The Big Ones

Major procurement scandals uncovered by the Defense Department inspector general’s office since 1982:

* McDonnell Douglas C-17 cargo jet: A 1992 report alleged that Air Force officials had secretly put together and executed part of a plan to bail out the firm on losses in the program. As a result of the report, three Air Force generals were forced to retire.

* General Dynamics/McDonnell Douglas A-12 attack jet: At a time when Defense Secretary Dick Cheney was assuring Congress that the program was on a sound footing, the Navy was withholding information that the contractors were about a year behind schedule and facing massive cost overruns, a 1990 report found. Several Navy and Defense Department officials were fired.

* Spare parts: The Navy paid $1,800 for two ash trays, $426 for a hammer and $6,000 for a coffee maker. The disclosures in 1985, along with many other instances of excessive pricing of spare parts, led to sudden refunds by contractors and a series of high-profile congressional hearings.

* National Health Laboratories: By the mid-1990s, the inspector general’s office was taking aim at fraud in medical care for members of the military. A case against National Health Laboratories of San Diego resulted in a recovery of $101 million in 1992, a large portion of it related to military charges.

* National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. AOE-6 supply ship: A 1992 investigation found that the Navy had allowed Morrison Knudsen Corp., which had owned the shipyard, to wiggle out of a price guarantee on the ships. Taxpayers were saddled with tens of millions of dollars in cost overruns.