U.S. DoD to Waste $1 Billion Destroying $16 Billion in Ammo
Russ Chastain 10.28.14
Have we, the people, become the enemy?
If not, then why doesn’t the U.S. government, which knows very well that ammunition has become increasingly rare and costly for citizens, share the wealth–which after all was taken from us in the first place?
Senator Tom Coburn’s annual waste report has revealed Pentagon plans to spend a bunch of dough–a billion bucks–to destroy $16 billion dollars’ worth of “surplus ammunition.”
The report says, “The amount of surplus ammunition is now so large that the cost of destroying it will equal the full years’ salary for over 54,000 Army privates.”
The quantity deemed worthy of destruction amounts to more than a third of all of the U.S. Army’s ammo: approximately 39% of their massive inventory has been classified as “excess to all the services’ requirements.”
What ever happened to the days when surplus ammunition found its way back to the citizens whose taxes actually paid for it? Sure, I get that the army isn’t going to hand out artillery shells or hand grenades, but I’d bet there are large quantities of small arms ammunition included, which could be put to good use by the people who paid for it–you and me.
Most likely, the government doesn’t trust us with the ammunition. If that’s the case, how can we trust them with it?
