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GAO-25-108042 1 (June 2, 2025)

handle is hein.gao/prypnrmdns0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Comptroller General Washington, DC 20548 of the United States June 2, 2025 The Honorable Pete Hegseth Secretary of Defense U.S. Department of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, D.C. 20301-1000 Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Defense Dear Secretary Hegseth: Congratulations on your appointment. The purpose of this letter is to call your personal attention to five areas based on GAO's past work and 79 open priority recommendations, which are enclosed.1 Additionally, there are 1,280 other GAO open recommendations that we will continue to work with your staff to address. We are highlighting the following areas that warrant your timely and focused attention. Specifically: Sustaining U.S. Readiness and Competitive Advantage Over Adversaries. The Department of Defense (DOD) has not fully addressed all challenges associated with rebuilding and maintaining readiness and force structure. This includes addressing challenges in (1) better managing its costliest weapon acquisitions programs and contracts, (2) improving protection of the department's networks from cyberattacks and other malicious activity, and (3) executing defense missions. Many of these issues are on our High-Risk List. For example, related to DOD Weapon Systems Acquisition, we have made recommendations for DOD to address remaining challenges in the areas of acquisition policy and oversight, software development and cybersecurity, the defense industrial base, and innovation investments. We have also recommended that DOD define a science and technology management framework that includes emphasizing greater use of existing flexibilities to initiate and discontinue projects more quickly to respond to the rapid pace of innovation. Related to DOD Contract Management, we have called for DOD to take several actions to address challenges with service acquisitions and operational contract support. For example, we have recommended that DOD specify the data sources and methodology for forecasting budget needs for service contracts as part of budget submissions to improve decision-making and oversight. 1GAO considers a recommendation to be a priority if, when implemented, it may significantly improve government operations, for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue. GAO-25-108042 Priority Recommendations Page 1

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