Defense Nuclear Enterprise: Systems Face Sustainment Challenges, and Actions are Needed to Effectively Monitor Efforts to Improve the Enterprise

Abstract

In 2014, the Secretary of Defense directed two reviews of DOD's nuclear enterprise. These reviews made recommendations to address problems with leadership, organization, investment, morale, policy, and procedures, as well as other shortcomings that adversely affected the nuclear deterrence mission. In 2015, DOD conducted a review focused on NC3 systems, which resulted in additional recommendations to improve NC3. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 includes a provision for GAO to review DOD's processes for addressing these recommendations. This report addresses the extent to which DOD has made progress in (1) the implementation and tracking of the recommendations from the 2014 and 2015 nuclear enterprise reviews and (2) addressing sustainment and maintenance-related challenges and planning for the continued sustainment and maintenance of existing defense nuclear enterprise systems. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed DOD officials. This is a public version of a classified report that GAO issued in October 2019. Information that DOD deemed classified has been omitted.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1098880

Entities

People

  • Amie Lesser
  • Brent Helt
  • Gabrielle Matuzsan
  • Joanne Landesman
  • Jonathan Gill
  • Joseph W. Kirschbaum
  • K. R. Lester
  • Michael Shaughnessy
  • Ned Malone
  • Penney H. Caramia
  • R. S. Fletcher
  • Susannah Hawthorne

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Ballistic Missile Submarines
  • Business Administration
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Logistics
  • Management Personnel
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Navy
  • Nuclear Powered Submarines
  • Ohio Class
  • Organizational Structure
  • Supply Chain
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Strategic Security Studies