Operation Desert Storm

This fact sheet discusses the results of the Operation Desert Storm Auction, which sold off materiel sent to Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf war and was later turned over to the disposal system. In general, items sold during phases I and II of the auction included vehicles from other governments and damaged or unusable U.S. vehicles. Other equipment sold, including tents, cable, kitchen equipment, scrap metal, and aluminum, tended to be heavily caked with sand. Empty ammunition boxes and demilitarized brass casings were also sold. During phase III of the auction, scheduled for November 1992, the military will try to sell off the remaining excess property, mainly vehicle scrap and condemned ammunition containers. The value of the U.S.-manufactured equipment held in Saudi Arabia at the end of May 1992 was about $11 million versus almost $199 million for materiel donated by foreign governments. The vast majority of the equipment sold was in "H" condition, which the Pentagon defines as unserviceable or condemned. Foreign equipment did not meet environmental protection or safety standards and could not be brought into the United States. Through a program to recover usable property, $139.6 million worth of the materiel was reused through the end of May 1992.

GAO found that: (1) vehicles from other governments and damaged or unusable U.S. vehicles were sold in Saudi Arabia; (2) tents, cable, kitchen equipment, scrap metal, and aluminum were sold; (3) empty ammunition boxes and demilitarized brass casings were sold; (4) 87 percent of the equipment sold was in unserviceable or condemned condition, which the Department of Defense (DOD) has determined does not meet repair criteria; and (5) foreign equipment did not meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or safety standards and was ineligible for import into the United States.