.”

Among the components improperly stored by DLA were identified: 80 gas turbine engines, 278 gearboxes, and 117,535 truck tracks. The value of these items is estimated at approximately $183 million.

During inspections of US Army warehouses, inspectors discovered “a lot of water and oil at the bottom of many containers,” exposing many parts to deteriorate faster. According to auditors, some DLA employees were not properly instructed on how to store key vehicle components for the U.S. Army.