Control breakdowns in the Pentagon’s management of excess property present security risks and the potential for continuing waste and inefficiency, the Government Accountability Office has said in a follow-up to earlier investigations into control problems.
GAO said its investigators posed as private citizens and were able to purchase sensitive equipment from the Pentagon’s liquidation sales contractor, such as ceramic body armor inserts currently used by deployed troops, a cesium technology timing unit with global positioning capabilities, a universal frequency counter, two guided missile radar test sets, 12 digital microcircuits used in F-14 fighter aircraft, and numerous other items.
The sales happened because security controls broke down at nearly every step of the process for excess property turn-in and disposal, according to GAO-06-981T.
It said thousands of military items that should have been destroyed were sold to the public, and that last June, GAO undercover investigators posing as contractors entered two excess property warehouses and obtained about $1.1 million in sensitive military equipment items.
The items included two launcher mounts for shoulder-fired guided missiles, several types of body armor, a digital signal converter used in naval surveillance, an all-band antenna used to track aircraft, and six circuit cards used in computerized Navy systems, according to GAO.
It said the “contractors” were never challenged as to their identity or authority to obtain the military property, and that other investigators bought items at bargain rates, the same items currently being purchased by the military services at full price, something GAO said demonstrates continuing waste and inefficiency.
