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Open Recommendations

Defense Command and Control: Further Progress Hinges on Establishing a Comprehensive Framework
GAO-25-106454
Apr 08, 2025
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should establish a framework to evaluate the extent to which military organization investments align with and achieve CJADC2 goals. The framework should establish clear guidance for command and control investments and a means to collectively track progress toward CJADC2 goals. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should establish an approach to consolidate and share lessons learned from ongoing CJADC2-related experimentation and real-world activities to the larger DOD enterprise. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should identify, comprehensively assess, and address key challenges that hinder progress toward DOD's CJADC2 goals. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

DOD Contracting: Opportunities Exist to Improve Pilot Program for Employee-Owned Businesses
GAO-25-107531
Mar 20, 2025
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment provides additional guidance to contracting officials on key program requirements to further reduce the risk of awarding a contract to ineligible contractors. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment establishes well-defined, appropriate, clear, and measurable objectives for the ESOP pilot program. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, after establishing clear and measurable objectives, clearly articulates a data collection and assessment methodology for its ESOP pilot program. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, after establishing clear and measurable objectives, develops a plan to evaluate ESOP pilot program results. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment includes an assessment of scalability in the ESOP pilot program to inform decisions about whether and how to implement the program more broadly. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment incorporates appropriate, two-way communications with internal and external ESOP pilot program stakeholders, such as contracting officers and industry, about the design and operation of the pilot. (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: Reporting on Industrial Base Risks Needs Improvement
GAO-25-107215
Mar 14, 2025
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Nuclear Security Administration The NNSA Administrator should ensure that the agency's reporting on risks to the NSE industrial base includes complete and clear information on key industrial base risks. (Recommendation 1)
Open
NNSA stated that it concurs in principle with this recommendation and plans to use the classified appendix to the fiscal year 2026 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan to describe the actions being taken to prioritize NSE industrial base risks and enhance the completeness and clarity of its reporting. We will monitor NNSA's activities to address this recommendation.
National Nuclear Security Administration The NNSA Administrator should ensure that the agency's reporting on risks to the NSE industrial base includes an assessment of whether additional resources, tools, or legislative proposals are needed to address these risks. (Recommendation 2)
Open
NNSA stated that it concurs with this recommendation and plans to use the classified appendix to the fiscal year 2026 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan to describe an assessment of whether additional resources, tools, or legislative proposals are needed to address NSE industrial base risks. We will monitor NNSA's activities to address this recommendation.

Hurricane Hunter Aircraft: NOAA and Air Force Should Take Steps to Meet Growing Demand for Reconnaissance Missions
GAO-25-107210
Mar 14, 2025
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8 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Air Force The Commander of the Air Force Reserve Command should, in coordination with the Administrator of NOAA, develop and implement a process to systematically track data on the reasons Hurricane Hunter mission requirements are missed. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Administrator of NOAA should, in coordination with the Commander of the Air Force Reserve Command, develop and implement a process to systematically track data on the reasons Hurricane Hunter mission requirements are missed. (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 Air Force The Commander of the Air Force Reserve Command should perform a comprehensive assessment of its Hurricane Hunter workforce, including examining staffing levels and workforce structure, to inform future workforce planning. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Administrator of NOAA should perform a comprehensive assessment of its Hurricane Hunter workforce, including examining staffing levels and workforce structure, to inform future workforce planning. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure that NOAA's funding needs for Hurricane Hunter aircraft acquisitions are regularly communicated to relevant stakeholders, including Congress, such as by including information on these needs in its annual budget requests. (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 Air Force The Commander of the Air Force Reserve Command should assess whether Air Force processes create barriers to upgrading Hurricane Hunter aircraft capabilities and define strategies to mitigate any identified barriers, as appropriate. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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