Sen. Joni Ernst has raised concerns after a government report revealed that the Defense Department (DOD) sent outdated and damaged military equipment, including body armor covered in mildew, to Taiwan. The Pentagon inspector general found that the U.S. had dispatched 'wet and moldy body armor' to Taiwan in an effort to bolster its defenses against a potential invasion from China. Subsequently, $730,000 was spent in an attempt to rectify the error.
More than 340 out of 504 pallets of equipment stored at Travis Air Force Base in California sustained water damage due to inadequate storage facilities. The U.S. Army delayed the delivery of the equipment to Taiwan for two months, during which time the pallets were exposed to adverse weather conditions.
