The United States Air Force has spent $326,785 replacing broken coffee cups since 2016. That is not a typo.
In a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Wednesday, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson admitted it “is simply irresponsible” to continue spending $1,280 whenever one of the metal mugs breaks.
The Air Force’s coffee cup crisis apparently stems from the handles on the “special mugs, which can reheat liquids aboard air refueling tankers in flight,” according to USA Today.
“Unfortunately, when dropped, the handle breaks easily, leading to the expenditure of several thousand dollars to replace the cups as replacement parts are not available,” Air Force Tech. Sgt. James Hodgman told Fox News after reports surfaced in September that one squadron spent over $50,000 on coffee cups “over the past three years.”
If you have somehow read this far without facepalming, Wilson also revealed to Grassley that the Air Force “recently demonstrated the capability to 3-D print replacement handles for this item at a cost of about fifty cents each.”
So to recap, $326,785 has been spent on $1,280 coffee cups that could be fixed for 50 cents apiece.
Grassley responded to Wilson in a statement on Friday.
“While I appreciate that the Air Force is working to find innovations that would help save taxpayer dollars, it remains unclear why it cannot find a cheaper alternative to a $1,280 cup.”