What's the Worst Example of Government Waste You Saw in the Service?

[m1ashooter]

I got to be part of the team that decided what to spend the remaining bases year end left over budget money on at Eielson AFB Alaska. It was like a feeding frenzy. I thought spending 50,000 on flowers to brighten up the housing are for the 90 days of good weather was a waste.

[lyman]

I did not serve, but did know a few guys that were Quartermasters,

they were given a budget, and want list at the beginning of the year,
if funds were left near the end of the FY, they were told to spend it,
on whatever, they just had to have a 0 balance or slight negative to guarantee the funds would be appropriated for the next cycle

they ordered new office equipment , pens, paper, tents, tires , just at random to spend the cash,

in came the new desk, the old went to another depot for sales or tossed,

[Former Cav]

just think of all those hueys shoved off the decks of aircraft carriers to make room for the Vietnamese.
Nobody addresses the "waste" of 59xxx LIVES, and about 150 to 300K wounded and crippled for life either.
I'm not saying this to be "mean". but I am one of the crippled whom the va and us govt has NOT honored "their contract" with.

[RED]

IIRC, In February, 1969 The USS Saratoga CVA-60 came out the yards after being refurbed with all the latest and greatest electronics, radars, and equipment that existed at the time. Including a hands-off Automatic Carrier Landing System (ACLS). Carrier Air Group Three (CAG -3) had also been updated and went aboard in March. We had two fighter squadrons with 14 brand spanking new F-4J's each, and three attack squadrons (1, A-6 and 2 A-7) all equipped with the latest and greatest aircraft and systems. You are looking at maybe $100 million invested and our destination was WestPac.

We had a little stopover in the Caribbean for a Operational Readiness Inspection and it was a nightmare. The ship failed miserably. So, we were sent to the Mediterranean and the USS Kennedy was sent in our place. Within 2 months our squadron (VF-31) was down to 2 aircraft that were "combat ready," with operable radar systems and could have fired Sparrow III missiles, and few more of the 14 could be flown and still use Sidewinders. That went on for months and then our E-9 Maintenance discovered the reason the radars were down all the time was traced to a $1 capacitor in a particular module. The regs were to replace the module and those were all going (as they should have) to WestPac, so our chief replaced the capacitor with a heavier one and we had radar again!

The Admiral went ape sh!t! Our Skipper and the Chief was put in hack and were ordered to throw the new capacitors away! Going around the supply system was a huge no no... It was late 1972 before the Saratoga and CAG-3 got to Vietnam. She barely saw combat and was the last operational carrier to make that trip. All those spanking new F-4J's were by then not so spanking and those millions of dollars of new planes and systems were never used in combat.