The U.S. government has wasted tens of billions of dollars on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan and must make sweeping changes to avoid similar mistakes in the future, according to a report published on Thursday by the congressionally chartered Commission on Wartime Contracting.

The report included 32 legislative, regulatory and policy proposals to reduce waste, fraud and abuse through enhanced oversight and improved deployment of government resources.

Among the most significant recommendations was limiting the government's reliance on armed private security contractors. Touching on arguably the most controversial aspect of wartime contracting, the panel suggested the government embed federal employees with armed private security contractors to ensure command and control of all hostile situations. The commission's final report, due this summer, will more broadly address concerns that the government has relied excessively on private security contractors.