National Affairs: Waste Coats

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On June 29, 1946, the Army's Quartermaster Corps was just itching to spend money. Appropriations for 1946 would expire the very next day, and unless there was some quick action, millions of unspent Army dollars would flow back into the U.S. Treasury. Hardly any Government bureau wants that to happen. Before the day was out, the Quartermaster Corps ordered 1,262,000 overcoats at a cost of some $45 million.

The Army already had a stock of more than 1,000,000 overcoats, but the new coat had a remarkable new feature: attached to the back hem were two flaps designed as leggings, to snap around the ankles and zip up the sides. Since the coat had never been tested in the field, no one knew just how remarkable it was, until 349,000 were shipped to Korea and Japan in 1950. In the field, G.I.s found that the bulky garment was too heavy (8 Ibs.) and too long. If a soldier tried to run in the coat, the leggings (which managed to connect the ankles directly with the neck) would trip him. Said one Korea veteran, when asked what he did on the run: "I'd take off the coat and throw it on a truck."

Finally, the Army realized that the coat was useless for combat wear. It decided to cut the leggings off all the overcoats that had not been issued. Additional cost: $972,000.

The saga of the waste coats was brought to light last week by the House Government Operations subcommittee. Its aims: 1) to show what happens when money is spent for spending's sake, and 2) to find out who was responsible.