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ProPublica is examining U.S. military budgeting, spending and contracting, and we\u2019re asking for your help.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve spent years talking to people who\u2019ve worked in the defense industry<\/a>, the Pentagon<\/a> and the armed services<\/a>, so we know that these topics are critically important. <\/strong>Every day, Pentagon contracting officers, defense industry workers, congressional staffers and others make decisions that affect the most expensive military in the world, with great consequences for the safety of soldiers and for the country at large. Yet it\u2019s well documented that, even when those involved have good intentions, <\/strong>many Pentagon projects end up mired in delays<\/a>, cost overruns<\/a> and performance issues<\/a>. The causes of these problems are often opaque to the taxpayers who foot the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no way that you can follow the money, because it keeps getting twisted like a Rubik\u2019s Cube,\u201d said John Ferrari, a retired Army major general and now a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. \u201cNone of it is set up to be transparent.\u201d<\/p>\n