Bogus military parts put personnel at risk, senator says
Dayton Daily News – The Department of Defense lacks a policy or specific processes for detecting and preventing counterfeit parts that are sold to the military, congressional investigators concluded in a study.
That puts American military personnel at risk, said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who with U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., requested the Government Accountability Office study after news organizations reported about counterfeiting activity.
“The GAO report makes it absolutely clear that counterfeit parts can enter the DoD supply chain at any point in what is a complex and increasingly global network of suppliers,” Brown said. “Until there is a department-wide system in place to detect these counterfeit parts, we can’t even judge the scope of the problem or estimate the full extent of the risks to U.S. service men and women and national security.”
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is home of the Air Force Materiel Command, a key center of procurement and acquisition of aircraft and weapons.
