Army Slow to Investigate War Gear Missing in Afghanistan

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-04/army-slow-to-investigate-war-gear-missing-in-afghanistan.html

The U.S. Army has been slow to investigate hundreds of millions of dollars in missing weapons systems, vehicles, electronics and communications gear in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon’s inspector general.

The Army field support brigade in Afghanistan responsible for managing gear being shipped out of the country failed to report “in a timely manner” 156,000 pieces of unaccounted gear valued at as much as $419.5 million, according to a report labeled “For Official Use Only” that reviewed major lost-property reports from fiscal 2013.

The items that need to be tracked include “thousands of pieces of highly sensitive equipment, including encryption devices, radios and weapons,” according to the report.

The report citing lax oversight underscored the logistics challenge as U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan. The Pentagon has estimated that it may spend $7 billion on the effort, including shipping out equipment that’s supposed to be returned to the U.S. for refurbishment or reissued to other American units worldwide.