The Pentagon needs money desperately. Why? Because sending weapons and ammunition has not only drained the surplus inventory, it is draining their bank accounts.

Yes, they really stated that publicly today. Who knew that the Pentagon would need money in order to replenish weapons and ammunition the Biden Administration has funneled to Ukraine? 

The Pentagon has more than $5 billion remaining in its coffers to provide weaponry and other security assistance to Ukraine even after Congress declined to include more funding for the war in a weekend bill to keep the government open, Pentagon officials said.

The $5.2 billion is roughly equivalent to the value of the weaponry the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine over the last six months for its fight against Russia, but administration officials said it is unclear how long that money could last. A number of factors contribute to the rate at which security aid flows to Kyiv, and officials believe the $5.2 billion could last only for another few months.

Of course, because there wasn’t funding FOR Ukraine in the Continuing Resolution boondoggle passed at the last minute on Saturday, the Pentagon is now announcing their military readiness is at stake. 

Undersecretary of Defense Michael McCord told House and Senate lawmakers in a Sept. 29 letter that just $1.6 billion remains of the $25.9 billion passed to replenish US weapons stockpiles, including artillery rounds, rockets and missiles for Ukraine’s war against Russia.

~Snip

“We have already been forced to slow down the replenishment of our own forces to hedge against an uncertain funding future,” McCord wrote. “Failure to replenish our military services on a timely basis could harm our military’s readiness.”

This makes me SO ANGRY! Over $25 billion in weapons, ammo, tanks, and more have been and are being funneled to Ukraine, while it is our soldiers who are getting screwed. 

Did NO ONE at the Pentagon tell anyone at the White House that our military readiness has to be the FIRST priority before giving blank checks to Ukraine? Probably not, which is why we have the Pentagon suddenly sounding the alarm very publicly. 

https://twitter.com/RealPJones/status/1708883086568575462

AGREED. Look, lately it seems that every month and twice on Sundays a new announcement of funding for Ukraine shows up. And, all the bobbleheads just nod and say …OK without asking any questions. 

Here’s another problem with the Pentagon sounding the alarm on military readiness. Not only could a good portion of that money been better used to ensure stronger military and tactical readiness, some of that money should’ve been directed to cleaning house on the continuing issues of plumbing issues, mold, and even squatters in military barracks. 

A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that young troops living in barracks on military installations have been forced to confront everything from pests such as roaches and bed bugs to toxic waste and even squatters, potentially putting the health and safety of members at risk while damaging morale.

Question: How is it that security is SO LAX on a military base that squatters are an issue??!! This has been a problem for quite a number of years now, and what this tells me is that the decision-makers at the Pentagon have NEVER prioritized getting those barracks cleaned up. Instead, lately it’s all whining about Trump and pushing the woke DEI crap. 

Yet more money is and will be on the table to go to Ukraine even as the Biden Administration privately admits that ‘why yes, Ukraine DOES have a corruption problem!’ 

The administration wants to press Ukraine to cut graft, not least because U.S. dollars are at stake. But being too loud about the issue could embolden opponents of U.S. aid to Ukraine, many of them Republican lawmakers who are trying to block such assistance. Any perception of weakened American support for Kyiv also could cause more European countries to think twice about their role.

When it comes to the Ukrainians, “there are some honest conversations happening behind the scenes,” a U.S. official familiar with Ukraine policy said. Like others, the person was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.

I’ve long held that anything going to Ukraine needs massive oversight. Oversight the Biden Administration refuses to either give or acknowledge is a necessity. 

The Pentagon needs funding in order to keep our military readiness at top levels. The fact that they didn’t sound the alarm until NOW is infuriating. The Pentagon is telling us and the world that they need money or our soldiers can’t be re-armed. 

This is a very big national security problem that the Biden Administration will likely ignore to our peril. 

Feature Photo Credit: Touch of Light on Wikimedia Commons, cropped, Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)