OpEx vs CapEx
There is a difference between OpEx (Operating Expenditure) for people's pay, and CapEx (Capital Expenditure), which is buying things. Different budgets, and people shifting expenses to someone else's budget and so being raised fo 'saving' money. It happens in commercial organisations so I expect it happens in government and military.
Plus, of course there is all the bad publicity they would get when the Secret data and pr0n on the recycled and 'wiped' old IT gets onto WikiLeaks. (Not that I'm accusing the USA military of ever watching pornography on official issue IT equipment, or of not being at all unprofessional when it comes to sanitising equipment.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
