Summary: Despite efforts to reduce its inventory of spare parts, clothing, medical supplies, and other support items, the Defense Department (DOD) still maintains more than $41 billion worth of items that are obsolete or rarely used. In some cases, the military maintains enough excess inventory to supply U.S. troops for more than 100 years. DOD officials cite many reasons for having such a large amount of unneeded inventory on hand. The requirement changes involved recurring or nonrecurring demands that decreased, fluctuated, or did not materialize; parts or the systems on which the parts were used were obsolete; and weapon system programs were reduced. Other reasons include purchases to cover the expected life of weapon systems and adherence to minimum buy policies. Records indicate that the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force had a 20 years' supply of unneeded inventory--valued at more than $28 million--on hand and another $11 million worth of these same items on order. However, because the records for almost 40 percent of the reviewed items were in error, these items, in fact, did not have additional stock on order. In cases in which inventory was on order, the reasons included requirement changes, buys to cover the life of weapon systems, and adherence to minimum buy policies.
