Office of the Secretary of Defense
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department of Defense in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource management, fiscal, and program evaluation responsibilities. OSD (along with the Joint Staff) is the Secretary of Defense’s support staff for managing the Department of Defense, and it corresponds to what the Executive Office of the President of the U.S. is to the U.S. president for managing the whole of the Executive branch of the federal government.
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1947 |
| Jurisdiction | General management and oversight of the Department of Defense components |
| Headquarters | Pentagon |
| Parent agency | Department of Defense |
| Website | www.defense.gov/osd |
OSD includes the immediate offices of the Secretary (SECDEF) and the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF), as well as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller); Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; and Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. All of these positions are Presidential appointments which require U.S. Senate confirmation, as do each of their sole deputies.
Other positions include the Assistant Secretaries of Defense, Assistants to the Secretary of Defense, General Counsel, Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, Director of Administration and Management, and other staff offices that the Secretary establishes in order to assist in carrying out their assigned responsibilities.
Composition of OSD
The Secretary and Deputy Secretary manage several Under Secretaries each of whom in turn manage several Assistant Secretaries of Defense. There are also several special officers reporting directly to Secretary of Defense.
Major elements of OSD (listed hierarchically):
- Secretary of Defense (SecDef) and Deputy Secretary of Defense (DepSecDef)
- Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense
- Special officers reporting directly to Secretary and Deputy
- Executive Secretary of the Department of Defense (ExecSec)
- General Counsel of the Department of Defense
- Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Oversight (ATSD(IO))
- Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (ATSD(PA))
- Chief Information Officer (DoD CIO)
- Senior Designated Officials of SECDEF-Empowered Cross Functional Teams
- Assistant Secretaries reporting directly to Secretary and Deputy
- Under Secretaries
- Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer (C/CFO)
- Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S)
- Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment (I&E)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness (L&MR)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs (NCB)
- Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base
- Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (I)
- Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (P&R)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (HA)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (RA)
- Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (P)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs (APSA)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs (GSA)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs (HD&ASA)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (ISA)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict & Interdependent Capabilities (SO/LIC&IC)
- Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
- Directors
- Director of Administration and Management (DA&M)
- Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE)
- Director of Family Policy
- Director of Force Transformation
- Director of Net Assessment
- Director of the Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight
- Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E)
- Director of Small Business Programs
- Special officers reporting directly to Secretary and Deputy
Former elements
Major reorganizations
The composition of OSD is in a state of consistent flux, as Congress and DoD routinely create new offices, redesignate existing ones, and abolish others.
Obama administration changes
During the Obama administration, Congress has sought to clarify the organization of OSD, and has worked with the Department to move toward a standardization of official naming conventions. Many Defense officials, including the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF), all five Under Secretaries of Defense (USDs), and all Assistant Secretaries of Defense (ASDs), as well as any officials specifically designated in U.S. Code[1] have historically been considered Presidentially-Appointed, Senate-Confirmed (PAS) officials, in that the Senate must provide "advice and consent" for each individual before he or she can operate in an official capacity. In a March 2009 letter, Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, wrote that the Department was apparently exercising the authority to appoint other significant officials—termed Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense (DUSDs)—"without statutory authorization, without limitation, and without Senate confirmation." Levin was "concerned that the proliferation of DUSDs at multiple levels of the organization could muddy lines of authority and may not be in the best interest of the Department of Defense."[2] Subsequent legislation established five Senate-confirmed Principal Deputies (i.e., "first assistants"), one for each Under Secretary of Defense.
The FY10 NDAA gave the Department of Defense until January 1, 2011, to eliminate or redesignate all other Deputy Under Secretaries who are not Principal Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense (PDUSDs). The FY11 NDAA extended this deadline to January 1, 2015. During that time, the Secretary may, at his or her discretion, appoint within OSD five additional non-PAS DUSDs beyond the five statutory PAS-PDUSDs. The USD(I) appears to be maintaining at least three non-PAS DUSDs, although they have been renamed. The USD (AT&L) has maintained the non-PAS DUSD for Installations and Environment, though the FY11 NDAA recommended merging this post with the newly created ASD for Operational Energy Plans and Programs. The USD(P) has maintained a non-PAS DUSD for Strategy, Plans, and Forces, though the FY11 NDAA recommended eliminating this position.
Nevertheless, a number of positions have been redesignated or eliminated during the Obama administration, pursuant to statutory language contained in the National Defense Authorization Acts of FY10[3] and FY11.[4] and subsequent internal DoD reports.[5]
| Previous Office Title | New Office Title | Reports To | Requires Senate Confirmation? |
|---|---|---|---|
| New position | ASD for Acquisition | USD(AT&L) | Yes |
| DUSD for Industrial Policy | DASD for Manufacturing and Industrial Base | ASD for Acquisition | No |
| DUSD for Logistics and Material Readiness | ASD for Logistics and Material Readiness | USD(AT&L) | Yes |
| Director of Operational Energy Plans and Programs | ASD for Operational Energy Plans and Programs | USD(AT&L) | Yes |
| Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs | ASD for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs | USD(AT&L) | Yes |
| Director of Defense Research and Engineering | ASD for Research and Engineering (R&E) | USD(AT&L) | Yes |
| Director of Developmental Test and Evaluation | DASD for Developmental Test and Evaluation | ASD(R&E) | No |
| Director of Systems Engineering | DASD for Systems Engineering | ASD(R&E) | No |
| New position | ASD for Readiness and Force Management (R&FM) | USD(P&R) | Yes |
| DUSD for Civilian Personnel Policy | DASD for Civilian Personnel Policy | ASD for Readiness and Force Management (R&FM) | No |
| DUSD for Military Community and Family Policy | DASD for Military Community and Family Policy | ASD for Readiness and Force Management (R&FM) | No |
| DUSD for Military Personnel Policy | DASD for Military Personnel Policy | ASD for Readiness and Force Management (R&FM) | No |
| DUSD for Readiness | DASD for Readiness | ASD for Readiness and Force Management (R&FM) | No |
| DUSD for Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy | DASD for Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy | ASD for Readiness and Force Management (R&FM) | No |
| DUSD for Joint & Coalition Warfighter Support | DDI for Warfighter Support & Operations | Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence | No |
| DUSD for Technical Collection & Analysis and HUMINT, Counterintel & Security | DDI for Intelligence & Security | Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence | No |
| DUSD for Portfolio Programs & Resources | DDI for Military Intelligence Program & Planning | Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence | No |
| DUSD for Science and Technology | Eliminated | - | n/a |
| DUSD for Advanced Systems and Concepts | Eliminated | - | n/a |
- Director for Defense Intelligence = DDI, DUSD = Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, ASD = Assistant Secretary of Defense, DASD = Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
See also
- The Air Staff
- Headquarters Marine Corps
- The Joint Staff
- Office of the Secretary of the Army
- Office of the Secretary of the Navy
- Office of the Secretary of the Air Force
References
- Title X, Subtitle A, Part 1, Chapter 4, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/usc_sup_01_10_10_A_20_I_30_4.html
- ODAM (April 2010). "Revised Organizational Structure for the Office of the Secretary of Defense" (PDF). Report to Congress. Department of Defense. pp. 33–34. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- 111th Congress (October 28, 2009). "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010" (PDF). Government Printing Office.
H.R. 2647
- Title IX, Subtitle A, Section 901, Part b, Section 4, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr6523enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr6523enr.pdf
- ODAM (April 2010). "Revised Organizational Structure for the Office of the Secretary of Defense" (PDF). Report to Congress. Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
External links
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AcqWeb)
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