Topic: Defense

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Weapon Systems Acquisition: Beyond Business as Usual—Using Leading Practices to Curb Waste and Save Billions

What GAO Found In weapon systems acquisition, waste is not merely about individual overpriced parts; it is the systemic loss of billions of dollars and decades of time. Since 1990, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) costliest weapon programs have wasted billions while often failing to deliver a usable capability to the field. For example, the Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation program—intended to provide augmented-reality headgear for soldiers for close combat—has yet to deliver operational capability after three different acquisition efforts over the last 8 years. Though the program produced nearly 10,000 units of the first two versions, they do not meet soldiers’ needs and will go into..

ML Maria Lopez

Jun 9 · 1 min

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Spectrum Management: DOD and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Should Improve External Collaboration

What GAO Found The electromagnetic spectrum is a critical resource for many uses including national defense and commercial wireless services. Since more than one user operating on the same frequency can disrupt transmissions, the Department of Defense (DOD) must coordinate its spectrum use. It does so with other federal agencies and nonfederal entities, such as private sector companies and other organizations. This coordination occurs through a National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) committee. In doing so, DOD generally follows leading collaboration practices. For instance, DOD policy and practices provide for defined roles, established processes, and regular comm.

ML Maria Lopez

Jun 5 · 1 min

FEDE U.S. Government Accountability Office · Audits audits

Defense Health Care: Actions Needed to Assess Civilian Partnerships’ Contributions to Readiness

What GAO Found The Department of Defense’s (DOD) decisions to partner with civilian medical facilities to train military medical personnel for the battlefield are influenced by various factors that can support or hinder the use of partnerships, according to officials. One type of partnership that DOD can establish through an external resource sharing agreement allows active-duty providers to provide medical care to beneficiaries in civilian medical facilities within DOD’s network. Using these partnerships can reduce costs by avoiding certain professional fees and by keeping patient care within the network. However, DOD has not fully explored the benefits of increasing the use of these partn.

ML Maria Lopez

Jun 4 · 1 min