The U.S. Congress approved $581 billion in military spending for 2014. That number includes the Pentagon's base budget plus the Overseas Contingency Operations fund that pays for America's various wars.

Last year, the Pentagon spent $614 billion. So the military is saving money. Which makes sense. Major combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have ended. Thousands of troops are coming home.

Oh—and automatic "sequestration" budget cuts had an effect, as well.

But none of that stopped the Defense Department from blowing a lot of money on pointless junk. And frustratingly, the list of major military waste in 2014 looks a lot like the same list from 2013.