Pursuant to the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106‑531, the DoD Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) is providing this annual statement from the Inspector General (IG) summarizing the DoD’s “most serious management and performance challenges.” To fulfill this requirement, the DoD OIG analyzed completed, ongoing, and planned DoD OIG oversight work; input from leaders across the DoD; and the DoD’s strategic documents. We also reviewed congressional testimonies, analyses from professional research institutes, and oversight work from the Government Accountability Office. Additionally, as the head of the Defense Council on Integrity and Efficiency, the IG solicited and obtained input from Inspectors General, Auditors General, and other members of the defense oversight community.
In this report, the DoD OIG presents six challenges that we consider to be particularly significant matters facing the DoD in the upcoming fiscal year. For each challenge, we discuss potential impacts on the management and performance of critical DoD programs, as well as the DoD’s progress in responding to these challenges. The challenges are not listed in order of priority or importance, and progress in addressing all six is critical to ensuring the DoD meets its mission to provide the military force needed to deter war and ensure our nation’s security.