GAO Finds 37 Pentagon Weapons Programs Short-Staffed After 48,000 Departures
The federal watchdog warned Thursday that the U.S. military’s ability to buy and manage its most expensive weapons is eroding. The Government Accountability Office released its annual review of 48 major defense acquisition programs and found that workforce cuts have outpaced the Pentagon’s ability to replace experienced staff.
More than 48,000 Department of Defense employees accepted departures under the Trump administration’s Deferred Resignation Program as of June 2025. That is more than 6 percent of DoD’s total workforce. Staff exits have affected 37 of the 48 programs reviewed, spanning nuclear missiles to training jets.
48,000+ DoD civilian staff approved to leave under the Deferred Resignation Program as of June 2025, more than 6% of the department’s total workforce. GAO Annual Weapons Programs Review, July 2026
The losses have been severe at individual program offices. One lost nearly 40 percent of its core personnel in 2025 and was only able to backfill one-third of those positions. Another lost 31 people, nearly 6 percent of its office.
A Federal Hiring Freeze Is Blocking Replacements
The Trump administration’s federal hiring freeze has made the staffing problem worse. More than half of the program offices GAO studied reported difficulty bringing on new employees because of the freeze.
“One program lost seven civilian positions due to the DRP, and it has not been able to backfill due to the ongoing hiring freeze. The program distributes the same work to the fewer remaining people, and those employees work across weekends to ensure the reductions have not resulted in tangible delays or deficiencies in executing the program.”
Government Accountability Office, Annual Weapons Programs Review, July 3, 2026
Even without a freeze, hiring for defense acquisition is slow. The federal hiring process can take several months. Once hired, it can take a new employee up to a year to contribute meaningfully. Some offices have had to advertise positions multiple times before a qualified applicant applies.
Institutional Knowledge Is the Long-Term Risk
Acquisition expertise is not easily rebuilt. Workers who left under the Deferred Resignation Program took years of program-specific knowledge with them. The GAO report warns this depletes the long-term staffing pipeline, not just current capacity. DoD had separately pledged to cut up to 8 percent of its nonuniformed employees, compounding the attrition from voluntary departures.
The 48 programs under review represent the military’s costliest and most complex procurements. Delays in managing them carry financial and national security costs that grow over time.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your senators and representative at (202) 224-3121. Tell them to pass legislation lifting the federal hiring freeze for DoD acquisition personnel. Ask them to cite the GAO report by name: “GAO’s 2026 Annual Weapons Programs Review.”
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Contact members of the Senate Armed Services Committee at senate.gov/committees. Ask them to hold a hearing on acquisition workforce gaps and require DoD to submit a staffing recovery plan with the next National Defense Authorization Act.
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Contact members of the House Armed Services Committee at armedservices.house.gov. Ask them to include a provision in the FY2027 NDAA that exempts defense acquisition positions from any hiring freeze.
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File a public comment with the Office of Personnel Management at regulations.gov. OPM governs federal hiring rules. Ask OPM to create a fast-track hiring authority for positions at weapons program offices with documented vacancy rates above 20 percent.
Sources
Federal News Network: Staff Shortages Strain Weapons Programs, GAO Says
GAO: Annual Assessment of U.S. Government Efforts to Manage Major Defense Acquisition Programs
ProPublica: Federal Workers Who Took Deferred Resignation Offers and What Happened Next
NPR: Pentagon Cuts Tens of Thousands of Civilian Workers Under Deferred Resignation Program
Brennan Center: Federal Hiring Freeze Effects on Agency Capacity
[Quote: “The program distributes the same work to the fewer remaining people, and those employees work across weekends to ensure the reductions have not resulted in tangible delays or deficiencies in executing the program.”, Government Accountability Office.
GAO 2026 Annual Weapons Programs Review]