Pentagon Setting Up Military Stockpiles Around World Without Risk Checks

The US Department of Defense is failing to provide risk assessments in its prepositioning of equipment including weapons in Europe and around the world, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Defense Department officials agreed that in future annual prepositioned stock reports they could identify omitted prepositioned stock information and indicate where that information resides, the report noted.

"GAO identified limitations in the quality of information [Defense Department] provided on costs for completely reconstituting prepositioned stocks," the report stated on Friday. "Further, GAO found that risks, which [Defense Department] cited in its report were not supported by risk assessments."

The Defense Department is developing a new strategic policy to manage its prepositioned stock programs, but it has not yet submitted that policy and implementation plan to Congress, as required by statute, and has not set a timeline for completing them, the GAO observed.