Defense Programs

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized information on the defense budget and Department of Defense (DOD) infrastructure, inventory management, financial management, and acquisition programs.

GAO noted that: (1) it has reported on problems and made numerous suggestions for improvements and efficiencies in DOD's infrastructure, inventory management, financial management, and acquisition programs for many years; (2) while DOD has made progress in improving these programs, much remains to be done to fully implement the corrective actions needed to remove the high-risk designation; (3) at the core of the high-risk problem areas is a lack of fundamental accountability; (4) until DOD incorporates accountability across its organization and programs and takes action to improve basic management practices and processes, it will continue to run inefficient operations that ultimately divert funds from more pressing needs; and (5) furthermore, DOD will continue to lack the information needed to manage its vast resources of over $1 trillion in assets, 3 million military and civilian personnel, and a budget of over $250 billion.