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Open Recommendations

Military Discharge: Actions Needed to Help Ensure Consistent and Timely Upgrade Decisions
GAO-25-107354
Jul 24, 2025
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9 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in coordination with the military departments, collaboratively evaluates the post-separation review boards' application of liberal consideration guidance to identify whether any changes are needed to ensure fair and consistent adjudication of discharge upgrade cases. The evaluation should consider whether a board comprising representatives from each military department to jointly adjudicate discharge upgrade cases could promote a more uniform application of liberal consideration guidance. (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 Personnel and Readiness develops a process to periodically monitor the military departments' post-separation review boards' review of discharge upgrade cases involving liberal consideration to help ensure that they are adjudicated in a fair and consistent manner regardless of the military department in which the applicant served. (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 Personnel and Readiness, in coordination with the military departments, develops required time frames for Discharge Review Boards and the Discharge Appeal Review Board to adjudicate discharge upgrade cases involving liberal consideration. (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 Army The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Army Discharge Review Board and Army Board for Correction of Military Records establish and implement a process to regularly calculate and update estimated adjudication time frames for discharge upgrade cases involving liberal consideration, including the date of the most recent update, on their websites and in correspondence with applicants. (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 ensure that the Naval Discharge Review Board and Board for Correction of Naval Records establish and implement a process to regularly calculate and update estimated adjudication time frames for discharge upgrade cases involving liberal consideration, including the date of the most recent update, on their websites and in correspondence with applicants. (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 Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that the Air Force Discharge Review Board and Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records establish and implement a process to regularly calculate and update estimated adjudication time frame for discharge upgrade cases involving liberal consideration, including the date of the most recent update, on their website and in correspondence with applicants. (Recommendation 6)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Military Compensation: Clearer Guidance Needed for Timely Reimbursement of Moving Expenses
GAO-25-107062
Jul 16, 2025
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) clarifies Financial Management Regulation guidance by eliminating inconsistences and rectifying unclear language on PCS reimbursement timelines, including but not limited to those where advance payments are involved. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In its response to our report, DOD concurred with this recommendation. It stated that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) will revise the Financial Management Regulation to ensure clearer and more consistent guidance on PCS reimbursement timelines. DOD estimated a completion date of January 2026 for this action. We will continue to monitor DOD's actions to address this recommendation.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should establish a single entity with authority and responsibility to (1) conduct ongoing monitoring to ensure every component with responsibilities related to PCS reimbursement timeliness is accountable and (2) remediate reimbursement timeliness problems expeditiously. (Recommendation 2)
Open
In its response to our report, DOD concurred with this recommendation. It stated that the Army will establish a centralized oversight entity under the leadership of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 (Manpower & Reserve Affairs), with support from U.S. Army Financial Management Command. This entity would be vested with the authority and responsibility to conduct continuous monitoring of all components involved in the PCS reimbursement process and ensure accountability and alignment with established timelines and policies; and to identify, analyze, and resolve reimbursement delays in a timely manner. DOD did not provide a timeline for completion of this action. We will continue to monitor DOD's actions to address this recommendation.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Commandant of the Marine Corps establishes a single entity in the Marine Corps with authority and responsibility to (1) conduct ongoing monitoring to ensure every component with responsibilities related to PCS reimbursement timeliness is accountable and (2) remediate reimbursement timeliness problems expeditiously. (Recommendation 3)
Open
In its response to our report, DOD did not concur with this recommendation. DOD's response stated that the Marine Corps' existing decentralized framework effectively manages the PCS reimbursement process. Further, the department stated that while the Marine Corps proactively self-imposed an internal benchmark of paying vouchers within 10-business days, the primary benchmark remains the 30-calendar day standard in the Financial Management Regulation. DOD stated that the Marine Corps met that standard more than 98 percent the time and cited this as evidence that its current model is effective and sustainable. DOD also stated that establishing a centralized oversight entity would add unnecessary bureaucratic layers and could weaken the specialized functions of its administrators and financial management. We agree that the Marine Corps was proactive by self-imposing a 10-business day standard for PCS reimbursement timeliness and that its success rate under the 30-calendar day standard established in the Financial Management Regulations is better in comparison to its success rate under the 10-business day standard. However, our report describes challenges that arise from a decentralized process, including the absence of a single authority to oversee expeditious resolutions in the event of reimbursement delays. We therefore continue to believe our recommendation is warranted.

Space Operations: DOD Is Pursuing Efforts to Collaborate with Allies and Partners but Needs to Address Key Challenges
GAO-25-108043
Jul 08, 2025
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Space Policy), in coordination with key stakeholders, sets specific milestones for implementing DOD's goals for integrating allies and partners into space operations as outlined in the International Space Cooperation Strategy. (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 Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that the Chief of Space Operations programs for appropriate personnel levels within the Space Force components to combatant commands—including positions responsible for security cooperation, planning, and foreign disclosure—to optimize readiness and sustainability or identify, analyze, and respond to the risks of understaffing identified positions within its components to the combatant commands. (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 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff issues guidance clarifying the space-related security cooperation roles and responsibilities for the relevant organizations throughout DOD—including Assistant Secretary of Defense (Space Policy), U.S. Space Command, and Space Force. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Army Modernization: Air and Missile Defense Efforts Would Benefit from Applying Leading Practices [Reissued with revisions on Jun. 18, 2025]
GAO-25-107491
Jun 18, 2025
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6 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should ensure that Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense Increments 4 and 5, which incorporates new vehicle platforms, follows an iterative product development approach. (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 ensure that development of the new missile for the Indirect Fire Protection Capability follows an iterative product development approach. (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 Army The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Integrated Battle Command System program assesses the practicality, benefits, and affordability of implementing a digital twin that incorporates both software and hardware. (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 Army The Secretary of the Army should ensure that Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense Increments 1, 2, and 3 efforts—Sgt. Stout, Directed Energy, and Next Generation Short Range Interceptor, respectively—assess the practicality, benefits, and affordability of implementing modern design tools, including digital twinning and digital threads. (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 ensure that all variants of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability effort—to include the development of subsystems for Increment 2 as well as the High Energy Laser and High-Power Microwave efforts—assess the practicality, benefits, and affordability of implementing modern design tools, including digital twinning and digital threads. (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 Army The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor effort assesses the practicality, affordability, and benefits, of implementing modern design tools, including digital twinning and digital threads. (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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