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Disrepair Cited in U.S. Arms
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That and following inspections uncovered hundreds of pieces of equipment that were "not mission capable," with problems including serious engine deficiencies, cracked and pitted gun tubes, and faulty seals and O-rings on M1A1 Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and Paladin howitzers, the GAO said. In addition, it said, the equipment was missing "critical parts."
For example, despite efforts to keep APS-4 intact, at least 50 .50-caliber machine guns were removed from tanks stored there for use in Iraq, and several Humvees were removed to replace other Humvees shipped from Korea to Iraq, AMC officials said yesterday.
As a result, commanders said that if hostilities broke out in the region, it would have required a surge of maintenance workers to fix the gear, delaying its use for days, GAO and Army officials said.
"It would have taken some extensive maintenance on some of the systems to get them out the door," said Gary Motsek, director for support operations of AMC, in an interview yesterday. "It would have taken extra days to issue the system. . . ."
Motsek blamed the problem on the Army's reliance upon an undersized, less costly South Korean workforce to manage upkeep of the stocks. "You can't maintain it on the cheap like that," he said, saying the Army is negotiating a new long-term contract for the work.
But the GAO report pointed to other factors, including the diversion of millions in Army funds allocated for APS-4 to other purposes, a "dysfunctional" system for managing the stock, as well as a lack of Pentagon oversight of the South Korean gear and overseas stockpiles generally.
Army officials said flawed reporting kept leaders in the dark about the broken gear. "The reporting mechanism didn't reveal the problems until it kind of bubbled up last fall," said Lt. Gen. Claude V. Christianson, the Army's logistics chief. Over the past six to seven months, Motsek said the Army has spent $34 million and assigned as many as 90 mechanics, 60 inspectors, and about 20 quality control personnel to bring the Army equipment in South Korea back up to standard by last month.
"We've spent a tremendous amount of effort and resources," said Gen. Benjamin S. Griffin, AMC's commander. "Today, we think it's in pretty doggone good shape."
