‘A Dumb Decision’: Afghan Official Selects Wrong Camo Pattern, Costs U.S. $28 Million
OutdoorHub Reporters 06.22.17
Here’s an opportunity to learn from someone else’s expensive mistake.
According to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the Pentagon apparently spent millions of dollars more than necessary to correct a pretty stupid mistake made by an Afghan official, who chose a camouflage pattern designed for lush forests instead of the desert, which covers about 98 percent of Afghanistan’s terrain.
“They picked the pattern based on a fashion preference, not by experts, but by the minister of defense,” said John F. Sopko, the special inspector general. “That was a dumb decision.”
According to the NY Times, the forest pattern that was selected was designed and owned by HyperStealth Biotechnology Corporation, a Canadian company that has designed camouflage for the Jordan, Chile and the United Arab Emirates military.
Basically, the Afghan military was running around the brown desert wearing a camo pattern that might as well have been green Realtree camo. That’s like trying to hammer a square block through a round hole – it simply won’t work.
So next time you catch yourself wondering what your tax dollars are paying for – voilà
These Afghan army uniforms cost American taxpayers $28M ‘in the name of fashion’: https://t.co/xLgs9dPWuc pic.twitter.com/x4LA1R9idA
— Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) June 21, 2017
