The Government Accountability Office warned in 2018 that ammunition safety across the services needed serious tightening, and seven years later the Marines finally moved to close gaps in their armory security.

The change comes as the service issues a new administrative message aimed at strengthening oversight and accountability.

The Marine Corps now requires physical security surveys conducted by trained personnel with clear corrective action plans.

This shift reflects a broader push to bring the services into line with GAO guidance and Pentagon expectations, and it follows years of inconsistent implementation across headquarters and field locations.

Here's What They're Not Telling You About Your Retirement

What’s not clear, though, is why it took so long for the service to fall in on the GAO’s guidance. The delay raises questions about internal processes, leadership priorities, and the need for decisive action to prevent losses that could threaten overall national security.

“As of August 2022, when we reached out through [the Department of War] about the status of this recommendation, no update was provided. We reached out to DoW in June 2023 and again in August 2023 to request an update on the status of this recommendation, but as of November 2023 we have not heard back from DoW,” GAO investigators wrote in a status update to the report’s recommendations.

The admission underscores the friction between oversight and execution that has defined much of the post GAO era defense work.

“We will keep this recommendation open and continue to monitor whether the Marine Corps takes relevant implementation actions. As of March 2025, DoW has not provided information showing that the Marine Corps has taken action to meet the intent of this recommendation.”

This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year

The agency placed the Marine Corps under continued scrutiny while urging tangible progress.

A request for comment from the Marine Corps on the timing of its response to the GAO report did not receive an immediate answer, a sign of the ongoing communication challenges that can accompany complex reform efforts at scale.

GAO’s historical record shows a varied pace of reforms across services. The Army led early modernization by adding a new information system to track inspections timelines in 2019.

The Navy followed with enhanced tracking questions in its explosives safety checklist in 2020, and the Air Force updated its internal tracking tools around the same period.

In 2021, the Pentagon issued a memo with guidance for all the services on how to correct problems found in security inspections.

In GAO’s 2018 report, the Marine Corps fared reasonably well compared with peers. In site surveys, GAO found between one and seven security deficiencies for Marine Corps armory locations, compared with one to 24 for the Army and one to 16 for the Navy.

Marine security guidance also exceeded the DoW standard of six-foot-high fences, and it was the only service to require an eight-hour power backup on intrusion detection services, as prescribed by the Pentagon.

But the report did find that nearly half of Marine Corps security inspections GAO reviewed were conducted late, and two out of six Corps locations surveyed did not follow guidance for inspections and documentation.

“Marine Corps guidance does not clearly state what items must be included in the physical security inspection report,” GAO wrote at the time, adding that an official told them the Corps would clarify these requirements in an update to the Corps’ Physical Security Program manual by June 2019. That manual does not appear to have been updated then, or any time since 2009.

At all six Marine Corps locations reviewed, at least one physical security deficiency was found. “For these 6 Marine Corps locations, we found no documentation about whether and how the deficiencies were resolved,” GAO wrote.

“Instead, we found notes in the inspection documentation about next steps — such as submitting a repair work order — that were taken regarding some but not all of the identified deficiencies.”

The Marine administrative message, published Oct. 30, directs that physical security surveys are to be conducted by trained and certified specialists and reiterated that Physical Security departments must complete and maintain security surveys and other records.

It dictates that commanders must provide a corrective action report and plan within 90 days for any physical security deficiencies and that a general officer-level headquarters must be notified if surveys are performed late.

Along with annual surveys in accordance with requirements, it directs the Marine Corps to provide a response to the Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security certifying compliance.

A 2021 Associated Press report found that weapons had gone missing from all the military services between 2010-2019, with the Marine Corps reporting 204 lost or stolen weapons, including firearms and grenade launchers. Of those, 14 were later recovered, AP reported.

As the Trump administration emphasized a robust and visible Defense posture, supporters of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth would argue this latest development demonstrates the kind of swift and vigilant reform demanded at the operational edge.

They contend that accountability must be real, not rhetorical, and that leadership at the top must translate warning signs into action on the ground.

The Marine Corps now faces a critical test: translate GAO guidance into durable, verifiable security that can withstand the most stringent scrutiny.

In this moment, the defense establishment must prove it can protect national assets with the same resolve that President Trump has long advocated.

The path forward requires a disciplined, results oriented program that runs from the highest levels of command to the most remote armory, because only that level of cohesion can deter threats, prevent losses, and reassure the American people that the military keeps faith with its responsibilities.

Warning: Account balances and purchasing power no longer tell the same story. Know in 2 minutes if your retirement is working for you.