GAO finds DOD has not met statutory reviews of defense agencies
The Department of Defense must formalize guidance and report on efficiency of its 27 agencies and field activities, effective immediately.
The Government Accountability Office reports that the Department of Defense has failed to satisfy legal requirements to review and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of its 27 defense agencies and field activities (DAFAs). Since 2018, DOD has completed reviews of only four DAFAs between April 2023 and September 2024, and none of the resulting reports were submitted to Congress as mandated.
A May 2026 memorandum issued by DOD outlines responsibilities and deadlines for future DAFA reviews, but the GAO notes that the department still lacks formalized guidance, such as an instruction, and that the memorandum's standard efficiency and effectiveness measures are not detailed or defined in formal guidance.
The GAO identified overlapping training programs in two areas: leader development programs at the Defense Human Resources Agency (renamed the Personnel Readiness Management Agency in June 2026), the Defense Logistics Agency, and Washington Headquarters Services; and sexual assault prevention and response training developed by the services. DOD has not evaluated whether these overlaps diminish efficiency or effectiveness.
GAO issued four recommendations: (1) the Secretary of Defense should require the Director of Administration and Management to develop formalized guidance for DAFA reviews in a DOD instruction; (2) that guidance should contain clearly defined efficiency and effectiveness measures; (3) the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness should assess DHRA's leader development program against DLA and WHS programs; and (4) P&R should assess sexual assault training curricula for overlap. DOD has not submitted written comments on the report.
The findings stem from a House report attached to the FY 2024 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, which directed GAO to evaluate DOD's compliance with the statutory four-year review cycle. Without formal guidance and congressional reporting, lawmakers lack the data needed to assess resource allocation and potential consolidation of overlapping DAFAs.
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