GAO to DoD: Fix ‘Fourth Estate’ inefficiencies
By: Joe Gould  
WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office is telling the Defense Department to clamp down on inefficiencies in its 19 agencies and 8 field activities — collectively known as the “Fourth Estate.â€
While DoD spends billions annually on these defense agencies and DoD field activities to maintain business functions, it “does not comprehensively or routinely assess the continuing need†for them, according to a report published last week by the watchdog agency.
The Defense Department has agreed to act on GAO’s five recommendations to fix the problems. However, the DoD official who signed off — Chief Management Officer John Gibson — is reportedly being terminated by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis for non-performance.
https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2018/09/11/gao-to-dod-fix-fourth-estate-inefficiencies/