7,000-mile screwdriver
n.— «Senior military officers referred to it as “the 7,000-mile screwdriver.” That was their way of describing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s penchant for micromanaging aspects of the Iraq War that interested him.» —“Iraq claims its most senior casualty” by David Ignatius Daily Star (Lebanon) Nov. Iraq claims its most senior casualty10, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
When there’s no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO — “you’re on your own” — or CORN, for “Clean Out your Refrigerator...
A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child’s letter to the Tooth Fairy, tucked into a book decades ago. What stories are left untold by these forgotten...
PACAF (Pacific Air Command) uses this phrase frequently. Their headquarters is in Hawaii, but the bases are all over the eastern pacific rim. I first heard it used in the mid 80s.