An Agency That Carries Clout with the Pentagon

Can anybody push around the United States military? According to a defense logistics expert, one federal agency can: the Agriculture Department.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Gus Pagonis, who oversaw the drawdown of forces in the middle east after the Gulf War in the 1990s, says that today's forces in Kuwait are no doubt spending a lot of time cleaning up equipment used in Iraq to make sure no unwanted pests make their way back into the United States with the 4 million pieces of equipment coming home from the country.

"The USDA is very, very tough," Pagonis told National Journal.