DOD’s Command and Control Effort Stalls Without Unified Framework per GAO

The Department of Defense’s ongoing attempt to modernize how military commanders share and analyze information across various combat domains is progressing slowly and inefficiently due to a lack of strategic coordination, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Six years into its Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) initiative, the Pentagon has yet to establish a guiding framework, resulting in fragmented efforts and unclear progress.

CJADC2, initiated in 2019, is designed to enable faster and more effective decision-making by integrating data from land, air, sea, space, and cyber operations, both domestically and with international allies. The goal is to move from disjointed “swivel chair” data processing—where analysts must manually synthesize information from multiple sources—to a fully integrated system. However, each military branch has continued to pursue its own solutions without shared objectives or measurable benchmarks, a practice the GAO warns may hinder overall mission effectiveness.

While the Department of Defense has conducted experiments to demonstrate aspects of CJADC2, the GAO found limited mechanisms for sharing results across the defense enterprise. This lack of coordination risks duplication of efforts and slower technological development. Compounding the problem, several significant challenges—such as overly restrictive data classification that hampers information sharing—have not been formally identified or assigned for resolution by any specific DOD entity.

The GAO’s report calls for the DOD to implement three corrective actions: establish a comprehensive framework to guide CJADC2-related investments and track progress, create a centralized system for sharing insights gained from experiments, and identify and address key barriers to implementation. The Department of Defense agreed to two of these recommendations and partially concurred with the third, indicating some hesitation in committing to a full organizational overhaul.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) press release GAO-25-106454

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