{"id":9936,"date":"2018-10-23T20:53:52","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T20:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/23\/air-force-puts-the-kibosh-on-the-1300-coffee-cup\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:19:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:19:17","slug":"air-force-puts-the-kibosh-on-the-1300-coffee-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2018\/10\/23\/air-force-puts-the-kibosh-on-the-1300-coffee-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force puts the kibosh on the $1,300 coffee cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Air Force has temporarily halted purchases of the controversial $1,280 \u201chot cup\u201d<\/a> used to warm liquids on cargo and other aircraft amid a growing controversy over their price<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Tuesday interview, Air Mobility Command spokesman Col. Chris Karns said that units that try to requisition<\/a> a new hot cup through the Air Force supply system will receive a message telling them \u201cDo not order until further notice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karns said the Air Force has also asked the Defense Logistics Agency to create a new part number for a 3-D printed replacement handle for the heaters, to make it easier for units to order them when the old handles break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force has used the hot cups \u2014 which have an internal heating element to warm up liquids such as water, coffee or soup and are specially manufactured to plug into aircraft systems \u2014 for decades, since the KC-10 Extender tanker was introduced in 1981.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The military’s need for coffee goes is well-documented all the way back to the American Revolution. (Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But their problem lay in a faulty plastic handle that easily broke when dropped. And because replacement handles weren\u2019t available, that meant Air Force units ordered entirely new hot cups. That was expensive enough in 2016, when they cost $693 apiece. But the price tag has now swelled to $1,280 apiece, drawing the ire of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Phoenix Spark innovation program at Travis Air Force Base in California earlier this year began looking for a cheaper way to deal with broken handles, and figured out a way to 3-D print replacement parts for 50 cents apiece. Travis posted a release online July 2 about the 3-D printing solution and said it \u201ccould save thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others, such as Grassley, didn\u2019t see it that way, and wondered why the Air Force was dropping nearly $1,300 on a coffee cup in the first place. Grassley said in a release Friday that Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson\u2019s answers to him on the subject left him with more questions, and that he would continue to dig into the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karns acknowledged the price of the hot cups had gotten out of hand, and that Wilson reinforced that the Air Force can\u2019t continue paying it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone recognizes that the costs are excessive,\u201d Karns said. \u201cThat\u2019s why the change came about. I don\u2019t think you can find a single person who believes what was paid was an acceptable cost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t