Ghost soldiers

Severe occurrences of ghost soldiers have been cited in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries with dramatic military, humanitarian, and historic consequences.

In a 2008 transnational analysis, John Hudson and Philip Jones found a negative correlation between a country's level of corruption and the cost per soldiers.

[4] During the First and Second Chechen Wars in the Caucasus and the era in between them, there were reports of Russian soldiers being listed on the army's payroll, who either did not exist or had deserted while their commanding officers pocketed their pay.

[2] Efforts to launch anti-corruption investigations by the Inspector General of Government on the UPDF have not been permitted "because sizable amounts obtained from corrupt military procurement and the phenomenon of 'ghost' soldiers were available for building political support for President Yoweri Museveni".

[2] The presence of ghost soldiers and battalions has been cited as a key reason for the chain of rapid and disastrous collapses and defeats of the Iraqi Army by ISIL in the early 2013-14 offensives.

[8] After investigation, Abadi publicly announced in November 2014 the discovery of 50,000 ghost soldiers,[9][1] for an estimated annual loss of $360 million USD assuming an average monthly salary of $600.

The Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command which was supposed to lead those efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan by restoring infrastructure such as electricity and water systems.

Internal Army memos show the operation lacked soldiers, training, military transportation, personal protections and  equipment.

We did not go there to try to bring prosperity to every corner of AfghanistanIn 2016, at least 40% of names on the Afghan National Army roster in Helmand Province were nonexistent.

[11] Officers failed to report up their troops' desertions, deaths, or departures, in order to hide failures and pocket the ghost soldiers' allowances.

[11] Meanwhile, actual troops on isolated rural outposts and the frontlines faced low morale and harsh living conditions, with poor nutrition such as simple rice and tea.

[15] Until shortly before the August 15, 2021 takeover by the Taliban, the Afghan Armed Forces were, on paper, 300,000 strong and built over the previous two decades by U.S. and NATO efforts.

The rapid fall of Mosul , the 2nd largest Iraqi city to 800-1500 ISIL militants, is attributed in large part to the Iraqi military being far less manned than announced. The city would be largely destroyed and recaptured in the Battle of Mosul , where 10-20,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians were killed.
Afghans fleeing aboard a U.S. Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during the fall of Kabul , 15 August 2021. The rapid collapse of government forces in the face of the Taliban was partly attributed to rampant ghost soldiers, low military morale, and other corruption-related factors. The collapse resulted in a mass exodus of Afghans .