§153 . Chairman: functions

(a) Planning; Advice; Policy Formulation.-Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the President and the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall be responsible for the following:

(1) Strategic Direction.-Assisting the President and the Secretary of Defense in providing for the strategic direction of the armed forces.

(2) Strategic Planning.-(A) Preparing strategic plans, including plans which conform with resource levels projected by the Secretary of Defense to be available for the period of time for which the plans are to be effective.

(B) Preparing joint logistic and mobility plans to support those strategic plans and recommending the assignment of logistic and mobility responsibilities to the armed forces in accordance with those logistic and mobility plans.

(C) Performing net assessments to determine the capabilities of the armed forces of the United States and its allies as compared with those of their potential adversaries.

(3) Contingency Planning; Preparedness.-(A) Providing for the preparation and review of contingency plans which conform to policy guidance from the President and the Secretary of Defense.

(B) Preparing joint logistic and mobility plans to support those contingency plans and recommending the assignment of logistic and mobility responsibilities to the armed forces in accordance with those logistic and mobility plans.

(C) Advising the Secretary on critical deficiencies and strengths in force capabilities (including manpower, logistic, and mobility support) identified during the preparation and review of contingency plans and assessing the effect of such deficiencies and strengths on meeting national security objectives and policy and on strategic plans.

(D) Establishing and maintaining, after consultation with the commanders of the unified and specified combatant commands, a uniform system of evaluating the preparedness of each such command to carry out missions assigned to the command.

(4) Advice on Requirements, Programs, and Budget.-(A) Advising the Secretary, under section 163(b)(2) of this title, on the priorities of the requirements identified by the commanders of the unified and specified combatant commands.

(B) Advising the Secretary on the extent to which the program recommendations and budget proposals of the military departments and other components of the Department of Defense for a fiscal year conform with the priorities established in strategic plans and with the priorities established for the requirements of the unified and specified combatant commands.

(C) Submitting to the Secretary alternative program recommendations and budget proposals, within projected resource levels and guidance provided by the Secretary, in order to achieve greater conformance with the priorities referred to in clause (B).

(D) Recommending to the Secretary, in accordance with section 166 of this title, a budget proposal for activities of each unified and specified combatant command.

(E) Advising the Secretary on the extent to which the major programs and policies of the armed forces in the area of manpower conform with strategic plans.

(F) Assessing military requirements for defense acquisition programs.

(5) Doctrine, Training, and Education.-(A) Developing doctrine for the joint employment of the armed forces.

(B) Formulating policies for the joint training of the armed forces.

(C) Formulating policies for coordinating the military education and training of members of the armed forces.

(6) Other Matters.-(A) Providing for representation of the United States on the Military Staff Committee of the United Nations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

(B) Performing such other duties as may be prescribed by law or by the President or the Secretary of Defense.

(b) Report on Assignment of Roles and Missions.-(1) Not less than once every three years, or upon the request of the President or the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report containing such recommendations for changes in the assignment of functions (or roles and missions) to the armed forces as the Chairman considers necessary to achieve maximum effectiveness of the armed forces. In preparing each such report, the Chairman shall consider (among other matters) the following:

(A) Changes in the nature of the threats faced by the United States.

(B) Unnecessary duplication of effort among the armed forces.

(C) Changes in technology that can be applied effectively to warfare.

(2) The Chairman shall include in each such report recommendations for such changes in policies, directives, regulations, and legislation as may be necessary to achieve the changes in the assignment of functions recommended by the Chairman.

(Added Pub. L. 99–433, title II, §201, Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1007 .)

Annual Assessment of Force Readiness

Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title III, §376, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1637 , provided that:

"(a) Annual Assessment Required.-Not later than March 1 of each of 1994, 1995, and 1996, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall submit to the Congress an assessment of-

"(1) the readiness and capability of the Armed Forces to carry out the full range of the missions assigned to the Armed Forces; and

"(2) the associated level or degree of risk for the Armed Forces in responding to current and anticipated threats to national security interests of the United States.

"(b) Content of Assessment.-Each assessment shall include, for the five-year period described in subsection (c), the following matters:

"(1) An unclassified description of the current and projected readiness and capability of the Armed Forces taking into consideration each of the following areas:

"(A) Personnel.

"(B) Training and exercises.

"(C) Logistics, including equipment maintenance and supply availability.

"(D) Equipment modernization.

"(E) Installations, real property, and facilities.

"(F) Munitions.

"(G) Mobility.

"(H) Wartime sustainability.

"(2) The personal assessment of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding the readiness and capabilities of the Armed Forces, together with the Chairman's personal judgment on whether there are significant problems or risks regarding the readiness and capabilities of the Armed Forces.

"(3) Any factors that the Chairman or any other member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes may lead to a decrease in force readiness or a degradation in the overall capability of the Armed Forces.

"(4) Any recommended actions that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff considers appropriate.

"(5) Any classified annexes that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff considers appropriate.

"(c) Period Assessed.-The assessment shall include information for the fiscal year in which the assessment is submitted, the three preceding fiscal years, and projections for the subsequent fiscal year.

"(d) Interim Assessments.-If, at any time between submissions of assessments to the Congress under subsection (a), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff determines that there is a significant change in the projected readiness or capability of the Armed Forces from the readiness or capability projected in the most recent annual assessment, the Chairman shall submit to the Congress a revised assessment that reflects each such significant change."

Annual Assessment of Force Readiness

Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title III, §376, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1637 , provided that:

"(a) Annual Assessment Required.-Not later than March 1 of each of 1994, 1995, and 1996, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall submit to the Congress an assessment of-

"(1) the readiness and capability of the Armed Forces to carry out the full range of the missions assigned to the Armed Forces; and

"(2) the associated level or degree of risk for the Armed Forces in responding to current and anticipated threats to national security interests of the United States.

"(b) Content of Assessment.-Each assessment shall include, for the five-year period described in subsection (c), the following matters:

"(1) An unclassified description of the current and projected readiness and capability of the Armed Forces taking into consideration each of the following areas:

"(A) Personnel.

"(B) Training and exercises.

"(C) Logistics, including equipment maintenance and supply availability.

"(D) Equipment modernization.

"(E) Installations, real property, and facilities.

"(F) Munitions.

"(G) Mobility.

"(H) Wartime sustainability.

"(2) The personal assessment of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding the readiness and capabilities of the Armed Forces, together with the Chairman's personal judgment on whether there are significant problems or risks regarding the readiness and capabilities of the Armed Forces.

"(3) Any factors that the Chairman or any other member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes may lead to a decrease in force readiness or a degradation in the overall capability of the Armed Forces.

"(4) Any recommended actions that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff considers appropriate.

"(5) Any classified annexes that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff considers appropriate.

"(c) Period Assessed.-The assessment shall include information for the fiscal year in which the assessment is submitted, the three preceding fiscal years, and projections for the subsequent fiscal year.

"(d) Interim Assessments.-If, at any time between submissions of assessments to the Congress under subsection (a), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff determines that there is a significant change in the projected readiness or capability of the Armed Forces from the readiness or capability projected in the most recent annual assessment, the Chairman shall submit to the Congress a revised assessment that reflects each such significant change."

Report of Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff on Roles and Missions of Armed Forces

Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title IX, §901, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2469 , provided that:

"(a) Report.-(1) The Secretary of Defense shall transmit to Congress a copy of the first report relating to the roles and missions of the Armed Forces that is submitted to the Secretary by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under section 153(b) of title 10, United States Code, after January 1, 1992.

"(2) The Secretary shall transmit the report, together with his views on the report, within 30 days after receiving the report.

"(b) Additional Matters.-In addition to the matters required under such section 153(b), the Chairman shall include in the report referred to in subsection (a) the Chairman's comments and recommendations regarding the following matters:

"(1) Reassessing the roles and missions assigned to each of the Armed Forces (under the Key West agreement of 1947 and subsequent actions by the various Secretaries of Defense and the Congress) in light of the new national security environment resulting from the end of the Cold War.

"(2) The extent to which the efficiency of the Armed Forces in carrying out their roles and missions can be enhanced by-

"(A) the elimination or reduction of duplication in the capabilities of the military departments and Defense Agencies without an undue diminution in their effectiveness; and

"(B) the consolidation or streamlining of organizations and activities within the military departments and Defense Agencies.

"(3) Changes in the operational tempo of forces stationed in the continental United States and changes in deployment patterns and operational tempo of forces deployed outside the United States.

"(4) Changes in the readiness status of units based upon time-phased force deployment plans.

"(5) Transfers of functions from the active components of the Armed Forces to the reserve components of the Armed Forces."

Transition Provisions

Section 204(a), (b) of Pub. L. 99–433 provided that:

"(a) Preparedness Evaluation System.-The uniform system of evaluating the preparedness of each unified and specified combatant command required to be established by paragraph (3)(D) of section 153(a) of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 201 of this Act, shall be established not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 1, 1986].

"(b) Date for First Report.-The first report under section 153(b) of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 201 of this Act, shall be submitted by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 1, 1986]."