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Open Recommendations

Military Personnel: DOD Should Improve Processes for Determining Cost-of-Living Allowances
GAO-26-107490
Apr 30, 2026
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure that the department uses random sampling for the LPS. (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 direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to implement changes in the COLA process for OCONUS, such as using the LPS to consistently identify location-specific expenses and determine whether such expenses should be reimbursed, in accordance with DOD policy. (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 require the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to review and determine whether CONUS COLA dependent-based compensation should be adjusted to reflect changes in spendable income for up to five dependents, as the department does with OCONUS COLA. (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 direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to develop guidance requiring local commands to provide information about the COLA programs to service members at locations that receive COLA. Such information should include the website where DOD provides information on the COLA programs and the contact information of an office that can answer questions about COLA. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Industrial Security: Improved Risk Management and Stakeholder Engagement Needed to Help DOD Address Mission Gaps
GAO-26-107861
Apr 24, 2026
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense, through the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, should ensure that the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency identifies and develops enhanced analytic tools for field operators to better support their assessments of risk at the regional level. (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 Intelligence and Security implements a risk response plan with specific actions to address the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency-identified risk of a limited workforce for industrial security. Such actions could include, as appropriate, changing the periodicity of security reviews to align with DOD's overall risk appetite in the mission area, sharing more industrial security responsibilities with the military departments, or other steps that DOD deems appropriate to address the risks to industrial security. (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, through the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, should ensure that the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency comprehensively assesses the NAESOC risk response effort, including identifying its resourcing and personnel needs, establishing outcome-oriented performance goals, and evaluating its organizational alignment with other directorates. (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, through the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, should ensure that the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency continuously engages with relevant stakeholders—including regional DCSA, military department, and industry officials—throughout the development process for NI2, to include requirements development and other stages prior to testing. In doing so, the department should revisit the Capability Needs Statement with relevant stakeholders to validate that it meets their needs, and update it, if necessary. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Weapon System Sustainment: DOD Identified Critical Cost Growth, and the Army Should Take Action to Yield Cost Savings
GAO-26-108140
Apr 23, 2026
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army, in coordination with the Chief of Staff of the Army, should ensure that the Army's units implement the software update identified in the CROWS remediation plan on a timely basis. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Navy And Coast Guard Shipbuilding: A Disciplined, Strategy-Driven Approach Is Needed to Achieve Ambitious Goals
GAO-26-109068
Apr 22, 2026
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Submarine Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager assesses the full cost and schedule of investments expected to be needed to expand the submarine industrial base to a state that it can support the Navy's submarine construction goal of producing one Columbia and two Virginia class submarines annually. (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 Submarine Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment consistently document and implement oversight processes for all submarine industrial base investments. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
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