§2228. Military equipment and infrastructure: prevention and mitigation of corrosion

(a) Designation of Responsible Official or Organization.-The Secretary of Defense shall designate an officer or employee of the Department of Defense, or a standing board or committee of the Department of Defense, as the senior official or organization responsible in the Department to the Secretary of Defense (after the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) for the prevention and mitigation of corrosion of the military equipment and infrastructure of the Department.

(b) Duties.-(1) The official or organization designated under subsection (a) shall oversee and coordinate efforts throughout the Department of Defense to prevent and mitigate corrosion of the military equipment and infrastructure of the Department. The duties under this paragraph shall include the duties specified in paragraphs (2) through (5).

(2) The designated official or organization shall develop and recommend any policy guidance on the prevention and mitigation of corrosion to be issued by the Secretary of Defense.

(3) The designated official or organization shall review the programs and funding levels proposed by the Secretary of each military department during the annual internal Department of Defense budget review process as those programs and funding proposals relate to programs and funding for the prevention and mitigation of corrosion and shall submit to the Secretary of Defense recommendations regarding those programs and proposed funding levels.

(4) The designated official or organization shall provide oversight and coordination of the efforts within the Department of Defense to prevent or mitigate corrosion during-

(A) the design, acquisition, and maintenance of military equipment; and

(B) the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure.

(5) The designated official or organization shall monitor acquisition practices within the Department of Defense-

(A) to ensure that the use of corrosion prevention technologies and the application of corrosion prevention treatments are fully considered during research and development in the acquisition process; and

(B) to ensure that, to the extent determined appropriate for each acquisition program, such technologies and treatments are incorporated into that program, particularly during the engineering and design phases of the acquisition process.

(c) Long-Term Strategy.-(1) The Secretary of Defense shall develop and implement a long-term strategy to reduce corrosion and the effects of corrosion on the military equipment and infrastructure of the Department of Defense.

(2) The strategy under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A) Expansion of the emphasis on corrosion prevention and mitigation within the Department of Defense to include coverage of infrastructure.

(B) Application uniformly throughout the Department of Defense of requirements and criteria for the testing and certification of new corrosion-prevention technologies for equipment and infrastructure with similar characteristics, similar missions, or similar operating environments.

(C) Implementation of programs, including supporting databases, to ensure that a focused and coordinated approach is taken throughout the Department of Defense to collect, review, validate, and distribute information on proven methods and products that are relevant to the prevention of corrosion of military equipment and infrastructure.

(D) Establishment of a coordinated research and development program for the prevention and mitigation of corrosion for new and existing military equipment and infrastructure that includes a plan to transition new corrosion prevention technologies into operational systems.

(3) The strategy shall include, for the matters specified in paragraph (2), the following:

(A) Policy guidance.

(B) Performance measures and milestones.

(C) An assessment of the necessary personnel and funding necessary to accomplish the long-term strategy.

(d) Definitions.-In this section:

(1) The term "corrosion" means the deterioration of a material or its properties due to a reaction of that material with its chemical environment.

(2) The term "military equipment" includes all weapon systems, weapon platforms, vehicles, and munitions of the Department of Defense, and the components of such items.

(3) The term "infrastructure" includes all buildings, structures, airfields, port facilities, surface and subterranean utility systems, heating and cooling systems, fuel tanks, pavements, and bridges.

(Added Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title X, §1067(a)(1), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2657 .)

Deadline for Designation of Responsible Official or Organization; Interim Report; Deadline for Long-Term Strategy; GAO Review

Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title X, §1067(b)–(e), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2658 , 2659, directed the Secretary of Defense to designate a responsible official or organization under subsec. (a) of this section not later than 90 days after Dec. 2, 2002, directed the Secretary to submit to Congress a report setting forth the long-term strategy required under subsec. (c) of this section not later than one year after Dec. 2, 2002, and required the Comptroller General to monitor the implementation of such long-term strategy and, not later than 18 months after Dec. 2, 2002, to submit to Congress an assessment of the extent to which that strategy had been implemented.