$20,800,000,000
— The annual cost to the U.S. military of rust and other corrosion, according to a new Government Accountability Office report, here. As Neil Young once noted: “Rust never sleeps.” But the Pentagon’s problems go well beyond mere oxidation, and include pitting, galvanic reaction, calcium or other mineral buildup, degradation due to ultraviolet light exposure, and mold, mildew, and other organic decay. Still, $21 billion would buy a lot of Rust-Oleum.
