§131. Office of the Secretary of Defense

(a) There is in the Department of Defense an Office of the Secretary of Defense. The function of the Office is to assist the Secretary of Defense in carrying out his duties and responsibilities and to carry out such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

(b) The Office of the Secretary of Defense is composed of the following:

(1) The Deputy Secretary of Defense.

(2) The Under Secretaries of Defense, as follows:

(A) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

(B) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

(C) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).

(D) The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

(E) The Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

(3) The Director of Defense Research and Engineering.

(4) The Assistant Secretaries of Defense.

(5) The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.

(6) The General Counsel of the Department of Defense.

(7) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense.

(8) Such other offices and officials as may be established by law or the Secretary of Defense may establish or designate in the Office.

(c) Officers of the armed forces may be assigned or detailed to permanent duty in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. However, the Secretary may not establish a military staff in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

(d) The Secretary of each military department, and the civilian employees and members of the armed forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, shall cooperate fully with personnel of the Office of the Secretary of Defense to achieve efficient administration of the Department of Defense and to carry out effectively the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense.

(Added Pub. L. 99–433, title I, §104, Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 996 ; amended Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title IX, §906(a), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1729 ; Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title IX, §903(b)(1), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2823 ; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title IX, §903(e)(1), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 402 ; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title IX, §901, Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2617 ; Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title IX, §911(d)(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 719 ; Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title IX, §901(b)(1), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2619 .)

Prior Provisions

A prior section 131 was renumbered section 111 of this title.

Amendments

2002-Subsec. (b)(2) to (11). Pub. L. 107–314 added par. (2), redesignated pars. (6) to (11) as (3) to (8), respectively, and struck out former pars. (2) to (5) which read as follows:

"(2) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.

"(3) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

"(4) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).

"(5) The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness."

1999-Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 106–65 substituted "Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics" for "Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology".

1996-Subsec. (b)(6) to (11). Pub. L. 104–106, §903(a), (e)(1), which directed amendment of subsec. (b), eff. Jan. 31, 1997, by striking out pars. (6) and (8) and redesignating pars. (7), (9), (10), and (11) as (6), (7), (8), and (9), respectively, was repealed by Pub. L. 104–201.

1994-Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 103–337 substituted "Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)" for "Comptroller".

1993-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–160 amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: "The Office of the Secretary of Defense is composed of the following:

"(1) The Deputy Secretary of Defense.

"(2) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition.

"(3) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

"(4) The Director of Defense Research and Engineering.

"(5) The Assistant Secretaries of Defense.

"(6) The Comptroller of the Department of Defense.

"(7) The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.

"(8) The General Counsel of the Department of Defense.

"(9) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense.

"(10) Such other offices and officials as may be established by law or the Secretary of Defense may establish or designate in the Office."

Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

Section 903(a) of Pub. L. 104–106, which provided that the amendments made by section 903 of Pub. L. 104–106 (amending this section and sections 138, 176, 1056, 1216, 1587, and 10201 of this title, repealing sections 133a, 134a, 137, and 142 of this title, and amending provisions set out as a note under section 167 of this title) were to take effect on Jan. 31, 1997, was repealed by Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title IX, §901, Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2617 .

Defense Acquisition Workforce

Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title IX, §912(a)–(e), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1860 , 1861, required Secretary of Defense to accomplish reductions in defense acquisition personnel positions, to report on specific acquisition positions previously eliminated, to submit an implementation plan to streamline and improve acquisition organizations, to review acquisition organizations and functions, and to require certain duties of Task Force on Defense Reform.

Reduction of Personnel Assigned to Office of the Secretary of Defense

Section 903 of Pub. L. 104–201, which provided for phased reduction of number of personnel assigned to or employed in functions in Office of the Secretary of Defense, was repealed and restated in section 143 of this title by Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title IX, §911(d)(1), (3), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1859 , 1860.

Organization of Office of the Secretary of Defense

Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title IX, §901, Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 399 , as amended by Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title IX, §903(g), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2618 , directed the Secretary of Defense to conduct a review of the organizations and functions of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the personnel needed to carry out those functions, and to submit to the congressional defense committees a report containing findings, conclusions, and a plan for implementing recommendations not later than Mar. 1, 1996.

Pub. L. 99–433, title I, §109, Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 999 , directed the Secretary of Defense, the Secretaries of the military departments, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to conduct studies of the functions and organization of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, required the Secretaries of the military departments and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to submit reports on their studies to the Secretary of Defense, and directed the Secretary of Defense to submit a report on the Secretary's study to Congress not later than one year after Oct. 1, 1986.