PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT THE DEFENSE MONITOR January-March 2021

CREDIT: (PHOTOS: U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS BRENT THACKER; U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS KEENAN DANIELS; ILLUSTRATION: LESLIE GARVEY / POGO) OVERSIGHT The Navy Wants to Throw Its Internal Auditor Overboard And it’s planning a shipbuilding spending spree

BY JASON PALADINO mer Naval Audit Service employees, duties of Department of Defense comp- show the Navy is already starting to troller, had previously looked at mak- he Navy is about to embark push sizeable cuts to the office and ing drastic budget cuts to the Army on one of the largest and its workforce even though Congress and Air Force auditors, according to riskiest spending sprees in hasn’t yet approved them—and the internal documents POGO obtained. its history. It’s also gutting cuts could make it impossible for the The Naval Audit Service, like its Tthe office responsible for mitigating audit service to do its job. counterparts in the Air Force and Army, that risk, queueing up a 70% bud- POGO has also learned that the is tasked with independently assess- get cut for its internal auditor amid Navy is considering shutting down its ing the agency’s operations, finding agency-wide cuts to help pay for the audit service entirely, and that lead- and reducing risk, and advising the Navy’s massive shipbuilding plan. ership recently told the office not to secretary of the Navy of better ways to Records obtained by the Project start new audits. save and spend money. In the past five On Government Oversight (POGO), as The Trump appointee pushing the years, the audit service, which has an well as accounts from current and for- cuts, who formerly performed the average budget of about $45 million,

©2021 Project On Government Oversight ISSN#0195-6450 • Volume XLVX, Number 1 PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT found nearly $70 million in potential In a September 2020 letter fraud and assisted law enforcement in obtained by POGO, the head of the STAFF (See POGO’s full staff at pogo.org) Scott Amey, General Counsel and Executive 43 cases, according to the Naval Audit Naval Audit Service, Auditor General Editorial Director Service’s annual report. Debra Pettitt, pleaded with Navy lead- Danielle Brian, Executive Director Brandon Brockmyer, Director of Research The cuts—which would represent ership to reconsider the massive cut. Danni Downing, Editor the largest downsizing in the audit “The budget cut to the Naval Audit Tim Farnsworth, Chief Communications Strategist service’s nearly 70-year history—are Service will destroy the Naval Audit Leslie Garvey, Creative Director concerning to experts in Pentagon Service’s ability to fulfill its mission,” Danielle Harris, Director of Operations Liz Hempowicz, Public Policy Director oversight and accounting. she wrote. Lynn Mandell, Finance Manager Chris Pabon, Development Director “This is really unprecedented at The cuts, first reported earlier this Zoë Reiter, Civic Engagement Director the level it’s being proposed. I’ve year by the Navy Times, are a project of Keith Rutter, Chief Operating Officer Pam Rutter, Director of Individual Giving been around or watching defense for acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Sarah Turberville, The Constitution Project 50 years, and I know of no parallel,” Harker, two Navy officials who feared Director said Richard Chambers, who served retaliation if named told POGO. Harker CDI Team for decades in Pentagon oversight had been appointed Navy comptroller Dan Grazier, Jack Shanahan Military Fellow Jason Paladino, National Security roles, including as the Army’s direc- by then-President Donald Trump and Investigative Reporter tor of internal review. “When you cut later performed the duties of comp- Mandy Smithberger, Center for Defense Information Director those resources, that’s when fraud, troller of the Department of Defense. Mark Thompson, National Security Analyst waste, misuse, and mismanagement The plan to shrink the audit ser- becomes rampant. There is a deter- vice’s budget comes as part of the CDI Advisory Board Lt. Col. Tony Carr, USAF (Ret.) rent effect of a strong audit. You keep “Stem-to-Stern Review,” an effort to Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, USA (Ret.) them because they keep you out of cut “low priority, redundant, or legacy Col. Gary I. Wilson, USMC (Ret.) Col. Michael D. Wyly, USMC (Ret.) trouble and they pay their way.” capabilities” across the Navy to gen- It appears the audit service does erate $40 billion to be used toward BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nithi Vivatrat, Chair indeed pay for itself. According to its the goal of a 355-plus-ship Navy by Debra Katz, Vice Chair Dina Rasor, Treasurer most recent annual report, in the past 2030. The Navy-wide cost-cutting ini- David Burnham, Director Emeritus five years the audit service’s reports tiative was spearheaded by then-act- Mickey Edwards, Director Emeritus Morton Mintz, Director Emeritus have led to $2.3 billion in potential sav- ing Secretary of the Navy Thomas Ryan Alexander Henry Banta Lisa Baumgartner Bonds Michael Cavallo “This is really unprecedented at the level it’s being proposed. Sarah Chayes Andrew Cockburn I’ve been around or watching defense for 50 years, and I Lia Epperson Armando Gomez ® know of no parallel.” Norman Ornstein Virginia Sloan RICHARD CHAMBERS, who served for decades in Pentagon oversight Anne Zill roles, including as the Army’s Director of Internal Review

Newsletter design for POGO by: ings for the Navy. In 2018, an audit Modly. After his well-publicized res- SportCreative.biz service report led to the Marine Corps ignation, his three successors have saving $1.9 billion by avoiding an continued his efforts. © Copyright by the Project On Government unnecessary purchase of “war reserve In an internal memo last October, Oversight. POGO materiel,” ammunition and other equip- the auditor general warned her staff encourages quotation and reprinting of ment strategically placed in case of war. that there was an effort by senior any of the material, provided POGO Over the past five years, the audit ser- Navy officials to propose legislation to is credited. POGO vice says it found savings worth over completely disband the audit service. requests a copy of such use. 1.5 times its operating costs. Harker did not respond to a detailed list of questions from POGO about the more of the new ships ends up being Defense Lloyd Austin, Chambers, the rationale for the drastic cuts, and a more expensive than anticipated— former Pentagon oversight official, Navy spokesperson “would not com- something almost guaranteed to hap- wrote: “History tells us that such ambi- ment on future budgetary decisions pen if history is any guide. The Con- tious construction agendas are ripe for until the budget request is submitted gressional Budget Office estimated fraud, waste, and abuse. The U.S. Naval to Congress later this year.” the shipbuilding effort’s total cost will Audit Service has a proven record of be 31% higher than the Navy’s esti- effectively identifying such waste.” THE FLOOD GATES WILL BE OPEN mate, which would require a doubling In the internal video of the all- An internal Navy video provided to of past Navy spending. hands meeting, Harker argued the POGO reveals, in stark terms, Hark- It is difficult to find a recent ship- Navy can accept increased risk, and er’s reasoning for the planned cuts, building effort that was not massively that the Navy is sufficiently audited and the Navy’s awareness of their over budget, poorly conceived, or by the Pentagon’s inspector general potential effects. In a virtual meeting years behind schedule. offices and the Government Account- for the secretary of the Navy’s office The Navy’s new aircraft carrier, ability Office. He pointed out that earlier this year, Harker was asked expected to be delivered in 2014, of the Cabinet-level agencies, the about the cuts. He explained that “we can accept risk by decreasing some of the level of support that was pro- The alleged savings from reducing the audit service’s vided by the Naval Audit Service, and budget, less than half the cost of each of the Navy’s F-35 that there’s a higher priority for us to aircraft, pale in comparison to the projected costs of the invest in building additional ships.” current shipbuilding plan. Dov Zakheim, who served as then-President George W. Bush’s Pen- tagon comptroller, sees the cuts as is still not finished and was nearly Department of Defense is the only one misguided. “It’s in the Navy’s inter- 25% over budget, at $12.9 billion as with internal audit services for indi- est to demonstrate that it is in con- of 2017. The Littoral Combat Ship, vidual components. trol of costs, which of course, having designed to be fast, light, and to fight However, in her September 2020 an audit capability helps them to do,” in contested waters, is widely consid- letter to Navy leadership, auditor gen- he said. “But by cutting back on the ered a failure, after numerous break- eral Pettitt wrote, “Department of auditors it certainly doesn’t look like downs, a sticker price that skyrock- Defense Office of Inspector General it’s controlling costs. I doubt it is the eted from $220 million to $940 million officials have stated that they cannot uniformed Navy that’s pushing this.” per ship, and a flawed multi-mission absorb our oversight coverage,” and The alleged savings from reducing modules concept that was shelved that “risks for fraud, waste and abuse the audit service’s budget, less than after costing taxpayers $7.6 billion. within DON [Department of the Navy] half the cost of each of the Navy’s “Navy ships cost billions more and programs will escalate exponentially.” F-35 aircraft, pale in comparison to take years longer to build than planned An audit service official told POGO the projected costs of the current while often falling short of quality and that at minimal staffing levels, some shipbuilding plan. Reaching the 355- performance expectations,” a Gov- crucial work would not happen, such ship goal would be enormously expen- ernment Accountability Office report as “sexual assault complaint reviews, sive, and the plan carries the risk for on the topic concluded. The report shipyard time and attendance, explosive cost growth. found that shipbuilding, especially requests from local commands … to Navy officials testifying on the fis- when building multiple ships, comes help them get compiled with Finan- cal year 2021 budget submission esti- with a significant amount of risk. cial Improvements and Readiness mated that the current plan would cost The audit service is one tool the guidance to get DON’s financial state- between $120 billion and $130 billion Navy’s leadership can use to navigate ments in order.” over the next 10 years. But the total and address this same risk. At least one former Pentagon cost could be much greater if one or In a recent letter to Secretary of inspector general agrees. “Without a

www.pogo.org/cdi | 3 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMPONENTS WITH THE MOST OPEN RECOMMENDATIONS

As of March 31, 2020

300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Navy Army Air Force USD (A&S) USD (C)

SOURCE: POGO; Department of Defense Office of Inspector General data.

well-staffed and adequately resourced Audit Service officials, Harker, in a gress, a permanent Navy secretary Naval Audit Service the flood gates verbal communication in February, who opposes the cuts is appointed will be open to abuses and misdeeds instructed the auditor general “not to by President Joe Biden, or a direction that will lower our Nation’s secu- begin any new audits this year.” from higher levels in the Pentagon is rity and undermine effectiveness,” The proposed cuts to the Naval given to preserve the service. said Gordon Heddell, who served as Audit Service apparently caught the According to the Government the Defense Department’s inspector attention of Representative Elaine Accountability Office, if any branch general under then-President Barack Luria (D-VA), a former Navy com- of the military needs an increase Obama. “The intellectual and analyt- mander. Luria represents the Virginia in accountability, it is the Navy and ical factors that go into complicated Beach area, which includes a regional Marine Corps. Last year, the Navy led acquisition decisions will be dramati- office of the audit service. If the cuts the Department of Defense inspector cally compromised and billions of dol- go forward, the office in her district general’s ranking of components with lars will be lost.” would likely shut down. the most “open recommendations,” Without waiting for the approval of In a February letter to Navy leader- covering topics including contrac- Congress or the Biden administration, ship, Luria, who also sits on the House tor oversight, finance and account- the Navy has already taken actions Armed Services Committee, asked for ing, and acquisition. Defense Depart- to implement the cuts. Decisions to evidence of the analysis done as the ment financial management has been reduce accountability and weaken basis for the cuts, and expressed con- on the Government Accountability internal controls typically are not cern that the cuts “come at a criti- Office’s “High Risk List” for nearly made without lawmakers’ approval. cal time when the Navy must focus three decades. Taken as a whole, this According to a senior audit ser- on being an efficient steward of - tax paints a picture of an organization in vice official who was not authorized payer dollars.” In her letter she also need of more, not less, oversight. to speak on the record, the Navy has expressed concern that the Navy did ordered the service to shrink from not notify Congress before ordering A SHOT ACROSS THE BOW FOR its current 290 employees to 120 by the downsizing. MILITARY’S INTERNAL AUDITORS this October, regardless of whether Officials at the audit service expect Documents obtained by POGO reveal a the cuts make it into the final bud- the cuts will move forward unless desire to go beyond cutting the Navy’s get. And in a move that alarmed Naval “serious concern” is raised by Con- internal auditor. In 2019, a work order

4 | The Defense Monitor • January-March 2021 signed by Harker, then the Pentagon’s the organization from a workforce of The “Fat Leonard” scandal that comptroller, asked the Institute for over 500 in the 1980s, to 290 today. If came to light in 2013 revealed a web Defense Analyses to “assess and ana- the new round of cuts is approved, its of corruption among uniformed Navy lyze the potential of reducing or elimi- ranks would be reduced to 85 in 2022. officials. Dozens of Navy officials nating functions from the DoD and ser- “That would amount to barely one pleaded guilty. The Washington Post vice audit agencies by 50-75 percent internal auditor per naval base and called it “perhaps the worst nation- of their current resources to determine essentially end any effective assurance al-security breach of its kind to hit the whether doing so would create signif- over the massive agency, whose bud- Navy since the end of the Cold War.” icant gaps or deficiencies and provide get was nearly $206 billion in 2020,” The scandal involved lucrative “ship an assessment of the cost savings ver- Chambers wrote in his February letter husbanding” contracts—private com- sus the risk associated with any gaps.” to Secretary of Defense Austin. panies resupplying Navy ships, remov- The ongoing $775,000 study has By comparison, the Army Audit ing waste, and other harborside tasks. been interpreted by auditors as a Agency has a workforce of over 500, Leonard Glenn Francis, the head warning that cuts and even elimination responsible for auditing a budget of of a large Singaporean defense con- are on the horizon. An official at the $191 billion, and the Air Force Audit tractor, pleaded guilty to bribing doz- Department of Defense inspector gen- Agency has a workforce of nearly 640 ens of Navy officials with prostitutes, eral’s office, speaking on condition of responsible for a budget of $205 billion. large sums of cash, concert tickets, anonymity, told POGO that there is no Even if the 70% cuts to the audit and fancy hotel stays. The officials way their office could fill the account- service aren’t finalized, damage has pleaded guilty to giving preferential ability gap left by removing the service already been done, according to audi- treatment to Francis’s company in audit agencies, something implied in tors in various offices of the service. exchange for bribes, including leak- the work order for the study. POGO reviewed departure emails of ing him classified information on Navy Heddell, the former Pentagon staff looking for other jobs in an uncer- ship schedules. Not including prose- inspector general, confirmed this, tain climate. Remaining employees cution, the scandal has cost the Navy noting that the inspector general’s fear deep institutional knowledge and at least $35 million in overbilled con- office is complemented by the work of expertise are being lost at the service tracts, according to the Department the service’s dedicated auditors. as dozens abandon ship. According to of Justice. Representatives from the Air Force one auditor, it can take over five years Naval Audit Service officials Audit Agency and Army Audit Agency to fully train an employee of the service. pointed to the case as an example of did not respond to requests for com- The Navy has faced many high-pro- the type of fraud that a strong audit ment. The auditor general of the Naval file scandals in recent memory, some service may have spotted and even Audit Service declined to comment. of which could potentially have been prevented. The Naval Criminal Inves- Over the years, the Naval Audit Ser- prevented by more robust internal tigative Service, which relies on the vice has seen cuts that have shrunk audit capability. audit service for forensic accounting $207 $178 $169 B I L L IO N B I L L IO N B I L L IO N Navy and Marine Corps Army Budget Air Force Budget Budget (FY 2021) (FY 2021) (FY 2021) 290 Naval Audit 500 Army Audit 640 Air Force Audit Service Personnel Agency Personnel Agency Personnel

In the print issue of the Defense Monitor, this chart designated service agency budgets as the audit agency budgets. CDI regrets the error, which has since been corrected in this version. www.pogo.org/cdi | 5 GUTTING THE NAVY’S INTERNAL AUDITING SERVICE

Proposed cuts to the Naval Audit Service would drastically cut personnel. Relative to the other service audit agencies, each Navy auditor would be responsible for a much greater share of the budget.

Service budget per audit service personnel, by agency $3 billion $2.5 billion $2,435,294,118 $2 billion $1.5 billion

$1 billion $713.8M $500 million $355M $264,062,500 0 Naval Army Air Force Naval Audit Service Audit Agency Audit Agency Audit Service (FY2021) (FY2021) (FY2021) (FY2022, if cuts occur)

SOURCE: POGO; Department of Defense data. FY2022 proposed cuts are calculated at the FY2021 Navy Budget level.

assistance, told the Washington Post dozens of recommendations to Navy report by Congress obtained by POGO. that the “biggest factor” that led to leadership and had found fraud and Heddell, the former Pentagon the fraud was a reduced emphasis on weak or nonexistent internal controls inspector general, pointed out that preventing fraud and corruption after in the contracts. since January 2017, there have been 9/11. In the years after the attacks, From 2012 to 2013, auditors vis- eight secretaries of the Navy, leading the Naval Criminal Investigative Ser- ited 239 ports to examine $50.1 mil- to a chaotic and disorganized Navy. vice office that investigates financial lion worth of husbanding contracts, “These facts alone should tell us that crimes had been cut from 140 agents and found a system with minimal more, certainly not less, audit oversight to just nine, according to a Rolling accountability, relying on self-report- is critically necessary to ensuring that Stone report. ing and an environment “vulnerable our Navy and Marine Corps regain, and According to two current and one to misuse, fraud, waste, and abuse.” maintain, their world class footing.” former Naval Audit Service officials, a This type of access and boots-on-the- Without congressional action, the minimally staffed operation would not ground work sets the Naval Audit Ser- Naval Audit Service may not be long be able to work on white-collar crime vice apart from other accountability for this world, and its Army and Air cases or assist the criminal investiga- organizations at the Pentagon. Force counterparts could be next. n tive agencies in their prosecutions. As recently as March 2021, the Even before the “Fat Leonard” audit service reported to Congress scandal became public, the Naval that “significant controls weaknesses This piece was first published in March 2021. The original and its sources can be found at Audit Service, in three reports, had with the Navy [Husbanding and Port pogo.org/internal-auditor-overboard warned the Navy of potential weak- Services] program remain.” The ser- nesses in the internal controls related vice made 25 recommendations to ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jason Paladino is a to husbanding and port services con- address those weaknesses to Navy National Security Investigative Reporter for tracts. The audit service had issued leadership, according to a semiannual the Center for Defense Information at POGO.

6 | The Defense Monitor • January-March 2021 COLUMN | MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL CIRCUS | Mark Thompson

Joe Biden’s Nuclear Triad Looming choices on doomsday weapons

elieve it or not, we’re cur- Finally, there’s Biden’s nuclear three legs of the nuclear triad simul- rently amid a triad of triad, which consists of three major taneously. It plans on spending up to nuclear triads. How Presi- upcoming choices that could act as a $140 billion for a new crop of ICBMs, dent Joe Biden juggles them brake on nuclear business-as-usual— nearly $100 billion for B-21 bomb- Bwill make clear if the atomic status or speed up the arms race among ers, and $128 billion for new subma- quo continues on autopilot, as it has Washington, Moscow, and Beijing. rines. The cost of buying and operat- for 70 years, or if he’s willing to put Unfortunately, the Pentagon’s triad ing these weapons: Nearly $1.7 trillion his hand on the tiller and lighten the seems frozen in place. Its backers through 2046, according to the inde- nuclear shadow that most of us have assert that each leg is vital to deter- pendent Arms Control Association. lived under our entire lives. The U.S. nuclear triad is a Cold The Pentagon plans on spending $140 billion for a new crop War construct, consisting of three of ICBMs, another $100 billion for B-21 bombers, and $128 “legs”—bombers, submarines, and billion for new submarines. land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). It is capable of deliv- ering nuclear weapons pretty much rence. Scrapping any leg reduces Biden could take a step back from anywhere in the world at any time. deterrence, they say, and therefore the abyss by scrapping one leg of the Now there’s a second triad consist- makes nuclear war more likely. No. nuclear triad. There is consensus that ing of the world’s big-league nuclear What makes the horror of nuclear war the land-based ICBMs are the weak- players. Originally limited to the U.S. more likely are arsenals of nuclear est leg of the triad, and one that can and the Soviet Union (now Russia), weapons crammed into missiles and safely be lopped off. (Even former the Trump administration pushed bombs, linked by good, but not perfect, Defense Secretary William Perry says hard to incorporate China into the command-and-control systems, oper- so.) But ICBM boosters, sensitive to superpower arms control club. But ated by humans as fallible as you or me. that domestic threat, have launched with only an estimated 320 warheads, Unfortunately, the nation has a campaign to make sure that the compared to the 5,800 held by the treated its nuclear force the same way 400 Minuteman III ICBMs now sprin- U.S. and 6,375 held by Russia, China it has treated its infrastructure: Both kled across Montana, North Dakota, wasn’t interested. Nonetheless, Chi- are falling apart. So, after decades of and Wyoming are replaced with 400 na’s push for a more capable nuclear kicking the warheads down the road, Ground Based Strategic Deterrent force makes it a major nuclear player. the Pentagon wants to rebuild all missiles. Northrop Grumman landed

www.pogo.org/cdi | 7 a $13.3 billion contract in September of incoming enemy missiles, false or tensions—and recalled after launch. to begin developing the new ICBM. otherwise, is detected. That’s why there’s a growing real- They are supposed to start replacing This is the strange calculus of ization that the triad is a relic that the 1970s-era LGM-30G Minuteman nuclear deterrence, which is rooted can safely be trimmed to a sub-and- III ICBMs in 2029. That award has in a bizarre war game no one hopes bomber dyad. If that’s deemed too raised eyebrows among the too-ma- ever plays out. Yes, it is as stupid as it radical, the existing Minuteman force ny-eggs-in-one-basket crowd, see- sounds. And the U.S. public agrees. A can be upgraded. That’s what has ing as Northrop is also building the recent poll by the Federation of Amer- been done in the past and is currently new bomber leg of the triad and the ican Scientists showed that most of being done now at one of the three solid-rocket motors that power the Navy’s nuclear-tipped missiles. There is a consensus that the land-based ICBMs are the The new ICBM’s biggest supporters weakest leg of the triad, and one that can safely be lopped off. are those who build it and their Cap- itol Hill chorus. In fact, Northrop has assembled a nifty list of its backers, those surveyed support alternatives bases where the ICBMs stand alert. including the Senate ICBM Coalition. to replacing the ICBMs: 30% sup- But the Pentagon is not interested. “You’re going to get a lot of pressure ported upgrading the current ICBMs, “You cannot extend the life of the Min- … to delay the Ground Based Strategic 20% wanted to do away with the uteman III,” Admiral Charles Richard, Deterrent and maybe even shrink it,” ICBMs entirely, and 10% called for the Pentagon’s top nuclear warfighter, Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota the elimination of all nuclear weap- flatly said January 5. Republican, told now-Secretary of ons. Barely one in four, 26%, backed All the more reason, then, to ampu- Defense Lloyd Austin at his January 19 replacing the existing ICBMs with new tate this leg. confirmation hearing. “Do you think missiles. Unfortunately, those who Although the fate of the ICBMs is we can extend the life of the Minute- want to scale back the U.S. nuclear center stage, there are two smaller men III even if that means unilaterally arsenal don’t seem to care as much recent nuclear decisions that Biden decreasing our nuclear deterrent?” about the issue as those who have could reverse. In 2019, the Navy Austin was non-committal. “I really vested interests in it and are dedi- deployed a new low-yield nuclear need to sit down,” he responded, “and cated to seeing it continue. warhead aboard its sub fleet (the take a look at where we are in that The military-industrial-congres- USS Tennessee was the first subma- modernization effort.” sional-think-tank complex asserts rine to carry it, according to the Fed- U.S. ICBM silos are sitting ducks that any decision not to replace the eration of American Scientists). This for enemy attack. But that’s their Minutemen would hurt U.S. nuclear new W76-2 warhead has an explosive purpose: They serve as a “nuclear deterrence (that’s why “Deterrent” is yield of about five kilotons, a third of sponge” designed to force the enemy in its name, although that’s sure to be the power that destroyed Hiroshima, (Russia or China) to destroy them in replaced with a friendlier official nick- and is deployed atop Trident mis- the opening volley of a nuclear war. name before long). Like the boy who siles, whose other warhead options That would prevent their use against cried wolf, triad backers have been are 90 or 455 kilotons. “This supple- the attacking state (China or Rus- saying for decades that an enemy mental capability strengthens deter- sia). It also would force the attack- might be able to hunt down and rence and provides the United States ing state (Russia or China) to waste destroy the U.S. Navy’s “boomers,” a prompt, more survivable low-yield precious warheads across the vast those mammoth subs that silently strategic weapon,” a top Pentagon expanse of the American High Plains carry their nuclear weapons beneath civilian said a year ago. instead of raining them down on more the waves. Yet the subs remain hid- That language suggests the United critical military targets or on heavily den, and there is no threat to them on States seeks a nuanced nuclear populated cities. The ICBMs are also the horizon. And the bombers remain war-fighting capability, where adver- on high alert, ratcheting up the pres- flexible. Unlike the ICBMs, they can saries can lob warheads of various sure to “use or lose them” if an alert be dispatched worldwide amid global sizes at one another. Backers maintain

8 | The Defense Monitor • January-March 2021 Airmen ready a Minuteman III ICBM at Vandenberg Air Force Base for test firing. (PHOTO: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE / AIR FORCE STAFF SGT.JONATHAN SNYDER) it deters war by showing the Russians the long range missile’s W80-4 war- a war pitching the world into an even they can’t “escalate to de-escalate”— head would be relatively puny. “We darker atomic eclipse. use small nuclear weapons to end a need the targeting flexibility and low- Too dramatic? No more so than a war on terms favorable to them, con- er-yield options that the LRSO pro- handful of terrorists destroying a pair fident that the U.S. wouldn’t respond vides,” a Pentagon official has said. of the country’s tallest skyscrapers. with big nuclear warheads. “Field- But the U.S. already has plenty of Or one of the world’s richest nation’s ing the W76-2 is designed to close a pint-sized nuclear weapons, beyond having one of the poorest showings in capability gap that threatened to give these two new additions to its arse- handling a global pandemic. Or U.S. Vladimir Putin an opportunity to back nal. What the new additions really do citizens storming the Capitol seeking the United States into a corner where is highlight the inanity of viewing a to overturn an election whose out- capitulation or full-scale nuclear war prospective nuclear war as a tit-for- come they don’t like. would be a president’s only options,” tat deterrence exercise, where fakes That’s hardly a reassuring track a nuclear expert argued last March. and feints can be counted on to keep record. In fact, it should make one won- Finally, the Air Force is develop- the big guns holstered forever. “We der how long can the world’s A-bomb ing a Long Range Stand Off (LRSO) don’t care about a fair fight. We’re luck last. Candidate Biden declared nuclear missile in an effort to keep going to kick their ass if they take that President Biden “will work to its B-52 bombers in the nuclear us on,” said Representative Adam maintain a strong, credible deterrent fight (they are far too big, slow, and Smith (D-WA), chairman of the House while reducing our reliance and exces- un-stealthy to actually drop bombs Armed Services Committee. “So, why sive expenditure on nuclear weapons.” on enemy targets without being shot we’re obsessing about a proportional Your move, Mr. President. n down). This long range missile, slated response, I don’t know.” to start replacing the AGM-86B cruise The post-Cold War triad bolsters This piece was first published in March 2021. missile in about a decade, is expected the notion that nuclear war is deter- The original and its sources can be found at to have a range of more than 1,500 rable, or—failing that—winnable, so pogo.org/nuclear-triad miles. It is supposed to do a better long as the nation continues to pump job at reaching targets because of its hundreds of billions of dollars into it. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The Military-Industrial Circus is a regular column by Pulitzer radar-eluding stealthiness, and to find But every day that delusion persists, prize-winning National Security Analyst the targets even if GPS signals are the chances grow that our long-stand- Mark Thompson for the Center for Defense jammed. Like the Navy’s mini-nuke, ing nuclear shadow could explode into Information at POGO.

www.pogo.org/cdi | 9 (U.S AIR FORCE PHOTO BY WASTE MASTER SGT. DONALD R. ALLEN; ILLUSTRATION: LESLIE GARVEY / POGO)

The F-35 and Other Legacies of Failure

BY DAN GRAZIER signals a tectonic shift in support for a move would saddle the services a program that previously received with hundreds of flawed, high-main- or 20 years, the Pentagon’s near universal official support from tenance aircraft, which will depress program to develop the F-35 the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. readiness rates, further strain the aircraft appeared invinci- This shift is due to the sudden real- already harrowed maintenance crews, ble, even as the project hit ization in Washington, despite years and require years of costly retrofits. Frepeated delays and went well over of warnings, that the F-35 is too chal- At the very least, further produc- budget. And then, just within the span lenging and costly to maintain. tion should be halted until the program of a few weeks, official support for the And if there are to be major completes operational testing. Test- F-35 has seemingly evaporated. It changes to the F-35 program, now is ing continues to reveal design flaws could not come soon enough. the time to do it. Otherwise, if the pro- in the F-35 —at last count in January, At the end of the Trump administra- gram does manage to squeak through there were 871 of them which is only tion, the acting secretary of defense operational testing, Congress could two fewer than the year before. Until called it a “piece of…” The Air Force then authorize a bulk purchase of the testing process is complete and chief admitted the F-35 would never be able to live up to its original pur- pose. And now, the chair of the House Pentagon leaders are right to review troubled programs, Armed Services Committee said we and they shouldn’t allow a program to drag on for 20 years should stop throwing money down the before doing so. F-35 “rathole.” This all comes as the program is rightfully on a list of programs facing F-35s, something the program office engineers work through solutions to a Pentagon review that could result in and the manufacturer have wanted these problems, the F-35s purchased recommended cuts to the total num- for years. But even if the plane is now will be built with these flaws, ber of aircraft to be purchased. It technically deemed operational, such and then later require extensive and

10 | The Defense Monitor • January-March 2021 expensive modifications later on to fix question of any review. “I really think program, a ship design that failed to problems that have yet to be revealed about it from a capability perspective. perform its originally intended role. in the testing process. Is that capability going to be relevant Uniform and civilian military offi- The usual suspects in the defense today, relevant tomorrow? And if it’s cials need to be reminded that it is industry have responded forcefully to not going to be relevant tomorrow not the end of the world to kill a new the threat to the program on which or it’s going to be, you know, overly program. In 2011, the Marine Corps they have staked their future. They expensive to make it relevant for cancelled the troubled Expeditionary are arguing that the services need to tomorrow” it needs to be retired. Fighting Vehicle after sinking $3 billion purge themselves of older, so-called The F-35 is the poster child for into the program because of spiraling “legacy” systems—the typical argu- programs that are too expensive to costs and technological failures. After ment made by defense contractors to be made relevant for the future. It a reset, the service developed the far make sure there is little choice but to should have been canceled more than simpler Amphibious Combat Vehicle purchase new weapons from them. a decade ago with its 2009 Nunn-Mc- for a fraction of the cost. But there is nothing inherently Curdy breach when the development Spending our grandchildren into wrong with older aircraft. As long and procurement costs doubled. Cut- poverty pursuing unworkable techno- as they are maintained properly, a ting it off now could save about $200 logical boondoggles is not the right way well-designed aircraft can provide billion just in acquisition costs. to compete with our potential adver- useful service for decades. The B-52 Along those same lines, the Pen- saries. In all matters military, the sim- is an excellent example. There are tagon would have saved billions by plest possible tools are always the most even 172 DC-3 airliners that debuted killing off the “legacy of failure” pro- effective. Decision makers in Congress in 1935 that are still flying and making grams like the Littoral Combat Ship and the Pentagon should be far more money for their owners. and Zumwalt-class destroyers when it skeptical when defense contractors Pentagon leaders are right to first became apparent that they were make lavish claims about technology review troubled programs, and they falling far short of expectations. Tax- they haven’t yet demonstrated and have shouldn’t allow a program to drag on payers paid $30 billion for a versatile the courage to stop programs when it for 20 years before doing so. And if the class of small surface ships with the becomes obvious they are failing. n Pentagon’s budgeteers want to make Littoral Combat Ship program. What cuts, they shouldn’t start with weap- they got was a fleet of fragile boats This piece was first published in March 2021. ons like the F-16 and A-10 that con- that can’t perform many of the roles The original and its sources can be found at tinue to prove their worth in combat. for which they are intended, with four pogo.org/legacies-of-failure Air Force chief General Charles “CQ” of them already on their way to being ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dan Grazier is the Jack Brown Jr. said recently that capabili- mothballed. The Navy is spending Shanahan Military Fellow at the Center for ties and not age should be the central more than $23 billion on the Zumwalt Defense Information at POGO.

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www.pogo.org/cdi | 11 WASTE Why Are We Still Giving the Pentagon More Money?

Focusing on the Wrong Threats, including a New Cold War with China, is the Last Thing We Can Afford Now

This piece originally appeared on TomDispatch. and political instability at home will disaster for the world), and it’s cer- take significant resources and focus, tainly not one that should be priori- BY MANDY SMITHBERGER including calling to account those who tized during a catastrophic pandemic. so grossly mishandled the country’s While there are genuine concerns his country is in a crisis of pandemic response and stoked the about what China’s rise might mean the first order. More than big lie of questioning the legitimacy of for the United States, it’s important to half a million of us have died Biden’s election victory. recognize just how much harm those thanks to Covid-19. Food If, however, you weren’t out here in trying to distract us from the very real Tinsecurity is on the rise, with nearly the real world, but in there where the problems at hand are likely to inflict 24 million Americans going hungry, national security elite exists, you’d on our health and actual security. including 12 million children. Unem- find that the chatter would involve few Since the beginning of the pandemic, ployment claims filed since the pan- of the problems just mentioned. And in fact, those unwilling to accept our demic began have now reached 93 only in our world would such a stance failures or respond adequately to the million. Given the level of damage to seem remarkably disconnected from disease at hand have blamed outside the less wealthy parts of this society, reality. In their world, the “crisis” forces, most notably China, for other- it’s little wonder that most Americans part of the present financial crisis is wise preventable havoc to American chose pandemic recovery (including a fear, based on widespread rumors lives and the economy. the quick distribution of vaccines) as and reports about the Biden budget Trump and his allies tried to shirk their top priority issue. to come, that the Pentagon’s funding accountability for their failure to Keep in mind that our democracy might actually get, if not a genuine respond to the pandemic by pushing is suffering as well. After all, for- haircut, then at least a trim — some- xenophobic and false characteriza- mer president Donald Trump incited thing largely unheard of in the twenty- tions of Covid-19 as the “China virus” an insurrection when he wasn’t able first century. or the “kung flu.” In a similar fash- to win at the polls, an assault on the The Pentagon’s boosters and their ion, the national security elites hope Capitol in which military veterans allies in the defense industry respond that focusing on building up our mil- were overrepresented among those to such fears by insisting that no such itary and building new nuclear weap- committed to reversing the election trim could possibly be in order, that ons with China in mind will distract results (and endangering legislators competition with China must be the time and energy from making needed as well). If you want a mood-of-the- prime focus of this moment and of the changes at home. But those urging moment fact, consider this: even after budget to come. Assuming that Chi- us to increase Pentagon spending to Joe Biden’s election, QAnon followers na’s rise is, in fact, a genuine problem, compete with China in the middle of continued to insist that Trump could it’s not one that’s likely to be solved a pandemic are, in reality, only com- still be inaugurated to his second either in the near future or in a mil- pounding the damage to our country’s term in office. Addressing economic itary fashion (not, at least, without recovery.

12 | The Defense Monitor • January-March 2021 MILITARIZING THE FUTURE should have made that kind of rec- that looks askance at providing relief Given the last two decades, you won’t ommendation irresponsible. In the to communities and businesses suf- be surprised to know that this mis- midst of a pandemic, it’s beyond dan- fering around the country. Recent placed assessment of the real threat gerous. Still, it betrays a crucial truth debates in Washington about the lat- to the public has a firm grip on Wash- about the military-industrial complex: est pandemic relief bill suggest once ington right now. As my colleague Dan its key figures see the U.S. economy again that the much-ballyhooed prin- Grazier at the Project On Government as something that should serve their ciples of “responsibility” and “fiscal Oversight pointed out recently, con- needs, not the other way around. conservatism” apply to everyone — firmation hearings for Secretary of Of course, the giants of the weap- except, of course, the Pentagon. Defense Lloyd Austin III and Deputy ons industry have long had a direct Secretary Kathleen Hicks included seat at the table in Washington. PUTTING COVID-19 RELIEF more than 70 (sometimes ominous) Despite being the first Black secretary SPENDING IN PERSPECTIVE mentions of China. of defense, for instance, Lloyd Austin The price tag for the relief bill pres- So again, no surprise that only a III remains typical of the Pentagon ently being debated in Congress, $1.9 few weeks after those hearings, Biden establishment in the sense that he trillion, is certainly significant, but it’s announced the creation of a new comes to the job directly from a seat not far from the kind of taxpayer sup- China task force at the Pentagon. As on the board of directors of weapons port national security agencies nor- the press announcement made clear, giant Raytheon. And he’s in good com- mally receive every year. In 2020, for that group is going to be a dream for pany. After all, many of the adminis- instance, the real national security the military-industrial complex since tration’s recent appointees are drawn budget request surpassed $1.2 tril- it will, above all, focus on developing from key Washington think tanks sup- lion. That request included not only advanced “defense” technologies to ported by the weapons industry. the Pentagon, but other costs of war, stare down the China “threat” and so For instance, more than a dozen including care for veterans and mili- further militarize the future. In other former staffers from, or people affili- tary retirement benefits. words, the Pentagon’s projected ated with, the Center for a New Amer- Over the years, such costs have threat assessments and their won- ican Security (CNAS) have joined the proven monumental. The Department der-weapon solutions will be at the Biden administration. A recent report of Defense alone, for example, has forefront of Washington thinking — by the Revolving Door Project found received more than $10.6 trillion over and, therefore, funding, even during that CNAS had repeatedly accepted the past 20 years. That included $2 this pandemic. the sort of funding that went com- trillion for its overseas contingency That’s why it’s easy enough to pre- fortably with recommendations it operations account, a war-fighting dict where such a task force will lead. was making that “would directly ben- fund used by both the Pentagon and A similar panel in 2018, including lob- efit some of the think tank’s donors, lawmakers to circumvent congres- byists, board members, and contrac- including military contractors and sionally imposed spending caps. Reli- tors from the arms industry, warned foreign governments.” When it came ance on that account, the nonpartisan that competition with China would to confronting China, for instance, Congressional Budget Office assured require a long-term increase in fund- CNAS figures urged the Department Congress, only made it likelier that ing for the Pentagon of 3% to 5%. of Defense to “sustain and enhance” taxpayers would fund more expensive That could mean an almost unimag- defense contractors so that they and less optimal solutions to Ameri- inable future Department of Defense would become ever more “robust, ca’s forever wars. budget of $971.9 billion in fiscal year flexible, and resilient” in a faceoff with In the past, the justification for 2024. To pay for it, they suggested, that country. such excessive national-security Congress should consider cutting Sadly, even as the Pentagon’s bud- spending rested on the idea that the social security and other kinds of get remains largely unchallenged, Defense Department was the key to safety-net spending. there’s been a sudden reawakening keeping Americans safe. As a result, Even before Covid-19 hit, the eco- — especially in Republican ranks — the Pentagon’s ever-escalating nomic fragility of so many Americans to the version of fiscal conservatism requests for money were approved by

www.pogo.org/cdi | 13 Congress year after year without real has proven difficult, especially since competition among great powers. opposition. Disproportionate fund- the Trump administration ignored the What unites those seemingly dispa- ing for that institution has, however, law when it came to reporting on just rate threats is that each is not so much come at a significant cost. how many jobs that spending either a battle to be won as a challenge to be In 2020, for instance, the real preserved or created. Still, there’s no weathered.” While traditional defense national security budget request sur- question that non-military stimulus threats still loom large in what passes passed $1.2 trillion. efforts are more effective, by orders for national debate in Washington, the Caps on non-defense spend- of magnitude, than defense spending most likely (and potentially most dev- ing under the Budget Control Act of when it comes to job creation. astating) threats to public health and 2011 meant that civilian agencies safety aren’t actually in the Penta- were already underfunded when the NEEDED: A NEW FUNDING STRATEGY gon’s wheelhouse. pandemic hit. As the Center on Bud- TO WEATHER FUTURE STORMS Weathering those future crises will get and Policy Priorities pointed out, The uncomfortable truth (even for continue to require innovation and “Overall funding for programs outside those who would like to see a trillion creativity, which means ensuring that veterans’ medical care remains below dollars in annual Pentagon spend- we are investing adequately not in the its level a decade ago.” The conse- ing) is that such funding won’t make hypersonic weaponry of some future quences of that underspending can us safer, possibly far less so. Recent imagined war but in education and also be seen in our crumbling roads studies of preventable military avi- public health now. Particularly in the and infrastructure, to which, in its last ation crashes indicate that, disturb- near term, as we try to rebuild jobs report in 2017, the American Society ingly enough, given the way the Pen- and businesses lost to this pandemic, of Civil Engineers gave a D+ — and tagon spends taxpayer funds, more even the Pentagon must be forced the situation has only grown worse money can actually make us less safe. to make better use of the stagger- since then. Somewhere along the line in ing resources it already receives from Job protection is the other com- this pandemic moment, Washing- increasingly embattled American tax- mon refrain for those defending high ton needs to redefine the meaning of payers. Rushing to produce yet more funding levels for the Pentagon and, both “national security” and “national useless (and sometimes poorly pro- during a pandemic with such devastat- interest.” In a world in which Califor- duced) weapons systems and technol- ing employment consequences, such nia burns and Texas freezes, in which ogy will only increase the fragility of a concern can hardly be dismissed. more than half-a-million Americans both the military and the civilian soci- But studies have consistently shown have already been felled by Covid-19, ety it’s supposed to protect. that military spending is a remarkably it’s time to recognize how damaging Make no mistake: the addiction poor job creator compared to almost the over-funding of the Pentagon and to Pentagon spending is a bipartisan any other kind of spending. Some of a myopic focus on an ever more mili- problem in Washington. Still, change us may still remember World War II’s tarized cold war with China are likely is in order. The problems we face at Rosie the Riveter and mid-twenti- to be to this country. As the Quincy home are too overwhelming to be eth-century union support for defense Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s ignored. We can’t continue to let the budgets as engines for job creation. Stephen Wertheim has argued, it’s appetites of the military-industrial Those assumptions are, however, increasingly clear that an American complex crowd out the needs of the sorely out of date. Investing in health- strategy focused on chasing global rest of us. n care, combating climate change, or military supremacy into the distant rebuilding infrastructure are all sig- future no longer serves any real defi- nificantly more effective job creators nition of national interest. This piece was first published in March 2021. The original and its sources can be found at than yet more military spending. Vanderbilt law professor Ganesh pogo.org/giving-more-money Of course, non-military stimulus Sitaraman recently pointed out at For- spending has been far from perfect. eign Affairs that “the coming era will ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mandy Smithberger Even measuring the effects of the first be one of health crises, climate shocks, is the Director of the Center for Defense relief package passed by Congress cyberattacks, and geoeconomic Information at POGO.

14 | The Defense Monitor • January-March 2021

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oversight accountability waste waste 1 7 10 12 jason paladino mark thompson dan grazier mandy smithberger THE NAVY WANTS TO JOE BIDEN’S NUCLEAR THE F-35 AND OTHER WHY ARE WE STILL GIVING THROW ITS INTERNAL TRIAD LEGACIES OF FAILURE THE PENTAGON MORE AUDITOR OVERBOARD Looming choices on It’s time to make major MONEY? And it’s planning a doomsday weapons changes to the F-35 Focusing on the wrong shipbuilding spending spree program threats is the last thing we can afford now