Black budgets. Skunkworks funding (Joint Strike Fighter program was part of this), covert special ops, that sort of thing. You can't accurately report assets and spending that are behind multiple layers of top-secret classifications.
But that's only part of it. I actually think the vast majority of unaccounted funds and assets are due to the fact that the DoD basically gets an ever increasing blank check no matter what they do. Lose track of a few dozen tanks? A couple jets? Who cares? Congress will give them another couple hundred billion to make more. The reason you see so much wasteful spending in the military is because they have a practically unlimited budget and zero accountability. None of it goes to the welfare of those in active duty, or for taking care of veterans. It all goes to flopping our giant imperial dick onto the world, and stuffing the pockets of defense company shareholders.
Black budgets. Skunkworks funding (Joint Strike Fighter program was part of this), covert special ops, that sort of thing. You can't accurately report assets and spending that are behind multiple layers of top-secret classifications.
But that's only part of it. I actually think the vast majority of unaccounted funds and assets are due to the fact that the DoD basically gets an ever increasing blank check no matter what they do. Lose track of a few dozen tanks? A couple jets? Who cares? Congress will give them another couple hundred billion to make more. The reason you see so much wasteful spending in the military is because they have a practically unlimited budget and zero accountability. None of it goes to the welfare of those in active duty, or for taking care of veterans. It all goes to flopping our giant imperial dick onto the world, and stuffing the pockets of defense company shareholders.