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The masters of deception have just stymied the DOGE team and are behind closed doors laughing at DOGE’s feeble attempt to dig into the Pentagon's most sacred financial records.

Elon Musk and his DOGE team appear to have discovered only a meager 80 million tax dollars of waste during their initial review of the Pentagon's books! Considering the Pentagon’s annual budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, approximately $849.8 billion, something doesn’t add up!

No doubt the fat-cat binge spenders are slapping each other on the back, and ‘Hi 5’s’ are flooding the hallways of the most secure building in the world because 80 million dollars of low-hanging fruit was quickly gobbled up by the DOGE team while the Pentagon proudly brags they have very little waste!

It's important to note that while the DoD's budget is substantial, it represents a portion of the total federal discretionary budget. In FY 2023, over $1.1 trillion—62% of the federal discretionary budget—was allocated to war and militarism, including $922 billion for the military and additional funding for homeland security, federal law enforcement, and veterans’ benefits. So the Pentagon's reach is far beyond the 849.8 million dollars!

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk and an independent oversight team, has released its initial findings on wasteful expenditures within the Department of Defense (DOD). To the Pentagon's surprise, the initial audit revealed only $80 million in potentially unnecessary spending—a figure far lower than many had anticipated.

In other words, the Pentagon threw the Doge a bone to keep him busy!

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell addressed the findings, emphasizing the DOD is committed to accountability and streamlining expenditures. "At the DOD, we've been working hand in hand with the DOGE team," Parnell stated. "And as the secretary said, we welcome that process because it will make us more lethal. And that means that our warfighters on the battlefield will be more successful."

Looks like spokesman Sean Parnell defused DOGE’s sniff test and then reassured the world: ”There is nothing to see here."

Among the notable expenses uncovered by the DOGE Team were:

• $1.9 million allocated for holistic diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training programs.
• $6 million awarded to the University of Montana for initiatives aimed at "strengthening American democracy by bridging divides."
• $3.5 million spent by the Defense Human Resources Activity to support DEI-focused groups.
• $1.6 million granted to the University of Florida for research on "the social and institutional determinants of vulnerability and resilience to climate hazards in the African Sahel."

While the uncovered $80 million represents a fraction of the Pentagon’s massive budget, these expenditures are being scrutinized for their alignment with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s key priorities.

On his first day in office, Hegseth outlined his vision for the DOD, emphasizing three core objectives:

• Reviving the warrior ethos and restoring trust in the military
• Matching capabilities to threats.
• Reinforcing deterrence through homeland defense

Parnell acknowledged these findings are only the beginning. "This stuff is not a core function of our military. This is not what we do. This is a distraction from our core mission," he asserted. "Today's actions are just the start; [there is] more to come this week. Once again, we are collaborating closely with DOGE. So, stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we trim the fat, preserve the muscle, [and] make the DOD more mission-capable and more lethal."

However, to the Pentagon’s shock and glee, the relatively small amount of wasteful spending identified so far. The beltway insiders secretly are whispering that there may be a few more bones thrown at the Doge kennel, but the real meaty cash parts of the Pentagon are secretly hidden away from the prying eyes of Mr. Musk and his band of merry men!

While some critics argue even $80 million in misallocated funds is too much, others suggest that, given the Pentagon’s nearly $850 billion budget, the findings might indicate a relatively well-managed financial system. However, the joke during happy hour is whether the Pentagon is well managed or just a sleuth at hiding money; we may never know.

Final Word: You can fool some of the people some of the time, but the Pentagon can fool all of the people all of the time; they wrote the book!