Why the US military wants troops to be able to fix their own stuff
Service members are allowed to fix a lot of military equipment on their own, with many troops specializing in mechanical repair for guns, aircraft, and even weapons optics.
But some equipment contracts come with strict provisions that stipulate that repairs can only be performed by contractors and limit the technical data and intellectual property that can be shared with troops for repairs. Some lawmakers say these stipulations are problematic for troops in need of urgent repairs and take advantage of DoD funding.
"When you're deployed in the field and you have a mission to complete and you have people's lives to protect, it just doesn't make sense to be constrained by some commercial agreement that you have with the manufacturers," said Greg Williams, the director of the Center for Defense Information at the Project on Government Oversight.
Now, a bipartisan push from senators Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Tim Sheehy, a Montana Republican, is calling for a change amid new movement on the National Defense Authorization Act.
These lawmakers highlight instances of the Navy ferrying contractors to sea for simple fixes, Marines in Japan forced to send engines to the US for repair instead of repair on site, and one contractor that "charged $900 a page for upgrades to its maintenance manuals for an Air Force aircraft."
These moves mark the latest in a string of actions to overcome right-to-repair barriers.
A 2023 California bill, for example, spurred Apple to endorse the ability for consumers to repair and modify their own devices. Medical device manufacturers came under fire during the pandemic for troublesome restrictions on ventilator repair. And US farmers have criticized farming equipment manufacturer John Deere, now embroiled in a federal lawsuit, for what they see as prohibitively restrictive controls on repair part access and burdensome diagnostics tech tools.
President Donald Trump's tariffs could strengthen the right-to-repair movement throughout the nation, as some consumers grow increasingly reluctant to toss out high-priced goods that are damaged and seek to repair them instead.
Top Pentagon brass have pushed for comprehensive changes to repair policies since January. Amid major transformation initiatives within the Army, Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each called for the inclusion of right-to-repair provisions in all new and existing Army contracts.
Navy Secretary John Phelan told lawmakers in June that when visiting the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, he discovered six of the ship's eight ovens, essential tools required to feed thousands of sailors, were out for repair, adding that crewmembers aboard the vessel were legally prohibited from performing repairs.
"It is crazy. We should be able to fix this," he said.
Such high-level advocacy comes as other military leaders have observed that future warfare will require more innovative fixes from troops on the front lines.
"The force of the future will fix on the spot," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said during a congressional hearing on military spending last month. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars saw robust base build-ups for troops, where equipment could be sent for intensive maintenance needs with the near-assurance of US air supremacy. Such guarantees are almost certainly a thing of the past, experts say, at least for high-end fights.
Right now, "it all comes down to the particulars of the contract involved," Williams explained. "Different contractors have arrived at different arrangements with the Defense Department about when they have a chokehold on repairs and when they don't."
"And so it needs to be negotiated on a contract-by-contract basis," he said.
Williams pointed to a near-miss naval incident and subsequent relief of USS John McCain's captain as a clear example of what can happen when repairs go unaddressed. The destroyer nearly collided with another vessel during a refueling operation when the ship's lingering steering problems arose unexpectedly.
It's unclear whether the right to repair would have prevented that outcome, but the argument for it is that it eliminates the unnecessary tension that exists today.
As things stand now, Williams said, "it comes down to a push and pull between the manufacturer and the consumer."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Statehouses are the public's houses, but the fight for potty parity continues
For female state lawmakers in Kentucky, choosing when to go to the bathroom has long required careful calculation. There are only two bathroom stalls for women on the third floor of the Kentucky Statehouse, where the House and Senate chambers are located. Female legislators — 41 of the 138 member Legislature — needing a reprieve during a lengthy floor session have to weigh the risk of missing an important debate or a critical vote. None of their male colleagues face the same dilemma because, of course, multiple men's bathrooms are available. The Legislature even installed speakers in the men's bathrooms to broadcast the chamber's events so they don't miss anything important. In a pinch, House Speaker David Osborne allows women to use his single stall bathroom in the chamber, but even that attracts long lines. 'You get the message very quickly: This place was not really built for us,' said Rep. Lisa Willner, a Democrat from Louisville, reflecting on the photos of former lawmakers, predominantly male, that line her office. The issue of potty parity may seem comic, but its impact runs deeper than uncomfortably full bladders, said Kathryn Anthony, professor emerita at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's School of Architecture. 'It's absolutely critical because the built environment reflects our culture and reflects our population,' said Anthony, who has testified on the issue before Congress. 'And if you have an environment that is designed for half the population but forgets about the other half, you have a group of disenfranchised people and disadvantaged people.' There is hope for Kentucky's lady legislators seeking more chamber potties. A $300 million renovation of the 155-year-old Capitol — scheduled for completion by 2028 at the soonest — aims to create more women's restrooms and end Kentucky's bathroom disparity. The Bluegrass State is among the last to add bathrooms to aging statehouses that were built when female legislators were not a consideration. In the $392 million renovation of the Georgia Capitol, expanding bathroom access is a priority, said Gerald Pilgrim, chief of staff with the state's Building Authority. It will introduce female facilities on the building's fourth floor, where the public galleries are located, and will add more bathrooms throughout to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 'We know there are not enough bathrooms,' he said. Evolving equality in statehouses There's no federal law requiring bathroom access for all genders in public buildings. Some 20 states have statutes prescribing how many washrooms buildings must have, but historical buildings — such as statehouses — are often exempt. Over the years, as the makeup of state governments has changed, statehouses have added bathrooms for women. When Tennessee's Capitol opened in 1859, the architects designed only one restroom — for men only — situated on the ground floor. According to legislative librarian Eddie Weeks, the toilet could only be 'flushed' when enough rainwater had been collected. 'The room was famously described as 'a stench in the nostrils of decency,'' Weeks said in an email. Today, Tennessee's Capitol has a female bathroom located between the Senate and House chambers. It's in a cramped hall under a staircase, sparking comparisons to Harry Potter's cupboard bedroom, and it contains just two stalls. The men also just have one bathroom on the same floor, but it has three urinals and three stalls. Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn, who was elected in 2023, said she wasn't aware of the disparity in facilities until contacted by The Associated Press. 'I've apparently accepted that waiting in line for a two-stall closet under the Senate balcony is just part of the job,' she said. 'I had to fight to get elected to a legislature that ranks dead last for female representation, and now I get to squeeze into a space that feels like it was designed by someone who thought women didn't exist — or at least didn't have bladders,' Behn said. The Maryland State House is the country's oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, operational since the late 1700s. Archivists say its bathroom facilities were initially intended for white men only because desegregation laws were still in place. Women's restrooms were added after 1922, but they were insufficient for the rising number of women elected to office. Delegate Pauline Menes complained about the issue so much that House Speaker Thomas Lowe appointed her chair of the 'Ladies Rest Room Committee,' and presented her with a fur covered toilet seat in front of her colleagues in 1972. She launched the women's caucus the following year. It wasn't until 2019 that House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, the first woman to secure the top position, ordered the addition of more women's restrooms along with a gender-neutral bathroom and a nursing room for mothers in the Lowe House Office Building. 'No longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic' As more women were elected nationwide in the 20th century, some found creative workarounds. In Nebraska's unicameral Legislature, female senators didn't get a dedicated restroom until 1988, when a facility was added in the chamber's cloakroom. There had previously been a single restroom in the senate lounge, and Sen. Shirley Marsh, who served for some 16 years, would ask a State Patrol trooper to guard the door while she used it, said Brandon Metzler, the Legislature's clerk. In Colorado, female House representatives and staff were so happy to have a restroom added in the chamber's hallway in 1987 that they hung a plaque to honor then-state Rep. Arie Taylor, the state's first Black woman legislator, who pushed for the facility. The plaque, now inside a women's bathroom in the Capitol, reads: 'Once here beneath the golden dome if nature made a call, we'd have to scramble from our seats and dash across the hall ... Then Arie took the mike once more to push an urge organic, no longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic.' The poem concludes: 'In mem'ry of you, Arie (may you never be forgot), from this day forth we'll call that room the Taylor Chamber Pot.' New Mexico Democratic state Rep. Liz Thomson recalled missing votes in the House during her first year in office in 2013 because there was no women's restroom in the chamber's lounge. An increase in female lawmakers — New Mexico elected the largest female majority Legislature in U.S. history in 2024 — helped raise awareness of the issue, she said. 'It seems kind of like fluff, but it really isn't,' she said. 'To me, it really talks about respect and inclusion.' The issue is not exclusive to statehouses. In the U.S. Capitol, the first restroom for congresswomen didn't open until 1962. While a facility was made available for female U.S. Senators in 1992, it wasn't until 2011 that the House chamber opened a bathroom to women lawmakers. Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman elected to a congressional seat. That happened in 1916. Willner insists that knowing the Kentucky Capitol wasn't designed for women gives her extra impetus to stand up and make herself heard. 'This building was not designed for me,' she said. 'Well, guess what? I'm here.' ___ Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed. ____ The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit against Chicago ‘sanctuary' laws
CHICAGO — A judge in Illinois dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit Friday that sought to disrupt limits Chicago imposes on cooperation between federal immigration agents and local police. The lawsuit, filed in February, alleged that so-called sanctuary laws in the nation's third-largest city 'thwart' federal efforts to enforce immigration laws. It argued that local laws run counter to federal laws by restricting 'local governments from sharing immigration information with federal law enforcement officials' and preventing immigration agents from identifying 'individuals who may be subject to removal.' Judge Lindsay Jenkins of the Northern District of Illinois granted the defendants' motion for dismissal. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said that he was pleased with the decision and that the city is safer when police focus on the needs of Chicagoans. 'This ruling affirms what we have long known: that Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance is lawful and supports public safety. The City cannot be compelled to cooperate with the Trump Administration's reckless and inhumane immigration agenda,' he said in a statement. Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, welcomed the ruling, saying in a social media post, 'Illinois just beat the Trump Administration in federal court.' The Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security and did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The administration has filed a series of lawsuits targeting state or city policies it sees as interfering with immigration enforcement, including those in Los Angeles, New York City, Denver and Rochester, N.Y. It sued four New Jersey cities in May. Heavily Democratic Chicago has been a sanctuary city for decades and has beefed up its laws several times, including during President Trump's first term in 2017. That same year, then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, signed more statewide sanctuary protections into law, putting him at odds with his party. There is no official definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities. The terms generally describe limits on local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but sometimes seeks state and local help.


Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Americans ‘deserve' to know what happened in the Trump-Russia 'hoax,' says Tom Cotton
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., discusses allegations against the Obama administration relating to the Trump-Russia 'hoax' on 'Hannity.'