McCain: Pentagon wasting millions on moving troops

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on Tuesday that the Pentagon could be wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars by not examining ways to cut the costs of moving service members and their families to new assignment locations. 

In a new report, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the average cost of moving troops and their families to new assignments rose 30 percent over the past 13 years, despite a 12-percent decline in relocations. The Pentagon spends $4 billion per year on relocation.  

{mosads}”That’s nearly 4 percent of the annual military personnel budget, which is already under intense pressure from skyrocketing costs associated with military pay and benefits,” the report said.

Despite the growth in costs, the Pentagon still does not have “complete, consistent data” on the costs and has not evaluated specific factors contributing to per-move cost growth, the report said, citing a recent Government Accountability Office report. 

“Despite the crippling effects that sequestration is having on our military services, the Defense Department continues to throw millions of dollars out the door as it fails to adequately manage the costs and budget for service member relocations,” McCain said in a statement.  

The new report is the latest in a series the chairman has issued, called “America’s Most Wasted,” to highlight Pentagon waste. 

The report also includes several recommendations that could potentially save $1 billion annually or more. 

The GAO found that the cost-per-move differed widely from service to service, and there was no analysis on why that was the case. McCain’s report recommends that the Pentagon standardize costs across the services. 

Another move that could save money would be to standardize weight allowances, which currently differ between troops of the same rank in different services. 

The report also suggested decreasing the frequency of discretionary moves and extending the length of tours served by service members. 

The report contained a warning to the Pentagon, which is funded by Congress annually.  

“In recent years, Congress has directed DOD to find efficiencies in the program, but the Department has been slow to implement meaningful change. That means it’s probably time for Congress to take a much closer look,” it said. 

“It is critical that the Pentagon finally start budgeting for its expenses instead of coming to Congress hat-in-hand when funding inevitably runs dry,” McCain said.