DOGE Attacks The Defense Department

As the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) turns its sights on  the Pentagon, we can safely say it is a “target rich environment” for finding savings for the taxpayers. Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater and a former Navy Seal, is hopeful DOGE can make our nation’s defense better and less expensive.

The Defense Department budget is the largest discretionary part of the federal budget. Prince believes there is waste, fraud and abuse at every level of the Defense budget. The Defense budget is made up of several categories. Manpower consists of normal employee costs and administrative overhead. This is approximately 45% to 50% of the Defense budget. 

CapEx investment is 30% of the Defense budget and covers various weapons systems and military equipment. Maintenance costs make up about 20% of the Defense budget. 

Prince believes there is excessive overhead in the manpower portion of the Defense budget. There are too many general officers and their staff in the department. In the 1960s there were 16-4 Star general equivalences. Today there are 44. Each 4 Star general today has a much larger staff. This is just a small example of the bloat.

Regarding CapEx, Prince believes the Defense department pays 3 to 5 times more than needed for hardware and maintenance. This is staggering waste that is typical of the Defense department. 

Defense department budgets are increased every year and the administrative bloat multiplies. Pete Hegseth, the newly installed Secretary of Defense, is setting an example to the Armed Forces. The images of him working out with the troops are inspiring. He is setting an example for many of the generals who could not complete a one-mile run. As he turns DOGE loose on the whole Defense budget, waste will be revealed. 

The 5 major weapons providers are Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, General Dynamics, Boeing and Northrop Grumman. These 5 contractors form a cartel that overcharge the taxpayers for weapons systems and supplies. This cartel encourages the Defense department to adopt convoluted procurement requirements that make it difficult for mid-level contractors to win government contracts. This allows the Defense cartel members to overcharge the government. After the Defense department procurement officers retire, they go to work for these cartel members and the bloat, waste and fraud continues.

If Musk and DOGE, with Trump’s backing, can bring smaller contractors into the procurement process, the taxpayers will win.

Prince said that the Trump Presidency would be considered successful if the real estate prices in the Washington, DC market begin to drop. Today, the median price of a home in the DC area has dropped by $140,000. It appears that many of the “rats” who have been stealing from the taxpayers are jumping off the ship.

For decades, politicians and the public have railed against fraud, waste and inefficiencies in the Defense department. Finally, we have a President that has attacked the problem. Ironically, the Democrats are fighting Trump as he attempts to save the taxpayers.