European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 18, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday. July 1fl. 1997 the stars and stripes Page 3 spare parts shortage plagues military Cann Baiz no of aircraft is major headache by Richard  Washington not despite the vast Mili tary spending by the Reagan administration Over the last six years the armed forces today arc so shun of spare pans thai they must cannibalize some air planes to keep others flying. While the practice is not new it has More serious consequences than in the past because it disables multimillion Dollar pieces of military hardware like the by bomber instead of smaller less advanced Itcan Slick jeeps. The practice officials say erodes military Readi Ness As aircraft Are taken out of service some Only for hours but others for Days or weeks. In addition critics say the practice of cannibalizing is a waste of Energy time and Money. At Dyess fab near Abilene Texas three new by bombers which Cost $200 million each stand Idle because parts have been removed from them and installed in several of the 26 other by bombers based there. Air Force officers Here say the practice is common throughout the bomber firmer and transport wings of their service. On any air Force base on any Given Day said one officer the chances Are that you re going to have an air plane  similarly Navy officers say that most aircraft carriers at sea plus air units like anti submarine squad Rons thai Are bated ashore regularly have aircraft that have been cannibalized for parts. It s a maintenance management tool one officer said. In pushing Congress to provide More Money for the military services Over the last six years Reagan administration officials indicated the practice of cannibalizing would be curtailed or eliminated As a pan of the administration s program to improve  readiness. In recent years the situation has improved somewhat according to military officers. Iii in its military buildup the administration has pm phase cd the Purchase of new arms such As the my nuclear missile and ships for the Navy Over the stockpiling of spare parts. Consequently the officers is pct cannibalizing to increase As tighter military budget s slow the Purcha so of spare pans since 1982. When the administration s military buildup began to take hold spending on new weapons has soared 52.3 percent to $85 billion a year. But the operations and maintenance budget which pays for spare parts has gone up Only 18.5 percent to j81.6 billion annually. Many members of Congress have agreed with the administration s emphasis on High Cost a Capone be cause they bring More jobs to their districts and Home Stales. Components of the by bomber for instance have been made in More than 40 states. Officers say cannibalizing is usually considered As a last resort but it is also a costly one because of the time and personnel required to remove a part from one air plane put it in another and then replace it later the need to cannibalize aircraft appears to reflect what critics have contended has been an imbalance in the administration s program to improve the armed forces. In addition to slighting spare pans the Pentagon has been criticized As being slow to build stockpiles of ammunition and other wartime sup plies to improve combat medical care and to pro vide enough sea and air transportation to support forces abroad. I can Sec that in some circumstances it would have to be done said rep. Charles e. Bennett d Fla. Who is a member of the House armed sen ices com Miniee. It s done in combat All the time. But in peacetime it represents a lot of Walc of  what we Ough to do is see to in thai we have enough spare pans and use them Bennett said. The use of camb Alicd equipment to repair other pieces of machinery became necessary shortly after inc Vietnam War when the military Supply pipeline began Lodrup. The air Force and Navy officers say maintenance people at bases or aboard carriers cannibalize less today than five years ago because spare pans or dered in lqa3and 19s4. When military budgets Here rising Are now becoming available. But they also note thai the practice is Likely to increase in several years because growth in inc Mili tary Budell has stopped. In most cases in takes 36 to