Why It Matters

The Defense Department (DOD) manages a security cooperation workforce conducting activities valued at $104.4 billion in fiscal year 2025, yet significant gaps remain in how the Pentagon tracks, develops, and deploys these personnel. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Thursday, August 20, titled "Security Cooperation Workforce: Implementation Status of FY 2024 NDAA Provisions," found that as of May 2026, the Pentagon had not yet started work on five of 66 congressionally mandated reforms designed to overhaul how DOD identifies, assigns, and develops personnel in security cooperation roles.

The Big Picture

Congress directed these reforms through the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which included 66 specific provisions to improve the security cooperation workforce's management and professional development. As of May 2026, DOD had completed 46 provisions, with 15 in progress and five not yet started. The Pentagon plans to implement all reforms by the end of fiscal year 2028.

The Human Capital Initiative, the primary vehicle for executing these reforms, has completed 23 provisions and is working on 11 others. It has successfully identified and coded security cooperation workforce positions and is developing a unified management information system designed to consolidate qualification, assignment, and tenure data for security cooperation personnel.

The security cooperation workforce operates across DOD's various components, each using different data systems to track positions and personnel. Until a centralized management information system is operational, the Pentagon conducts workforce analysis manually, creating inefficiencies and blind spots. Implementation has been further complicated by the federal civilian hiring freeze imposed in January 2025, which prevented the Defense Security Cooperation Service (DSCA) from hiring personnel to fill positions in the Human Capital Initiative. DSCA officials are addressing this challenge by assigning key tasks to other team members and leveraging existing expertise to overcome critical skill gaps.

The Bottom Line

The Pentagon faces a two-year window to close remaining gaps in security cooperation workforce reforms. Success depends on completing the unified management information system and resolving staffing constraints created by the hiring freeze. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chair of the House Armed Services Committee with oversight of DOD personnel and security cooperation policy, has jurisdiction over implementation progress and can press for accountability on the remaining five provisions.

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