It seems like common sense:
if you're going to hire escorts and gamble, don't put it on your work-issued credit card. Particularly if you work for the Pentagon, maybe? But no:
A Pentagon official briefed on some of the findings stressed that the federal government did not necessarily pay the charges; holders of the cards pay their own bills and then submit receipts to be reimbursed for expenses related to their government business.
"Did not necessarily"—something to look into, anyway. And, uh, if you're paying the bills and then being reimbursed for relevant work stuff, why complicate your bookkeeping by putting non-work expenses on that card?
The official said that the employees may have used the government cards for gambling and escort services in order to shield the charges from spouses.
Ohhh. I see. Seriously, at what point do you think "I'm going to hide that I'm gambling and hiring escorts from my wife by letting my employer know about it"? Get fired for gambling and escorts on your Pentagon credit card and I'm betting that the getting fired part will be one more awkward thing to explain to your spouse.
Because the review was an audit of the credit card system and not an investigation of particular individuals, the official said the likely result will be that the agencies and military branches most affected will be compelled to remind employees that the practice violates policy — and possibly the law.
Oh, COMPELLED. If they're gonna be compelled to do something, it must be pretty drastic. What's that you say? No, they're just going to have to remind Pentagon employees not to put escorts and poker chips on their Pentagon credit cards? Huh. Maybe it's also time to upgrade from an audit to an investigation?
One thing's for sure here, though, because one thing is always for sure when you're talking about American politics and the military: The Pentagon definitely needs more money from Congress ASAP.