Oops: $3 Billion Pentagon Accounting Error Means More Arms for Ukraine

The Defense Department revealed it can send more weapons to Ukraine without Congress spending approval after the Pentagon overestimated the value of the arms it has already sent Kyiv by some $3 billion.

[OCS: The corrupt Biden Administration, intimately associated with political and financial corruption in Ukraine, is attempting an end run around the GOP-majority House of Representatives.]

The Associated Press reported that the error was caused when officials wrongly used valuation for new equipment, rather than for used equipment drawn from U.S. stocks, to assess the cost of weapons already dispatched to the war zone.

[OCS: This is a deliberate manipulation of the numbers. The costs are simple: what the taxpayer paid, plus storage, spare parts, maintenance, and transportation. There is no depreciation for “used” weapons just as there is no reduction in their lethality.]

The poor accounting methodology has been exposed as the Pentagon faces increased pressure by Congress to show accountability for the billions of dollars it has sent in weapons, ammunition, equipment, and training to Ukraine.

[OCS: The existence of this accounting dodge appears to have been leaked by an anonymous or unattributed source, so when more significant wrongdoing is finally revealed, the answer will be “old news” of a “systemic failure” where nobody is held accountable.]

In many of the military aid packages, the Pentagon has opted to drain stockpiles of older, existing gear because it can get those items to Ukraine faster.

[OCS: Who or what is protecting and preserving America’s military strength when facing conflicts in Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the Middle East? What is the lag time to order replacement weaponry, or will replacements be delayed for years as money is pumped into new weapons systems? Say what you will about the Russians; their weapon systems may be archaic, but they are robust, easy to operate, and lethally effective in the right situations using competent, not conscript, soldiers. If one needs a metric, it should be dollars per dead body or destroyed infrastructure.]

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh addressed the financial mess by saying:

During our regular oversight process of presidential drawdown packages, the Department discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine.

In some cases, ‘replacement cost’ rather than ‘net book value’ was used, therefore overestimating the value of the equipment drawn down from U.S. stocks.

According to the AP report, a defense official said the Pentagon is still trying to determine exactly how much the total surplus will be.

[OCS: This reminds me of an old accounting joke. A CEO asked the big four accounting firms to write down what one plus one equaled on a slip of paper—the CEO then selected an accounting firm. A Vice President asked the CEO how he chose the firm to audit the company since everybody knows one plus one equals two. The CEO smiled and revealed the winning answer. Written on the slip of paper were the words, “What do you need for performance this quarter?”

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the comptroller has asked the military services to review all previous Ukraine aid packages using the proper cost figures.

[OCS: You can bet that some politically-connected flag-rank individual will be on hand to offer “guidance.”]

To date the U.S. has provided Ukraine nearly $37 billion in military aid since Russia invaded in February 2022. The bulk of that has been in weapons systems, millions of munitions and ammunition rounds, and an array of trucks, sensors, radars and other equipment pulled from Pentagon stockpiles and sent quickly to Ukraine.

[OCS: Did anyone notice that former President Trump laid down a fundamental truth in his CNN Townhall? We are being screwed by the EU!

“Now, here’s the problem. We’ve given so far $171 billion. They’ve given – they, meaning European Union, which is approximately the same size, altogether, as our economy, they’ve given about 20. So, we’re at 170, let’s say, and they’re at 20. You don’t have to know too much about history to realize – or geography to realize that they’re a little bit more affected than we are, OK? So they’ve got to put up a lot more money because they’re taking advantage of us like every other country did.” <Source>]

In late February, the Pentagon’s inspector general said his office has found no evidence yet that any of the billions of dollars in weapons and aid to Ukraine has been lost to corruption or diverted into the wrong hands. He cautioned that those investigations are only in their early stages.

[OCS: Like the recent Durham Report, one must ask, “Where was he focused, and if his loyalties are to the institution, to Congress, to the Constitution, or America?]