Remembering Those Who Served
Many view the Memorial Day weekend as the official start of summer, filled with festivals, parades, and of course, sales on a variety of products. But the underlying reason for the holiday is to remember and honor those who fought, served and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation and the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
Another way to confirm the importance of Memorial Day is to ensure that the taxpayer resources needed to provide for the national defense and help the warfighter are not wasted on unnecessary, costly, or duplicative spending.
Citizens Against Government Waste has noted many functions of the Department of Defense (DOD) that could be made more efficient and effective. They include areas on the Government Accountability Office’s February 2025 High-Risk List, like weapon systems acquisition, which was first added in 1990, and business systems modernization, which was first added in 1995. DOD is the only federal department or agency that has never completed an audit, other than the Marine Corps. Congress keeps trying to get that done, and ordered the DOD in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 to complete an unqualified audit opinion by December 31, 2028.
Procurement issues at the DOD also lay the groundwork for expensive and unnecessary purchases by the DOD, compounded by congressional priorities that may not always align with the needs of today’s warfighter. For example, the M10 Booker tank demonstrates the lack of critical thinking inherent in the DOD’s procurement process. It was supposed to fit inside a C-130 plane to be airdropped where it would be needed, but they made it too big, and it is also so heavy that it cannot drive across eight of the 11 bridges at Fort Campbell, one of the bases which hosts the M10.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) also exemplifies what not to do when buying new weapons systems. On CAGW’s radar screen since its inception, the JSF has encountered more problems than can be succinctly listed, most recently with its software, which has led to a poor readiness rate, and the plane flying less and costing more. Members of Congress have helped increase the overall costs for the JSF by frequently purchasing additional aircraft via earmarks. Since the F-35 is still in a developmental phase, additional funding will be needed to retrofit any aircraft acquired in the interim.
Procurement mismanagement at the DOD does a disservice to our nation’s warfighters. The administration and Congress can honor the sacrifices of those who served by ensuring that the servicemembers of today and tomorrow have the tools they need to provide for the national defense into the future and that Americans who pay for national defense get the best results.
