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Open Recommendations

Navy Ship Modernization: Poor Cruiser Outcomes Demonstrate Need for Better Planning and Quality Oversight in Future Efforts
GAO-25-106749
Dec 17, 2024
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that Commander, NAVSEA updates policy requiring NAVSEA 21 to consider requiring that future large-scale modernization and maintenance efforts implement planning and oversight tools used in acquisition programs. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should codify the cruiser modernization lesson learned that the ownership of vessels should not be transferred from the fleet to NAVSEA for major modernization efforts. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should direct the Chief of Naval Operations and Commander, NAVSEA to assess root causes of cruiser modernization growth work, develop root cause mitigation strategies, codify the strategies in policy, and apply them to other surface ship maintenance and modernization efforts. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should direct Commander, NAVSEA to re-assess its approach to overall quality assurance, including restrictions on the use of critical quality assurance tools, completion of CPARS evaluations, and the lack of an independent organization to oversee quality at RMCs, to ensure contractors are held accountable for quality. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should direct Commander, NAVSEA and the Chief of Naval Operations to assign specific responsibility and accountability for implementing, in a timely manner, the corrective actions identified in the 2024 NAVSEA report about modernization on surface ships. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Chief of Naval Operations documents a comprehensive assessment on operational implications of its plan to divest the three modernized cruisers in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

National Nuclear Security Administration: Assessments of Nuclear Weapon Acquisitions
GAO-25-106048
Dec 17, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Nuclear Security Administration The NNSA Administrator should ensure that the Office of Defense Programs documents, in a formal and comprehensive manner, the process that its nuclear weapon acquisition programs must follow to identify which of their technologies are critical technologies. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

DOD Acquisition Reform: Military Departments Should Take Steps to Facilitate Speed and Innovation
GAO-25-107003
Dec 12, 2024
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should revise its acquisition policies and relevant guidance to reflect leading practices that facilitate speed and innovation, using continuous iterative cycles that ensure the design meets user needs, the development of a minimum viable product, and the optimization of processes to produce further iterations. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should revise its acquisition policies and relevant guidance to reflect leading practices that facilitate speed and innovation, using continuous iterative cycles that ensure the design meets user needs, the development of a minimum viable product, and the optimization of processes to produce further iterations. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should revise its acquisition policies and relevant guidance to reflect leading practices that facilitate speed and innovation, using continuous iterative cycles that ensure the design meets user needs, the development of a minimum viable product, and the optimization of processes to produce further iterations. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should designate one or more new cyber-physical capabilities as pilot programs that provide lessons learned on using leading practices to facilitate speed and innovation for programs on each acquisition pathway directly related to weapon systems. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should designate one or more new cyber-physical capabilities as pilot programs that provide lessons learned on using leading practices to facilitate speed and innovation for programs on each acquisition pathway directly related to weapon systems. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should designate one or more new cyber-physical capabilities as pilot programs that provide lessons learned on using leading practices to facilitate speed and innovation for programs on each acquisition pathway directly related to weapon systems. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Amphibious Warfare Fleet: Navy Needs to Complete Key Efforts to Better Ensure Ships Are Available for Marines
GAO-25-106728
Dec 03, 2024
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy, in coordination with the Commandant of the Marine Corps, should refine definitions related to amphibious warfare ship availability to include specific and measurable terms. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy, in coordination with the Commandant of the Marine Corps, should establish a time frame for completing and implementing their ongoing joint plan to address ship availability concerns and ensure that the analysis results in a specific number of amphibious warfare ships that the Navy and Marine Corps require to be available at any given time. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Chief of Naval Operations updates the Navy's amphibious ship depot maintenance policy to clarify that, absent operational needs, the Navy should not cancel depot maintenance for amphibious ships proposed for divestment that have yet to reach the end of their expected service life, prior to providing the requisite certification to the congressional defense committees and completing the divestment waiver process. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Chief of Naval Operations establishes performance goals with tangible, measurable objectives and associated time frames that can be used to measure progress, for implementing the recommendations identified in the May 2023 Amphibious Readiness Review and, when completed, for implementing recommendations resulting from the Navy's April 2024 review. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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