Military lost $1.5M in uniforms last year: documents
Spike in missing inventory blamed on ‘adjustment,’ correction of past errors
National Defence posted a loss of more than $1.5 million worth of combat clothing in the last fiscal year, raising questions over the security risks of lost military uniforms.
“Things don’t disappear and militaries are pretty good in their systems of tracking . . . it’s hard to believe something that big could be a random accident,” said Kamran Bokhari, a countering violent extremism specialist at the University of Ottawa.
The numbers come from the Public Accounts of Canada and were tabled in the House of Commons earlier this week. Consisting of more than 1,000 pages of documents, the accounts contain everything from the consolidated financial statements of every federal government department to a detailed account of lost and stolen items. Other details in the document include a $129,932 sewer backup at the Canadian Space Agency.
Last year, the section of the accounts looking at lost and stolen items gained widespread attention after it was reported that 6,193 pieces of combat clothing, worth about $575,000, were lost and another 268 pieces worth about $23,000 were stolen.
This year, the number of lost combat clothing items tripled to 22,284, worth about $1.53 million, and the number of stolen items increased slightly to 284, worth around $28,000. About $1.5 million worth of lost combat clothing and $27,000 worth of stolen combat clothing were not expected to be recovered, according to the documents.
The numbers don’t include combat clothing that was damaged or worn out.
That increase was worrying to Bokhari, who said military uniforms could be useful for anyone trying to impersonate an officer, including potential terrorists looking to gain access to military sites. Though he acknowledged such an attack has never happened in Canadian history, Bokhari said it was something to be wary about.
“The thing is there is that potential threat. I’m not saying it’s an actual threat, but it’s a potential threat,” he said.
Bokhari said stolen or lost uniforms were a problem in the war in Afghanistan, especially for U.S. forces. Shipments would get intercepted and burned by Taliban forces.
“Before the Taliban would burn them, they would take them and sell them in the black market. That’s why you would see American uniforms and even vehicles . . . being sold,” he said.
Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, said the numbers need to be considered in context and don’t necessarily raise security concerns. Military clothing can be commonly found in military surplus stores, he said, adding it’s only small aspects of the uniforms that can’t normally be obtained.
“Whether there’s a security risk or not depends entirely on what was lost. If we lost 10,000 ID cards, then I would be more concerned, but . . . much of the military gear, you can essentially buy,” he said.
A spokesperson for National Defence said the large increase in lost items is explained by the department switching inventory systems and correcting past errors. Usually, the department averages about $600,000 worth of lost clothing.
“Outside of this adjustment, combat clothing is written-off within its normal trend,” the spokesperson said in an email. The spokesperson also added the armed forces “have instituted force protection measures to ensure the safety . . . of our men and women in uniform.”
Bokhari said he thinks the large number of written-off uniforms should be looked at closer.
“I think it does deserve (attention). It’s not like it’s a few dozen uniforms,” he said.
Leuprecht said it might seem like a large number, but National Defence is a very large department.
“Let’s remember, this is a department that employs 72,000 people in uniform and spends some $20 billion a year. In that large of an operation, there’s going to be some stuff that gets . . . misplaced or lost,” he said.