The Post said the Pentagon and U.S. Congress continued to be misled by reports that readiness levels were high, even after an internal investigation in October last year found that 50-80 percent of heavy artillery and other weaponry were not "fully mission capable.”

The problem was aggravated during Washington’s large-scale shifting of arms and supplies from caches scattered around the world toward battle zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The post said the U.S. Army knew the South Korean stockpile, known as pre-positioned stocks, was in a dilapidated state since October last year, when it assigned four teams to ascertain the condition of the equipment at Daegu's Camp Carroll. The investigation found that 79 percent of the ordnance was not up to operational standards.

"That and following inspections uncovered hundreds of pieces of equipment that were 'not mission capable', with problems including serious engine deficiencies, cracked and pitted gun tubes, and faulty seals and O-rings on M1A1 Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and Paladin howitzers,” according to the audit report by the Government Accountability Office, the paper said. In addition, it said, the equipment was missing 'critical parts.’ At least 50-caliber machine guns were removed from tanks stored there for use in Iraq, and several Humvees were removed to replace other Humvees shipped from Korea to Iraq," the Post reported.

As a result, the Post quotes GAO and Army officials as saying, “if hostilities broke out in the region, it would have required a surge of maintenance workers to fix the gear, delaying its use for days." Yet the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Gen. Leon LaPorte, testified before Congress last March the supplies were in "very good shape.” At the time tensions were particularly high on the peninsula due to North Korea’s announcement that it had nuclear weapons.

According to the GAO report, "The Army, and to a lesser extent the Marine Corps and Air Force, has steadily depleted stocks of heavy weapons, Humvees, spare parts, ammunition and other supplies stored in Europe, Southwest Asia and the Pacific." The Defense Department estimated that replenishing the Army and Marine Corps stocks around the world will cost US$4-5 billion.

The paper said the U.S. Defense Department was not aware of the problem until serious disrepair was exposed, and the Army has spent $34 million and employed 90 mechanics, 60 inspectors, and about 20 quality control personnel over the past six to seven months to buff up the equipment in South Korea.

(englishnews@chosun.com )