WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense agreed to implement three recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) designed to enhance civilian oversight of special operations weapons acquisitions. The GAO released a report that examined collaboration between the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict office and the Special Operations Command.

The GAO's review found that Department of Defense policy had not fully enabled the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict office to fulfill its acquisition-related responsibilities. Officials from the two offices had disagreements regarding the level of access the civilian oversight office should have to specific programs and meetings. The GAO assessed nine major capability acquisition programs to determine their achievement of cost and schedule goals.

These programs included the AC-130J Ghostrider, Skyraider II, Silent Knight Radar, Dry Combat Submersible, Dry Deck Shelter Extension, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Mk 11, Mk 18 Mod 1 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle, MH-47G Block II Chinook, and MH-60M Block I Black Hawk. Of these, only the MH-47G Block II Chinook helicopter reported an increase in cost. Several programs experienced schedule delays, specifically the MH-47G Block II Chinook, Dry Combat Submersible, Mk 18 Mod 1 Unmanned Underwater Vehicle, Skyraider II, and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Mk 11.

Special Operations Command acquisition policy mandates that programs report current information, including cost estimates, to an online portal relative to program goals. However, officials for eight of the selected programs did not maintain up-to-date cost information in the portal. This was due to the policy not specifying a required update frequency.

The GAO's recommendations instruct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to formally integrate the civilian oversight office into policy and guidance. This integration aims to ensure collaboration on documenting acquisition protocols. Additionally, the recommendations require the Special Operations Command commander to update acquisition policy documents. These updates are intended to specify the frequency and circumstances for updating program cost estimates and to reflect practices for iterative product development.

No independent assessment of Special Operations Command’s claims was available.