A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published Sept. 22 provided recommendations for the Department of Defense (DOD) after finding that updated guidance for treating military gambling problems is not being adequately implemented.
The GAO noted that the DOD revised its instructions on substance use to include gambling disorder in January and outlined steps the department and military services should take to help tackle the issue.
However, it determined that the guidance did not properly identify which parties should be responsible for implementing the guidance, leading to a gap between theory and practice.
“The instruction does not identify a party responsible for implementation of certain tasks such as designating staff who will be trained to prevent, assess, diagnose and tr..