Imagine a fighter jet grounded in a combat zone, not by enemy fire, but by red tape demanding a corporate repairman sail out to a naval ship.
This absurdity lies at the heart of a frustrating decision by Congress to strip right-to-repair provisions from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), unveiled on December 7, 2025, ignoring widespread support for reforms that would empower our military to fix its own gear, the Daily Caller reported.
The issue of military right to repair has united voices across the political divide, from service members to small businesses, all fed up with a system that leaves our troops waiting for manufacturer-approved technicians.
Back in July 2025, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana teamed up to champion legislation that would let the military handle repairs without corporate middlemen.
Their effort gained traction with heavy hitters like the Trump White House, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Army, and the Secretary of the Navy, all backing this common-sense change.
Even entrepreneurs and taxpayers saw it as a win, a rare policy that cuts costs and boosts readiness without partisan baggage.
Yet, not everyone was on board—defense contractors and certain bureaucrats dug in, clinging to a setup that pads their profits at the expense of our warfighters.
By November 2025, lobbyists for these contractors swayed key figures like Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, and Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, a ranking member, to gut the reform.
It’s a classic case of corporate interests trumping the needs of those who serve, a move that reeks of boardroom priorities over battlefield realities.
When the final NDAA emerged on December 7, 2025, after contentious House and Senate negotiations, the right-to-repair measures—once included as Section 836 in the Senate draft and Section 863 in the House draft—were nowhere to be found.
Even a concerning House provision, Section 1832, which hinted at a subscription-style repair model with contractors, got the axe, leaving no trace of repair reform in the bill.
“For decades, the Pentagon has relied on a broken acquisition system that is routinely defended by career bureaucrats and corporate interests,” Warren and Sheehy declared in a joint statement in July 2025.
Let’s unpack that quote—while bureaucrats and corporations cozy up to the status quo, our troops are left stranded, unable to fix drones or jets without jumping through costly hoops.
“Military right to repair reforms are supported by the Trump White House, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and our brave service members. The only ones against this common-sense reform are those taking advantage of a broken status quo at the expense of our warfighters and taxpayers,” Warren and Sheehy added in their statement.
That bipartisan frustration nails it—when everyone from the Oval Office to the enlisted ranks agrees on a fix, why let a handful of profit-driven players call the shots? Congress had a chance to stand with our military over corporate cronies, but instead, they’ve left our heroes holding the bag—or rather, the broken gear.
