The Department of the Navy (DON) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Jane Rathbun said today that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is currently collaborating with the Navy to improve the effectiveness of its commercial software acquisition practices.
“DOGE is working with us, and they’re focused on effective consumption of commercial software. Are we doing the best job we can in delivering, buying, and utilizing the software that we have?” Rathbun said during day two of the Sea Air and Space conference in National Harbor, Md.
Rathbun explained that software is an area where the DoD spends big bucks. On average, the DoD spends an estimated $5.2 billion on just software.
In working with DOGE, “we [can] make sure that we’re buying it effectively and getting the biggest bang for our buck out of that consumption,” she said.
“Are we buying effectively? Are we utilizing the things that we’re buying effectively? There’s always opportunity for improvement,” Rathbun said, highlighting how the DON has over 800,000 Microsoft licenses that it has acquired and no clear consumption plan.
With DOGE’s help, Rathbun explained that the plan is to ensure the DON is “making the right investments in modernizing but modernizing with an eye towards effectiveness and efficiency.”
The cuts from DOGE at the Pentagon have had few impacts on software or tech spending. In its initial round, DOGE identified $80 million in wasteful DoD spending, but those cuts were primarily focused on social issues, including $1.9 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion training.
The most recent round of DOGE cuts, totaling $580 million, included a delayed and overbudget human resources software project, also known as the Defense Civilian HR Management System software development program. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this system is six years behind schedule and more than $280 million over budget.
Moving forward, Hegseth has directed the DoD performance improvement officer to collaborate with the director of Defense HR Activity, the DoD CIO, military services, and HR service providers to develop a new plan for the program within the next two months.