Overseas base contracts range from 43 to 301 million apiece.

Evidence

Generally, the companies winning the largest contracts were those providing one or more of five things: construction, operations and maintenance, food, fuel, and security. Scrolling through all 1.7 million rows (more than can be handled by a single Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) offered a dizzying feel for the immensity of the Pentagon’s activities and the amount of money being spent worldwide. The breadth was remarkable. There was one contract for 43 for sand in South Korea, another for a 1.7 million fitness center in Honduras. There was 23,000 for sports drinks in Kuwait, 53 million in base support services in Afghanistan, and everything from 73 in pens to 301 million for army industrial supplies in Iraq. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 686

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• CANDY: The 43 sand contract in South Korea and 73 pens in Iraq are absurdly tweetable examples of Pentagon spending sprawl.

Related

• The Pentagon spent roughly $385 billion on overseas contractor work from 2001 to 2013 (similarity 0.88)
• The Pentagon disbursed roughly $385 billion to overseas contractors from 2001 to 2013. (similarity 0.87)
• Ten corporations captured over $115 billion of overseas base contracts (similarity 0.85)
• Overseas base spending exceeds every federal agency’s budget except Defense. (similarity 0.84)
• Official Pentagon spending figures on overseas bases are underestimates. (similarity 0.84)
• Ten corporations captured over $115 billion of Pentagon base-contract spending. (similarity 0.83)
• Ten private contractors captured nearly a third of Pentagon base spending abroad (similarity 0.83)
• Contracting fraud in the Iraq and Afghan wars reached $31-60 billion (similarity 0.82)
• The Pentagon’s top overseas contracting recipient is an unnamed catchall category worth $47 billion. (similarity 0.82)
• Contracting fraud in US wars reached $31-60 billion, much tied to base spending. (similarity 0.82)
• Official Pentagon figures understate overseas base costs by over fivefold (similarity 0.82)
• Official base cost tallies exclude billions in classified overseas programs (similarity 0.82)
• A tiny group of contractors captures a third of overseas base spending (similarity 0.81)
• Secret overseas base spending likely exceeds the official estimate. (similarity 0.81)
• Base-generated contract dollars largely return to American and offshore corporations, not hosts. (similarity 0.81)