10 U.S.C. § 113 - Secretary of Defense

• Cite as: 10 U.S.C. § 113

(a)

(1) There is a Secretary of Defense, who is the head of the Department of Defense, appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(2) A person may not be appointed as Secretary of Defense-

(A) within seven years after relief from active duty as a commissioned officer of a regular component of an armed force in a grade below O-7; or

(B) within 10 years after relief from active duty as a commissioned officer of a regular component of an armed force in the grade of O-7 or above.

(b) The Secretary is the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to the Department of Defense. Subject to the direction of the President and to this title and section 2 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3002 ) he has authority, direction, and control over the Department of Defense.

(c) The Secretary shall report annually in writing to the President and the Congress on the expenditures, work, and accomplishments of the Department of Defense during the period covered by the report, together with-

(1) a report from each military department on the expenditures, work, and accomplishments of that department;

(2) a report from each military department on the status of diversity and inclusion of members and civilian employees in such department, including the status of diversity and inclusion in the military service academies, the Officer Candidate and Training Schools, and the Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs of such department;

(3) itemized statements showing the savings of public funds, and the eliminations of unnecessary duplications, made under sections 125 and 191 of this title; and

(4) such recommendations as he considers appropriate.

(d) Unless specifically prohibited by law, the Secretary may, without being relieved of his responsibility, perform any of his functions or duties, or exercise any of his powers through, or with the aid of, such persons in, or organizations of, the Department of Defense as he may designate.

(e)

(1) The Secretary shall include in his annual report to Congress under subsection (c)-

(A) a description of the major military missions and of the military force structure of the United States for the next fiscal year;

(B) an explanation of the relationship of those military missions to that force structure; and

(C) the justification for those military missions and that force structure.

(2) In preparing the matter referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into consideration the content of the annual national security strategy report of the President under section 108 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3043 ) for the fiscal year concerned.

(f) When a vacancy occurs in an office within the Department of Defense and the office is to be filled by a person appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the Secretary of Defense shall inform the President of the qualifications needed by a person serving in that office to carry out effectively the duties and responsibilities of that office.

(g)

(1)

(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (E), in January every four years, and intermittently otherwise as may be appropriate, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Secretaries of the military departments, the Chiefs of Staff of the armed forces, the commanders of the unified and specified combatant commands, and the heads of all Defense Agencies and Field Activities of the Department of Defense and other elements of the Department specified in paragraphs (1) through (10) of section 111(b) of this title, and to the congressional defense committees, a defense strategy. Each strategy shall be known as the "national defense strategy", and shall support the most recent national security strategy report of the President under section 108 of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3043 ).

(B) Each national defense strategy shall including the following:

(i) The priority missions of the Department of Defense, and the assumed force planning scenarios and constructs.

(ii) The assumed strategic environment, including the most critical and enduring threats to the national security of the United States and its allies posed by state or non-state actors, and the current or projected threats to military installation resilience, and the strategies that the Department will employ to counter such threats and provide for the national defense.

(iii) A strategic framework prescribed by the Secretary that guides how the Department will prioritize among the threats described in clause (ii) and the missions specified pursuant to clause (i), how the Department will allocate and mitigate the resulting risks, and how the Department will make resource investments.

(iv) The roles and missions of the armed forces to carry out the missions described in clause (i), and the assumed roles and capabilities provided by other United States Government agencies and by allies and international partners.

(v) The force size and shape, force posture, defense capabilities, force readiness, infrastructure, organization, personnel, technological innovation, and other elements of the defense program necessary to support such strategy.

(vi) The major investments in defense capabilities, force structure, force readiness, force posture, and technological innovation that the Department will make over the following five-year period in accordance with the strategic framework described in clause (iii).

(vii) Strategic goals related to diversity and inclusion in the armed forces, and an assessment of measures of performance related to the efforts of the armed forces to reflect the diverse population of the United States eligible to serve in the armed forces.

(viii) A strategic framework prescribed by the Secretary that guides how the Department will prioritize and integrate activities relating to sustainment of major defense acquisition programs, core logistics capabilities (as described under section 2464 of this title), commercial logistics capabilities, and the national technology and industrial base (as defined in section 4801 of this title).

(ix) A strategic framework prescribed by the Secretary that guides how the Department will specifically address contested logistics, including major investments for related infrastructure, logistics-related authorities, force posture, related emergent technology and advanced computing capabilities, operational resilience, and operational energy, over the following five-year period to support such strategy.

(x) Strategic goals to address or mitigate the current and projected risks to military installation resilience.

(C) The Secretary shall seek the military advice and assistance of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in preparing each national defense strategy required by this subsection.

(D) Each national defense strategy under this subsection shall be presented to the congressional defense committees in both classified and unclassified form. The unclassified form may not be a summary of the classified document.

(E) In a year following an election for President, which election results in the appointment by the President of a new Secretary of Defense, the Secretary shall present the national defense strategy required by this subsection as soon as possible after appointment by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(F) In February of each year in which the Secretary does not submit a new defense strategy as required by paragraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees an assessment of the current national defense strategy, including an assessment of the implementation of the strategy by the Department and an assessment whether the strategy requires revision as a result of changes in assumptions, policy, or other factors.

(2)

(A) In implementing the requirement in paragraph (1), the Secretary, with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall each year provide to the officials and officers referred in paragraph (1)(A) written guidance (to be known as "Defense Planning Guidance") establishing goals, priorities, including priorities relating to the current or projected risks to military installation resilience, and objectives, including fiscal constraints, to direct the preparation and review of the program and budget recommendations of all elements of the Department, including-

(i) the priority military missions of the Department, including the assumed force planning scenarios and constructs;

(ii) the force size and shape, force posture, defense capabilities, force readiness, infrastructure, organization, personnel, technological innovation, and other elements of the defense program necessary to support the strategy required by paragraph (1);

(iii) the resource levels projected to be available for the period of time for which such recommendations and proposals are to be effective; and

(iv) a discussion of any changes in the strategy required by paragraph (1) and assumptions underpinning the strategy, as required by paragraph (1).

(B) The guidance required by this paragraph shall be produced in February each year in order to support the planning and budget process. A comprehensive briefing on the guidance shall be provided to the congressional defense committees at the same time as the submission of the budget of the President (as submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 31) for the fiscal year beginning in the year in which such guidance is produced.

(3)

(A) In implementing the requirement in paragraph (1) and in conjunction with the reporting requirement in section 2687a of this title, the Secretary, with the approval of the President and the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shall, on the basis provided in subparagraph (E), provide to the officials and officers referred to in paragraph (1)(A) written guidance (to be known as "Contingency Planning Guidance" or "Guidance for Employment of the Force") on the preparation and review of contingency and campaign plans, including plans for providing support to civil authorities in an incident of national significance or a catastrophic incident, for homeland defense, and for military support to civil authorities.