Pentagon can't pass an audit

 

Dec 26, 2025 (340/1461)

Zelenskyy must be a glutton for punishment. He’s headed to the Land of the Orange Man (FL) to meet with TOM about The War as the year winds to an end. “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida over the weekend. Zelenskyy told journalists that the two leaders will discuss security guarantees for Ukraine during Sunday’s talks, and that the 20-point plan under discussion “is about 90% ready.”

Not that it would surprise anyone that Hegsloth can’t carry out an audit of his own Department. But true enough, Mr. Incompetent cannot tell us how our tax dollars get spent on the military. “The Pentagon is responsible for one of America’s largest budgets, but it’s the only major federal agency to have never passed a financial audit. 2025 marks the agency’s eighth consecutive failure, with this year’s Department of Defense Agency Financial Report highlighting a range of persistent weaknesses.

Inconsistent tracking across several areas contributed to this failure, including the Joint Strike Fighter Program — the Pentagon’s effort to field a next‑generation strike aircraft, known as the F-35, for the U.S. military and allied nations. Auditors found the department could not verify key assets in the program’s Global Spares Pool. The F‑35 program is projected to exceed $2 trillion over its lifespan, yet auditors found the department could not fully account for the assets tied to it.” A trillion here and there. It’s not his money so why should Petey care? The audit shows that the Pentagon struggles with the basic systems and controls needed to track what it owns and how it spends money.

Across the department, auditors identified 26 “material weaknesses,” the most serious type of internal control failure. Many of these weaknesses stem from outdated or incomplete financial systems. Some of the systems also don’t comply with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996, but that isn’t new — the agency has acknowledged the noncompliance since fiscal year 2001.

Speaking of systems, auditors were not sure of how many exist. They noted that the department doesn’t maintain a complete or accurate list of the financial systems that it relies on.” Where’s DOGE when you really need them? Seems this might be something that Musky could have actually solved.