The Pentagon Estimates How Much It Will Cost To Build A 'Death Star'

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Ryan Faith, VICE News: Here's What the Pentagon's Top Cost Estimator Has to Say About the Death Star

The Pentagon's office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, occasionally referred to as the Pentagon's bean counters, helps (or tries to help) the Department of Defense keep a lid on costs by vetting or challenging the cost estimates provided elsewhere in the department. If you think the Pentagon's programs are heinously expensive, you can only imagine what they'd be without anyone double-checking the numbers.

The office, known as CAPE, is run under the leadership of Dr. Jamie Morin, a civilian whose position is considered equivalent to a four-star general, the highest peacetime military rank. Morin, who is just a bit past 40, has been overseeing the office for about a year and half. Prior to his time at CAPE, he was Comptroller of the Air Force, where he earned the nickname "Darth Vader." Which actually works out well, because he's known to be a big fan of Star Wars. Which also happens to be our good luck, since he has agreed to share some insights with VICE News on what Star Wars can tell us about buying really, really big and expensive weapons systems that have a hard time living through a two-hour movie, and whether the saga is all a parable about the need for good human resources and vendor management practices.

WNU Editor: This speculation is all moot. The White House made it very clear in 2013 that they will not be building a Death Star at any time in the near future .... White House: No To The 'Death Star' Petition. But then there is Donald Trump who is always boasting that he enjoys building things. Hmmmm .... there may be a shift in policy if a certain real estate developer becomes the next President .... after-all .... what's a few quadrillion dollars here or there. :)

Update: The bottom video is hilarious (Hat Tip Eric Palmer Blog/Twitter)