National Defense Magazine reports that: “Defense Department auditors regularly scour the Pentagon’s online procurement portal, known as Electronic Mall or DoD E-Mall — in search of clues to questionable spending.”

“One area that has drawn their attention in recent years has been spare parts orders. By some estimates, the Defense Department spends up to $70 billion a year on logistics support of weapons systems, which includes spare parts. The Pentagon has no precise estimate of current inventories.”

“Auditors have questioned whether many of these purchases meet legitimate needs. Of 114 audits that the Defense Department’s inspector general office is conducting in fiscal year 2013, nine target spare parts. IG reports over the past two years have increasingly challenged the quantities bought and the prices paid for military spare parts. Investigators also found warehouses packed with unneeded items, such as a 38-year supply of guided assemblies for Black Hawk helicopters and Stryker armored personnel carrier seats that the Army no longer uses in the vehicles.”