DOGE reviewing Navy software enterprise
The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency team is examining the Navy’s software enterprise, the service’s chief information officer said Tuesday.
The review comes as the administration is undertaking a broad look at the Defense Department’s and other federal agencies’ contracts and workforce in search of what it considers wasteful spending and opportunities for savings.
The Navy has been pursuing an initiative known as Information Superiority Vision 2.0, CIO Jane Rathbun noted during a panel Tuesday at the Sea-Air-Space conference.
“It’s all about making the right investments in modernizing, but modernizing with an eye towards effectiveness and efficiency. We’ve got this new administration. We’ve got the DOGE in working with us, and they’re focused on effective consumption of commercial software. Are we doing the best job we can deliver in buying and utilizing the software that we have? So I think the Department of Defense spends like $5.2 billion on just software. And how can we make sure that we’re buying it effectively and getting the biggest bang for our buck … out of that consumption?” Rathbun said.
She told DefenseScoop that the review of the software enterprise is being coordinated through the Pentagon’s Office of the Chief Information Officer.
“It’s actually being led through the DOD CIO, and it is collaborative and they are asking for information from us. They are asking for information from the industry partners and really understanding how we buy, how we consume, and how we could do it more effectively,” she said.
The Navy is a huge consumer of software. For example, it has more than 800,000 software licenses from Microsoft, Rathbun noted.
“It’s a big number. And so are we buying effectively? Are we utilizing the things that we’re buying effectively? There’s always opportunity for improvement. And I would say that’s an area in my portfolio that I want to focus on but have not a lot of people to do that, which is something that has always bothered me and I want to be doing better at is really this optimization concept. I’ve got to continuously modernize but I have to do it in an optimal way,” she said.
She used financial operations as an example of an area where the Navy is working to improve.
“We are making strides in financial operations, big time. But if I cannot really actively manage my consumption of these capabilities in an effective way, then I’m not going to be optimizing my utilization,” Rathbun said.
Trump officially established DOGE via an executive order Jan. 20, the day of his inauguration. Its purpose is to “implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity,” according to the directive.
The administration’s DOGE efforts are being led by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk.
Trump issued another DOGE-related executive order in February, which aims for “a transformation in Federal spending on contracts, grants, and loans to ensure Government spending is transparent and Government employees are accountable to the American public,” according to the EO.
Meanwhile, Pentagon leadership is pushing forward other DOGE-related initiatives.
Last week, Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg initiated implementation of a DOGE-influenced regulatory review.
The department is also offering a deferred resignation program and voluntary early retirement. And a civilian hiring freeze, with some exemptions, is also in effect at DOD.
