PILLAR 9

Department of Defense — National Security Accountability

• The Grievance: Defense institutions manage massive resources and national-security authority requiring strong constitutional oversight.
• The Demand: The Department of Defense must publish transparent audit progress reports and explain remaining material weaknesses in defense financial accountability.

Why It Is Important to American Nationals and Citizens

A military apparatus must be able to account for its resources to ensure operational readiness and public trust. When the DoD cannot account for its physical assets or budgetary resources, it creates vulnerabilities to waste, fraud, and supply chain disruptions. Achieving a clean financial audit is essential to ensuring defense resources are managed effectively.

Key Empirical Data & Context:

The Department of Defense is responsible for the vast majority of the federal government’s physical assets, valued at $4.65 trillion. Despite a congressional mandate requiring all federal agencies to pass annual financial audits, the DoD remains the only major agency that has never achieved a clean audit opinion.

In FY 2025, the Pentagon failed its eighth consecutive annual audit, receiving a “disclaimer of opinion” after auditors identified 26 material weaknesses in its financial records.

• FY 2018–2025 Audit Result: Disclaimer of Opinion.
  • Systemic Implication: Condition of the accounting systems prevents auditors from completing the audit.
• FY 2024 Material Weaknesses: 28 Total.
  • Systemic Implication: 7 relate directly to asset accountability, including inventory and real property.
• FY 2024 Assets Unaccounted: 44% of Assets.
  • Systemic Implication: The Pentagon could not comprehensively verify the existence or value of nearly half its assets.
• FY 2025 JSF Spares Pool Omission: Omissions in the Joint Strike Fighter program resulted in a material misstatement on the Agency-Wide Financial Statements.
• FY 2028 Mandate: Unmodified Opinion.
  • Systemic Implication: Statutory deadline for the DoD to achieve a clean audit opinion.