Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment

10 U.S.C. § 133b

• Title: 10 — Armed Forces
• Chapter: 4 — OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Text

(a) Under Secretary of Defense.—There is an Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Under Secretary shall be appointed from among persons who have an extensive system development, engineering, production, or management background and experience with managing complex programs. A person may not be appointed as Under Secretary within seven years after relief from active duty as a commissioned officer of a regular component of an armed force.
(b) Duties and Powers.—Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary shall perform such duties and exercise such powers as the Secretary may prescribe, including—
(1) serving as the chief acquisition and sustainment officer of the Department of Defense with the mission of delivers end-user capabilities with speed and innovation to counter threats and cost-effectively sustain the military advantage of the United States;
(2) establishing policies on, and supervising, all elements of the Department relating to acquisition (including system design, development, appropriate prototyping activities, and production, and procurement of goods and services) and sustainment (including logistics, maintenance, and materiel readiness);
(3) establishing policies for access to, and maintenance of, the defense industrial base and materials critical to national security, and policies on contract administration;
(4) establishing policies for, and providing oversight, guidance, and coordination with respect to, the nuclear command, control, and communications system;
(5) serving as—
(A) the principal advisor to the Secretary on acquisition and sustainment in the Department;
(B) the senior procurement executive for the Department for the purposes of section 1702(c) of title 41;
(C) the Defense Acquisition Executive for purposes of regulations and procedures of the Department providing for a Defense Acquisition Executive;
(D) chairman of the Nuclear Weapons Council established by section 179 of this title; and
(E) co-chairman of the Council on Oversight of the National Leadership Command, Control, and Communications System established by section 171a of this title;
(6) overseeing—
(A) the sustainment and modernization of United States nuclear forces, including the nuclear command, control, and communications system; and
(B) military department and Defense Agency programs to develop defenses against chemical and biological weapons and capabilities to counter weapons of mass destruction;
(7) the authority to direct the Secretaries of the military departments and the heads of all other elements of the Department with regard to matters for which the Under Secretary has responsibility, except that the Under Secretary shall exercise advisory authority over service acquisition programs for which the service acquisition executive is the milestone decision authority;
(8) to the extent directed by the Secretary, exercising overall supervision of all personnel (civilian and military) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense with regard to matters for which the Under Secretary has responsibility, unless otherwise provided by law;
(9) advising the Secretary on all aspects of acquisition and sustainment relating to—
(A) the defense acquisition system, in accordance with the objectives established pursuant to section 3102 of this title;
(B) core logistics capabilities (as described under section 2464 of this title); and
(C) the national technology and industrial base (as defined in section 4801 of this title); and
(10) advising the Secretary on, establishing policies on, and supervising, the activities of the Department relating to international cooperation and agreements regarding industrial base collaboration and coordination, including cooperative development and co-production, reciprocal production, exportability considerations, supply chain integration, security of supply chain agreements, and acquisition and cross-service agreements.
(c) Precedence in Department of Defense.—
(1) Precedence in matters of responsibility.—With regard to all matters for which the Under Secretary has responsibility by the direction of the Secretary of Defense or by law, the Under Secretary takes precedence in the Department of Defense after the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
(2) Precedence in other matters.—With regard to all matters other than the matters for which the Under Secretary has responsibility by the direction of the Secretary or by law, the Under Secretary takes precedence in the Department of Defense after the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and the Secretaries of the military departments.

History

(Added Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title IX, §901(b), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2340; amended Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title IX, §§902, 910(c)(3), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1511, 1518; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title IX, §902(92), title XVI, §1662(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1554, 1772; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title VIII, §811(a)(2), title XVIII, §1883(b)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3749, 4294; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title IX, §901(a)(2), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 354; Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title IX, §903(a)(1), title XVI, §1621(b), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2026, 2171; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVIII, §1801(a)(2)(A), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1221.)

Editorial Notes

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions
A prior section 133b was renumbered section 138a of this title and was subsequently repealed.
Another prior section 133b was renumbered section 118 of this title and was subsequently repealed.

Amendments
2025—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 119–60, §1801(a)(2)(A)(i), substituted "delivers end-user capabilities with speed and innovation to counter threats and cost-effectively sustain the military advantage of the United States" for "delivering and sustaining timely, cost-effective capabilities for the armed forces (and the Department)".
Subsec. (b)(9)(A). Pub. L. 119–60, §1801(a)(2)(A)(ii), substituted "the defense acquisition system, in accordance with the objectives established pursuant to section 3102 of this title" for "defense acquisition programs".
2024—Subsec. (b)(5)(D), (E). Pub. L. 118–159, §1621(b)(1), added subpars. (D) and (E).
Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 118–159, §1621(b)(2), amended par. (6) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (6) read as follows: "overseeing the modernization of nuclear forces, including the nuclear command, control, and communications system, and the development of capabilities to counter weapons of mass destruction, and serving as the chairman of the Nuclear Weapons Council and the co-chairman of the Council on Oversight of the National Leadership Command, Control, and Communications System;".
Subsec. (b)(10). Pub. L. 118–159, §903(a)(1), added par. (10).
2023—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 118–31, §901(a)(2)(A), struck out "the Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense," after "the Deputy Secretary of Defense,".
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 118–31, §901(a)(2)(B), struck out "the Chief Management Officer," after "the Deputy Secretary,".
2021—Subsec. (b)(9). Pub. L. 116–283, §811(a)(2), added par. (9).
Subsec. (b)(9)(C). Pub. L. 116–283, §1883(b)(2), substituted "section 4801" for "section 2500".
2019—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 116–92, §902(92), inserted "appropriate prototyping activities," after "development,".
Subsec. (b)(4) to (8). Pub. L. 116–92, §1662(a), added par. (4), redesignated former pars. (4) to (7) as (5) to (8), respectively, and in par. (6) inserted ", including the nuclear command, control, and communications system," after "modernization of nuclear forces".
2017—Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 115–91, §902, substituted "advisory authority" for "supervisory authority".
Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–91, §910(c)(3)(A), inserted "the Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense," after "the Deputy Secretary of Defense,".
Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 115–91, §910(c)(3)(B), inserted "the Chief Management Officer," after "the Deputy Secretary,".

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2021 Amendment
Amendment by section 1883(b)(2) of Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Effective Date of 2017 Amendment
Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title IX, §902, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1511, provided that the amendment made by section 902 is effective Feb. 1, 2018, and immediately after the coming into effect of the amendment made by section 901(b) of Pub. L. 114–328 (enacting this section).
Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title IX, §910(c), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1518, provided that the amendment made by section 910(c)(3) is effective on Feb. 1, 2018, and immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by section 901 of Pub. L. 114–328 (see Tables for classification).

Effective Date
Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title IX, §901(b), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2339, provided that this section is effective on Feb. 1, 2018.

Guidance Required
Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title IX, §903(a)(2), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2026, provided that: "Not later than July 1, 2025, the Secretary of Defense shall update relevant policies and guidance related to the duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment prescribed in section 133b(b)(10) of title 10, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1)."

Department of Defense Support for Requirements of White House Military Office
Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title XVI, §1672(b), (c), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2959, provided that:
"(b) Portfolio Manager.—The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall designate a senior official to coordinate and advocate for the portfolio of national level programs of the Department of Defense that are either or both—
"(1) in direct support of requirements from the White House Military Office; or
"(2) operationally relevant to the mission areas of the White House Military Office.
"(c) Accessibility of Information.—The programmatic and budgetary information required to assess the efficacy of the national level programs covered by subsection (b) shall be provided to the senior official designated under such subsection by the following officials:
"(1) The Secretary of each military department.
"(2) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
"(3) The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
"(4) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"(5) The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation."