National Defence posted a loss of more than $1.5 million in combat clothing in the last fiscal year, raising questions over the security risks of lost military uniforms.

“Things don’t disappear, and militaries are pretty good in their systems of tracking … it’s hard to believe something that big could be a random accident,” said Kamran Bokhari, a specialist in countering violent extremism at the University of Ottawa.

The numbers come from the Public Accounts of Canada, and were tabled in the House of Commons earlier this week. Consisting of more than 1,000 pages of documents, the accounts contain everything from the consolidated financial statements of every federal government department to a detailed account of lost and stolen items. Other details in the document include a $129,932 sewer backup at the Canadian Space Agency.

Last year, the section of the accounts looking at lost and stolen items gained widespread attention after it was reported that 6,193 pieces of combat clothing, worth about $575,000, were lost, and another 268 pieces worth about $23,000 were stolen.

This year, the number of lost combat clothing items tripled to 22,284, worth about $1.53 million, and the number of stolen items increased slightly to 284, worth around $28,000. About $1.499 million worth of lost combat clothing and $27,000 worth of stolen combat clothing were not expected to be recovered, according to the documents.

“The thing is there is that potential threat. I’m not saying it’s an actual threat, but it’s a potential threat,” he said.

Bokhari said stolen or lost uniforms were a problem in the war in Afghanistan, especially for U.S forces. Shipments would get intercepted and burned by Taliban forces.

“Whether there’s a security risk or not depends entirely on what was lost. If we lost 10,000 ID cards, then I would be more concerned, but . . . much of the military gear, you can essentially buy,” he said.

A spokesperson for National Defence said the large increase in lost items is explained by the department switching inventory systems and correcting past errors. Usually, the department averages about $600,000 worth of lost clothing.

“Outside of this adjustment, combat clothing is written-off within its normal trend,” the spokesperson said in an e-mail. The spokesperson also added the armed forces “have instituted force protection measures to ensure the safety . . . of our men and women in uniform.”

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Bokhari said he thinks the large number of written-off uniforms should be looked at closer.

“I think it does deserve (attention). It’s not like it’s a few dozen uniforms,” he said.

Leuprecht said it might seem like a large number, but said National Defence is also a very large department.

“Let’s remember this is a department that employs 72,000 people in uniform, and spends some $20 billion a year. In that large of an operation, there’s going to be some stuff that gets … misplaced or lost,” he said.