Tuesday 7 September 2021

US troops destroy military equipment before leaving Afghanistan


This is nothing new.

Back in about 1966/7, I was managing a small West End Art Gallery. We dealt in early English watercolours and topographical prints (etchings).

We had one particular client who came back time and time again to buy large Piranesi prints of Rome.

He was a young American naval officer, and was based at the old US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. (Who would have thought there was an American naval base in central London?) 


He was a very pleasant person, and he became not only a very good client, but a good friend too. He even used to sell me large bottles of Jim Beam bourbon for a few shillings. Something to do with having two PX token books.

One day he said he'd better be getting back to Grosvenor Square, as it was their day to smash equipment.

When I asked what he was talking about, he said that every year they needed to INCREASE their funding, and the only way to do this was by replacing equipment. This equipment needed to be broken-up by using hammers etc; not unlike in the video above. Failure to replace equipment meant a possible decrease in funding.

The most remarkable thing about this story is that everything broken was classified as 'LOST AT SEA', which was the only reason for replacement.

If you are a US citizen, and you wondered where part of your taxes went; it went to replace smashed-up, perfectly good kit in a London boat-less, sea-less, naval base.

23 comments:

  1. This is the same reason government departments waste money on fripperies when election time is nearing or whenever the budget is to be announced, none of them want to get a single penny less and all hope to get more than they need. while poor people get told to tighten their belts, make do or do without.

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    1. No government dep't can be seen to have a reduction in funding. It's just not done!

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  2. What a disgusting though unsurprising thing to do. Everything that this Earth gives us should be cherished or utilised as long as possible.

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    1. I was amazed; I'd never heard of this type of action at the time, but I imagine it still goes on.

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  3. I expect that is the tip of the sword for US war expenditure. Our local councils spend up big towards the end of the financial year to ensure there is not budgeted money left over and no allowance made for it the next budget. Lots of roads get a nice smooth road resurface.

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    1. I expect that happens everywhere. They daren't not spend everything.

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  4. This happens in many instances. I know if schools have surplus money left at the year end they will find something to spend it on otherwise their quota for the next year will be cut down.

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    1. The exact same situation, but I thought they could have found a better explanation than 'Lost at Sea'. 'Stolen by Cockneys' maybe?

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  5. I rememember working alongside the cannel board (can't rememember their name now). The one year they built a car park and the next they dug it back up. If they didn't spend the allowance they would have it taken from the next years budget.

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    1. Hi Kev. Yes, that sounds about right. It wouldn't happen if it was 'private' money.

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  6. It happens in the NHS. In fact it happens in every state run entity.

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  7. Youd think they'd at least try to give it away to someone who needed it. Suppose they'd have to secretly remove it from the embassy which wouldn't be easy.
    Still. What a waste

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    1. I did actually mention that to the person involved. I asked if he couldn't let me have a nice typewriter, but he said it was impossible; everything was stamped with numbers, and if it ever got out that something had been 'released'; all hell would be let loose. That was his excuse anyway!

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    2. Same in local govt and NHS. I offered to buy stuff before it was skipped. No. They had no idea how to raise an invoice for starters. That was both NHS and Local Govt. I suggest other ways money could be made like a local auction. All met with NO.

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  8. There has to be a better way. Recycle? Re-use? Auction? Destroying things to only justify buying new seems wrong and wasteful on so many levels. Clearly, the system is broken and needs to be re-invented.

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  9. I was in the military, and the waste was astounding. I was at Ft Belvoir and we kept a fully stocked water lab, but we drove our base's water samples to Fairfax. I guess that I kind of understand that in case of emergency, we'd need to be able to do our own water testing, but once the lab was set up, an unused lab does not need much replaced (as far as glass ware and petrie dishes and such). Some of the chemicals had shelf lives. But we had a huge budget, and every year, it was a free for all, trying to spend all that money. The first year that I was there, the staff sergeant handed me a covered metal container used for holding catheterization equipment, a procedure that we did not do. Nothing even close to it. He was taking a half dozen home because he was from Maine and thought they'd be great for holding melted butter and lemon for his lobster feasts. I said, "It's such a waste. Why are we buying all this stuff that we don't use?" And the answer came: "If we don't spend all the money, we won't get as much money next year." That was one Preventive Medicine Unit on one base. You multiply that waste by all the units on all the bases and it makes you a little sick. I was not a very good soldier, I am afraid.

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    1. That is exactly the same situation. I could hardly believe it when I was first told about the 'smashing day'. When you think globally, the waste must be staggering.

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