The stewards of other people's money continue to disappoint. While 70% of the $6.4 billion charged on 2.3 million government cards that year was found to be appropriate, 12% was inadvertently spent on the wrong things, such as alcohol or in Google’s online store for games, smartphone applications and video streaming services. Inspectors also found cards used on federal holidays and during major sporting events when employees were unlikely to have work expenses. About 2% of spending was considering abuse and less than 1% fraud, according to the report. That’s down from a decade ago, when the...

The quality of our enemies defines us. The Center for American Prosperity (CAP) opposition makes me certain Pete Hegseth is the right man at the right time. The evil and execrable John Podesta runs CAP. That John Podesta. He replaced John Kerry as the Climate Envoy. The consequences of Hegseth’s appointment would reverberate far beyond the Pentagon. His lack of credibility and diplomatic acumen threatens to undermine alliances, embolden adversaries, and weaken America’s standing on the global stage—all outcomes that raise risks to the safety of the American people. America’s armed forces...

Please note the highlights from the new report from CRS below on the Ford-class carrier fiasco speaks to "welding issues", call me Captain Obvious but in shipbuilding or the building of any exquisite platforms, the identification of welding issues infers a complete welding inspection of the entire ship. That ain't cheap but then again when you build these future fish apartments on the taxpayer's dime, the pursuit of excellence is always optional. Procuring more of the incredibly poorly designed and executed new nuclear super-carriers is not only martial malpractice but a death warrant for...

Aiviq The US has 1.5 icebreakers because it has had to cannibalize one of its ancient and sclerotic icebreakers to make the remaining heavy work.But for all this, the same Coast Guard bought the Aiviq for $125 million late last year. And don't expect them to get this right. The ship was built to operate in the Arctic, but it has a type of propulsion system susceptible to failure in ice.  ...a type of propulsion system susceptible to failure in ice. ...a type of propulsion system susceptible to failure in ice. ...a type of propulsion system susceptible to failure in ice. Former Coast Guard...

Sandboxx does a terrific overview of the problems inherent in this. While I have beaten the drum on the inherent challenges of emerging problems in Revolutions in Military Affairs throughout the 21st century, no one at the Pentagon is paying attention as they leap onto an acquisition merry-go-round that creates more problems than solutions. NGAD is Next Generation Air Dominance. Here's the bottom line: in this era, the time of the manned combat aircraft has ended. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hSLLTdQStE Hollings makes a compelling case. CW Lemoine does a terrific overview of these...

Ep 010 "Fixing Fight Club: Naval Warfare in the 21st Century"   In the future near-peer and peer fight, salvo competition and missiles will be the preeminent means by which one country will kinetically overwhelm the other in a fight. I discuss the way the US Navy is in an existential hazard of being woefully under-prepared to meet the threat if Western forces go toe toe with regional hegemons in the East or West.   Let’s anticipate the disasters now that are the Spanish in the English Channel in 1588, the British Royal Navy at Jutland in 1916, and the discovery in WWII all these battleships...