Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Pentagon Destroys Surplus Goods

Surplus dealers angry at scope of gear purge

By Heather McPherson, Newser User

Posted Jul 23, 2007 2:21 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Pentagon is scrapping millions of dollars of gear it has traditionally resold to surplus dealers, Time reports. The army claims that sorting passels of helmets, boots, and sleeping bags is too onerous, while suppliers are concerned the move is the vestige of an effort to keep old jet parts out of Iranian hands.

The surplus dealers, who also count the army as a major client, are pressuring Congress to act on the Pentagon’s new refusal to separate dangerous goods from material that is safe for resale. Even before the latest controversy, the dealers were lobbying for fewer jet parts to be junked.

A (Getty Images)

In this photo taken with a video camera, a United States Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier jet makes a vertical landing on the deck of the British strike carrier HMS Illlustrious during joint exercises off the... (Associated Press)

Soldiers from the US Army's 4th Infantry Division move a Kiowa Warrior helicopter wrapped up in plastic after it was unloaded from the US Navy ship Cape Victory, which is moored at the Kuwait City port... (Associated Press)

PIC00036 ((c) oskarlin)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Panetta Plans to Shrink Size of Army, Marines

Defense chief outlines cuts for Pentagon

(AP) - The Pentagon outlined a plan today for slowing the growth of military spending, including cutting the size of the Army and Marine Corps, retiring older planes, and trimming war costs. It drew quick criticism from Republicans, signaling the difficulty of scaling back defense budgets in an election year. The changes Defense Secretary Leon Panetta described at a news conference are numerous but hardly dramatic. They aim to save money by delaying some big-ticket weapons like a next-generation nuclear-armed submarine, but the basic shape and structure of the military remains the same. More»

Obama Cutting Thousands of Ground Troops

Military no longer expected to be able to fight two wars at once

(NEWSER) - The US military is going to end up with a lot fewer boots on the ground as a results of cuts included in the debt ceiling deal. As part of the Obama administration's military overhaul , to be unveiled today, air and sea forces will be boosted, but Army and Marine Corps numbers will be cut by up to 15% over the next decade to a pre-9/11 level, Reuters reports. Officials say no final number has been set, but tens of thousands of troops will certainly go. More»

Pentagon: Army Didn't Properly Test Body Armor

Army rushed through plates, can't prove they meet standards

(NEWSER) - The Army didn’t properly test much of the body armor deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and can’t prove that it meets military standards, the Pentagon’s inspector general declared in a scathing new report. Because of the demands of the conflict, the army rushed some bullet-blocking plates into the field without testing them at certain altitudes and temperatures, the AP explains, and what testing it did conduct used the wrong sized plates and inconsistent ammunition. More»

Iraq Wants US to Sell It 36 F-16s

Expanded deal is under discussion

(NEWSER) - As the Dec. 31 US troop withdrawal deadline looms, Iraq is looking to purchase as many as 36 US fighter jets and other air-defense systems. The purchase, which will cost billions, could help cement ties between Iraq and the US and, Washington hopes, keep Iran at bay. The move comes after Baghdad froze plans to buy 18 F-16s earlier this year, due to the Arab Spring unrest. That deal had a cost of up to $4.2 billion, which included training, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Pentagon Looks at Army Intel Analyst's Role in Afghan Leak

Bradley Manning only worked on Iraq war

(NEWSER) - Who could've given nearly 1 million classified Afghanistan war documents to WikiLeaks? The military is taking a close look at Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst already charged with leaking documents to the site. Manning would be a perfect suspect, except for one fact: He was stationed in Iraq and had no access to Afghanistan documents. Nonetheless, investigators are examining his computers to see if he could have hacked other military computers to gain the files, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Pentagon Destroys Surplus Goods

Surplus dealers angry at scope of gear purge

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Iraq • Pentagon • fighter jet • helmets • bureaucracy • US Army • surplus • army supplies

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Panetta Plans to Shrink Size of Army, Marines

Defense chief outlines cuts for Pentagon

Obama Cutting Thousands of Ground Troops

Military no longer expected to be able to fight two wars at once

Pentagon: Army Didn't Properly Test Body Armor

Army rushed through plates, can't prove they meet standards

Iraq Wants US to Sell It 36 F-16s

Expanded deal is under discussion

Pentagon Looks at Army Intel Analyst's Role in Afghan Leak

Bradley Manning only worked on Iraq war

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Pentagon Destroys Surplus Goods

Surplus dealers angry at scope of gear purge

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Iraq • Pentagon • fighter jet • helmets • bureaucracy • US Army • surplus • army supplies

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Panetta Plans to Shrink Size of Army, Marines

Defense chief outlines cuts for Pentagon

Obama Cutting Thousands of Ground Troops

Military no longer expected to be able to fight two wars at once

Pentagon: Army Didn't Properly Test Body Armor

Army rushed through plates, can't prove they meet standards

Iraq Wants US to Sell It 36 F-16s

Expanded deal is under discussion

Pentagon Looks at Army Intel Analyst's Role in Afghan Leak

Bradley Manning only worked on Iraq war

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?