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There is a thin line between making a unit operate given the official rules that make it difficult and avoiding corruption.

In theory every article used in a unit has to be requisitioned and accounted for, from paper, radios, vehicle parts of all types, etc. In reality that is not the case, a lot of material ends up being expended on the books but is salvaged and still available for use in a location where it is not needed.

Often times the official TO&E of spares for a shop do not allow for keeping all of the vehicles up to snuff, so there are unofficial stocks of parts, both new, salvaged or traded kept around in placed an inspection will not reveal. Same thing with radios, you name it. There is an entire underground economy to keep things running, all of which the officers are aware of but which they turn a blind eye towards. This is all run by the S4 NCOs and there is a saying no supply sergeant retires poor. But keeping a motor pool operating may depend circumventing the actual requisition system and disposition system.

When the old PRC 77 radios and the associated set equipment was obsoleted out of service they were all supposed to be demilled, but an awful lot of them were not.

On the weapons ammunition side(ordnance), there is also a lot of inefficiency built into the system, though there the accounting and expending rules are much tighter. So ammunition drawn is ammunition expended, you never turn it back. It does not get off the range though, because when you turn back in the brass you had better make over 90% + of the expected scrap brass weight or shit will hit the fan.

But what happens to the scrap ammo after it turned back in? That is rounds that are messed up in stoppages with the M249? It is supposed to be de-milled but back in the 1980s it used to be quietly sold out of Fort Dix for salvage.

With all ordnance and gun parts they now have to be 100% de-milled. Yet many obsolete parts used to drift out of Anniston back in the day when they only made sure the barreled actions were demilled. Back in the mid 1990s it was not unheard of for some chaps at Anniston to show up at the national matches with a trunk load of M14 trigger groups or stocks or what have you. Not anymore but when material is being thrown out at reserve stations (besides ordnance), far after it is obsolete there are times when useful material that technically should be sent to Anniston (or some other responsible depot) for destruction ends up in the trash, to be salvaged by wise chaps who know of its value elsewhere.