The Department of War has a readiness problem.
As a retired master sergeant recently quipped,
“Maintenance has been in a bad way for 20 years.”
Arlington, Virginia, May 12, 2026 — The Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting in the Costello College of Business at George Mason University has released White Paper No. 25: “Houston, We Have a (Weapon System Readiness) Problem.”
As presented by Moshe Schwartz, Anthony Di Stasio, and Arzoo Dawoodani, the paper examines weapon system operational readiness and its implications for the Department of War (DoW).
“Weapon system operational readiness has been on a steady decline over the last two decades. This decline in readiness rates has been highlighted by the General Accountability Office, the DOW Inspector General, and DOW officials at various levels.”
This research identifies the root causes driving poor weapon system operational readiness within the Department of War (DOW) and proposes practical approaches to improve readiness rates and increase speed to delivery.
Many of the issues affecting readiness are systemic. They are also fixable. DoW and Congress have already taken steps within the last two years to tackle some of these issues in a serious way. The authors highlight four key opportunities as the Department continues down the path to improving readiness:
- Plan Sustainment Early
- Leverage IT to Improve Sustainment and Maintenance Management
- Improve Intellectual Property Management within the Department
- Invest in the Workforce and Contractor-DoW Teamwork
In addition, National Defense Contractors (NDC) participation remains vital to the success of the Department’s Strategy of transforming the acquisition system to deliver those OT innovations to the warfighter.
Find the white paper on the Baroni Center Research website or download the White Paper.
Moshe Schwartz
President
Etherton & Associates
1489 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 304
McLean, VA 22101