In yet another glaring example of seeing the trees rather than the forest, US Senators are now patting themselves on the back for proposing new legislation that would theoretically make it more difficult for military contractors to use counterfeit parts in combat equipment and protective gear supplied to our military forces.   According to news reports, the Senate  cleared yet another hurdle to pass its version of the National Defense Authorization Act.  In a key amendment to the Act, contractors would be required to buy parts whenever possible from a list of DOD-designated trusted suppliers, or from original manufacturers and their authorized dealers. DOD would also have a list of “untrusted suppliers.”

The new legislation stems from a recent Senate investigation regarding the use of counterfeit parts, many originating in China, in military weapons systems and other goods.   As I understand the spirit of the new amendment, military contractors may no longer use counterfeit parts to meet contractual commitments to equip our military.

Excuse me, but shouldn’t our taxpayers and, more importantly, our military in harm’s way expect (read demand) protective gear and combat equipment that is sourced from authorized sources?   This new legislation – with about as much teeth as Grandma without her dentures – exposes what is tragically wrong with our military procurement system:  It’ is corrupt from top to bottom and neither our military or Congressional leaders are taking any steps to correct it.

While the Chinese will no doubt counterfeit most anything for a yuan, one would have expected our military contractors to behave ethically.  Those who have followed SFTT know otherwise.  The stench of corruption is pervasive throughout the military procurement process. Our military procurement  system is littered with IG reports documenting the failings of our procurement process and equipment testing, but the military officers and their civilian counterparts continue in-place awarding contracts to firms in receivership and firms whose principals are in jail for securities and tax fraud violations.  Please!

If our Senate would really like to send a message to military contractors and their facilitators in the military, they would insist on reprimands and exempt corrupt companies from new contracts that potentially expose our military forces and, indeed, our Nation to great harm.

SFTT’s message to Congress and our military brass:  Clear up the corruption in our own backyard before taking on the Chinese.