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Military Matters: Excess Equipment Gets New Life

Story Published: Mar 7, 2012 at 7:10 PM EDT

Story Updated: Mar 7, 2012 at 8:30 PM EDT

When Fort Drum has surplus equipment, the items get a second life.

They go to governments and agencies across the country and around the world.

"We support law enforcement. We support the DoD. We support towns and villages," said Robert DeLong, property disposal specialist.

It's a system that saves everyone a lot of money.

"They're re-utilizing federal property that's already been bought with federal funds and putting it back into something else that can use it," said DeLong.

That's exactly what the future holds for one Humvee.

It's headed to the Air Force Research Lab in Rome.

It will be used to help test some of the technology being developed there.

"I think it's a really good idea. I mean the less that we can take from the taxpayers money, the better," said Matthew VanDeusen, Air Force signals analyst.

That's especially true for the local towns and villages that get military equipment and vehicles at a fraction of their actual cost.

"You're talking something that costs $100,000 and they might be able to pick it up for $2,000 to $5,000," said DeLong.

"Oh, it's great. I mean it's going to save the taxpayers a lot of money. It's not going to scrap and it's going to get used again," said Eric Wietz, who came to Fort Drum to pick up a truck for a Rochester-area highway department.

It's the kind of recycling that can save everybody a lot of green.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
, Watertown, NY

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