Military

Pentagon Watchdog Says Ukraine, US Forces in Syria Received Non-Mission Capable Equipment

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US forces in Syria and the Ukrainian military received non-mission capable equipment due to poor execution of storage and maintenance requirements by a contractor at a US military base in Kuwait, the Defense Department Office of Inspector General said in a report on Thursday.
Sputnik
"The Army did not effectively manage contractor execution of the storage, maintenance and accountability of APS-5 [Army Prepositioned Stock–5] equipment," the report said.
"401st AFSBn-Kuwait [401st Army Field Support Battalion - Kuwait] officials issued non-mission capable equipment designated for Ukraine and military units in Syria."
Defense Department officials selected 57 pieces of equipment for inspection and found that 25 of them - 24 vehicles and one weapon - were defective and non-mission capable due to at least one maintenance deficiency, the report said.
The report also said that the APS-5 contractor failed to protect 5,885 pieces of equipment, or more than 10% of all equipment stored there, and to account for 51 weapons and other sensitive items between November 2021 and January 2023.
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The inspection also identified 50 questionable contractor invoices for a total of nearly $134 million that the Office of Inspector General recommended to be verified by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the report added.
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