DHS "Loses" 600 Computers and 13 Vehicles

What in the world is going on at the Department of Homeland Security?

Last week Potluck's One Ticked Chick wrote about the DHS "losing" hundreds of firearms. Now we learn from the Washington Examiner that the inability to keep up with their ... stuff... isn't just limited to firearms:

Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) lost 1,975 items worth $7.6 million, including nearly 600 computers, dozens of Blackberry phones and 300 pieces of expensive night vision goggles, sights and cameras, each valued at between $1,400 and $18,700. One lost "infrared optical device" was valued at $232,000. The agency lost track of 72 personal radiation detectors valued at about $1,300 each.

Among CBP's roughly 550 "lost" computer items was a Storage Area Network system that had been purchased for $871,236. A similar system, worth only $528,359, was also listed as "lost."

How exactly does one "lose" 600 computers? Dozens of Blackberries? I'm just not sure how that even happens.

From the Independence Institute who obtained the report:

"When I look at these inventories with my own eyes, page after page, I still think there's a good chance that we're dealing with some significant security breaches, and possibly insider theft," said Jon Caldara, President of the Independence Institute which obtained the documents. Caldara mailed a letter to DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner asking for an investigation into the losses at both component agencies. "You really have to look at these inventories, and go through them page after page to get an idea of how obnoxious these losses are."

The report is titled "Report of Lost, Stolen, Damaged, or Destroyed Property." So I guess some of this stuff could just be damaged or beyond repair, however the report states that thirteen vehicles were "lost" and not located.

How does this happen?

It just fills you with confidence in the government, doesn't it?