What Happened?

The federal government's independent watchdog reviewed how the Department of Defense (DOD) manages its office space and found that 17 leases signed by the military departments (about 20 percent of the total) were missing from the DOD's inventory. ​

As of March 2025, DOD owned or leased approximately 35 million square feet of office space in the National Capital Region. By September 2025, more than half of those spaces had not reported any data on how many people were actually using them.

DOD issued new guidance in 2025 requiring offices to report occupancy figures, but some organizations never submitted that data, and some of what was submitted likely contained errors.

Both Sides, Now

The report concluded that more reliable data would give DOD a clearer picture of its property holdings and put the department in a better position to reduce leased space while meeting its workforce needs.

Opponents of the current system point to the report's own findings: as of September 2025, more than half of DOD office spaces in the National Capital Region lacked reported occupancy data, and the report flagged potential data-entry errors and outliers in the figures that were submitted.

Washington Headquarters Services said it has relied on the military departments to coordinate with individual bases, while military department officials told the accountability office that they do not track or report available space on those installations.

What Happens Next?

The report made four recommendations to the DOD: enforce occupancy reporting, establish processes to ensure accurate data, and improve coordination between Washington Headquarters Services and the military departments on leases and available space.

DOD agreed with one recommendation, partially agreed with two, and rejected one.

House Report 118-125 included a provision directing the accountability office to review how DOD manages its real property needs in the National Capital Region. Will DOD act on all four recommendations before its next budget cycle, or will gaps in office space tracking persist?

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article