Page 1 GAO-21-522PR DOD Priority Recommendations Letter
August 2, 2021
The Honorable Lloyd Austin
Secretary of Defense
U.S. Department of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1000
The Honorable Kathleen Hicks
Deputy Secretary of Defense
U.S. Department of Defense
1010 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1010
Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Defense
I appreciated my recent meeting with Secretary Austin and look forward to a constructive
working relationship between our two institutions. As we discussed, the purpose of this letter is
to provide an update on the overall status of the Department of Defense’s (DOD)
implementation of GAO’s recommendations and to call your personal attention to areas where
open recommendations should be given high priority.
1
Many of the recommendations in this
letter directly address key challenges that significantly affect DOD’s ability to accomplish the
department’s mission, such as rebuilding readiness, mitigating cyber threats, and controlling
costs.
In November 2020, we reported that federal agencies government-wide had implemented 77
percent of our recommendations made in fiscal year 2016.
2
As of July 29, 2021, DOD had
implemented 65 percent of our recommendations from fiscal year 2016; 66 recommendations
from that fiscal year remain open.
3
Additionally, as of July 29, 2021, DOD had 1,001
recommendations that remained open from other fiscal years, bringing the total number of open
recommendations to 1,067. Of these recommendations, 83 were made prior to fiscal year
2016—the year used to calculate DOD’s implementation rate. We examined the
recommendations in this category carefully to ensure that they remain relevant. We closed
those recommendations that were obsolete or would no longer substantially improve DOD’s
1
“Priority recommendations” are those that GAO believes warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or
agencies. They are highlighted because, upon implementation, they may significantly improve government
operation—for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making
progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue.
2
GAO, Performance and Accountability Report: Fiscal Year 2020 GAO-21-4SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 16, 2020).
3
DOD’s implementation rate represents the percentage of recommendations from fiscal year 2016 GAO unclassified
and sensitive (e.g., For Official Use Only) products that DOD had implemented as of June 30, 2021. The rate does
not include classified recommendations.
