Unbelievably Sloppy Weapons Inventory Control

The Houston Chronicle has an AP story by John Heilprin, “Report: Weapons to Iraqis can't be accounted for” ( linked via title bar ) which attempts to explain why 1 in 25 weapons sent to Iraq are missing. It might be easy for the armchair observer to come up with excuses for lost weapons during the heat of combat, something which would be expected in a war zone; however, sloppy inventory control practices should not be on the list.

“The missing weapons will not be tracked easily: The Defense Department registered the serial numbers of only about 10,000 of the 370,251 weapons it provided — less than 3 percent.”

This can’t be the same military I was a member of. Near the end of my stint in the Army Reserves my responsibility was the armory; a collection of worn out 45 caliber semi automatic pistols for our Military Police unit and an equally worn out collection of M-14 rifles. My sole reason for showing up once a month was to make sure that each weapon’s serial number matched the inventory sheet. I was under the impression that the rest of the Army worked pretty much the same way; so much for that assumption.

Did the United States military hire the folks responsible for the Enron demise, those who use “creative accounting practices” instead of reliable and proven procedures? Three Percent!, they only registered Three Percent of the weapons? Maybe the folks from FEMA have the contract on weapons issue too, the ones who were handing out money down in New Orleans as if it grew on trees, maybe they do the same with M-16’s, grenade launchers and machine guns. “Hey, just take what you need and enjoy!”

Could we get these same people to work for the IRS? When it comes time to show receipts for all the expenses over the year all I’d have to do is show 5 or 6 to the auditor and explain, “I never bothered to keep the other 97 percent; take my word for it, I spent all that money on legitimate expenses. I’m following the example set by the military.” Do you think that would float. . .neither do I.