GAO On Urgent DOD Needs

A new Government Accountability Office report on urgent warfighter needs, released yesterday, recommends that the Pentagon "reduce the time spent on identifying and contracting for off-the-shelf solutions, devise methods for providing early funding to research laboratories and engineering centers, require that initiative decision memorandums be prepared for all initiatives, and require acquisition organizations to communicate with the Central Command and other combatant commands about plans for fielding capabilities."

GAO found that "opportunities exist to expedite development and fielding of joint capabilities," and that 26 out of 30 initiatives reviewed by the congressional watchdog agency "met, or expected to meet, the Department of Defense's (DOD) expectation for fielding a capability in response to joint urgent operational needs within 2 years."

That said, the report notes that "performance in meeting schedule estimates varied, and more than half of the initiatives experienced schedule delays."