Posted on 05/29/2002 11:33:45 PM PDT by goody2shooz
WASHINGTON - A $24,000 sofa and armchair; an $1,800 pillow; and $45,800 in silver and china - such accoutrements would cause little surprise if found in the abodes of the wealthy and well-known.
But government auditors discovered these pricey items - and many more - not in a mansion but at Air Force and Army bases in Saudi Arabia, the rest of the Persian Gulf, Europe and the Balkans.
In a just-released report, the General Accounting Office informed Congress that its auditors found a number of "seemingly unneeded expenditures" made by the Air Force and Army in 2000 and 2001.
"As much as $101 million in contingency operations funds were spent on questionable expenditures" - a small fraction of the estimated $2.2 billion examined by the investigators, but troubling nonetheless, the report said.
Among those were $4,600 worth of "white beach sand" for an air base in the Arabian desert and a $3,400 Sumo wrestling suit for another.
The Army came in for criticism for duplicating purchases of computers and office equipment at its bases in Bosnia to the tune of $2.3 million.
Rather than using equipment already there or sharing new items, four successive Army units heading for Bosnia purchased their own sets of equipment, the GAO said.
That struck the auditors as particularly wasteful, given that the Army has stocked more than 2,000 computers, 865 printers, 91 copiers and "a multitude of other office equipment" in the area. However, Army officials said that differences in missions and training of the various units serving in Bosnia necessitated some of the equipment purchases.
The auditors blamed Pentagon and Army superiors for failing to provide the clear guidance and strict oversight needed to rein in such practices.
The Air Force was also criticized for an array of what the GAO deemed unjustified and excessive spending, including:
- At al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, the service bought a $2,200 coffee table.
- At Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, it bought a $24,000 loveseat and arm chair and $9,800 of Halloween decorations.
- At al Jaber Air Base in Saudi Arabia, the questionable spending included an $1,800 "executive high-back" pillow, a $3,000 computer tutorial titled "The Intelligent Investor," and $19,000 worth of decorative "river rock."
- At various Air Force installations in the Persian Gulf region, the service bought a $35,000 golf cart, a $16,000 corporate golf membership and $5,333 in golf passes. Military experts said such recreational items can be a useful tool for building good relations with officials of a host country, whom base officers can invite for, say, a friendly round or two of golf.
The GAO report said Pentagon officials generally agreed that better oversight is needed to prevent wasteful spending.
On the Net: www.gao.gov (GAO report No. 02-450)
And it doesn't have to be in Saudi Arabia, either. It could be in, oh, Dreamland. You know, Area 51.
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