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Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment

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Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment
Seal of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment
since 10 June 2022
Office of the Secretary of Defense
StyleThe Honorable
(formal address in writing)
Reports toUnder Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
AppointerThe President
with the advice and consent of the Senate
Term lengthNo fixed term
Formation12 October 2018
Deputy3 deputy assistant secretaries
Websitewww.acq.osd.mil/log/

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment (ASD (Sustainment)), formerly known as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness (ASD(L&MR)), is one of three assistant secretaries reporting to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. Formerly the position was an adviser to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of Defense on logistics and materiel readiness issues within the Department of Defense (DoD), including programs related to logistics, materiel readiness, maintenance, strategic mobility, and sustainment support. As the principal logistics official within the senior management of the DoD, the ASD(Sustainment) exercises authority, direction and control over the director of the Defense Logistics Agency. Like all other Assistant Secretaries of Defense, the ASD(Sustainment) is considered a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

History

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This position can trace its lineage partially back to the National Security Act of 1947, which established a Munitions Board to oversee logistics and supply within the nascent Defense Department. Through the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations, oversight of logistics and materiel readiness was merged with oversight of installations and properties. In 1977, the acquisition functions of this office were transferred to the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, and responsibilities for logistics were merged with manpower and reserve affairs throughout the Carter and early Reagan administrations.[1]

For a year in the middle of the Reagan administration, responsibilities for logistics and materiel support were split between two ASDs after the creation of a new Assistant Secretary of Defense for Development and Support, established by Defense Directive 5129.4 (signed 25 November 1984). However, this office was abolished after Defense Directive 5128.1 (signed in November 1985) merged logistics responsibilities into a single office, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Logistics. This office was then replaced by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Production and Logistics in April 1987, and phased out completely in 1993 after the reorganization of the office of the USD (AT&L).[1] From 1993 until 2000, there was no principal staff assistant to the USD (AT&L) responsible for oversight of logistics and materiel readiness.[citation needed]

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, (P.L. 106-65, signed 5 October 1999) created the new position of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, or DUSD (L&MR). The DUSD (L&MR) was meant to serve as a second DUSD, after the Principal DUSD, reporting to the USD (AT&L). According to an official DoD history, the intent of Congress in establishing the DUSD (L&MR) was to emphasize the importance of these functions.[1]

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84, signed 28 October 2009) redesignated this position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, or ASD(L&MR), as part of an overall effort to limit the number of DUSD positions to five.[2] However, this post remained vacant throughout the Obama administration, with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (PDASD) Alan F. Estevez serving as the highest-ranking official in this office.[3]

In February 2018, the Logistics and Materiel Readiness office was combined into a new office, headed by the Assistant Secretary for Sustainment.[4]

As part of a reorganization on 12 October 2018, the ASD(L&MR) was combined with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment (ASD(EI&E)) into a new Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment.[5] The ASD(EI&E) position was reestablished on February 10, 2022.[6]

Office holders

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Assistant Secretaries for Logistics and Materiel Readiness

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The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices.

Assistant Secretaries of Defense (Logistics & Materiel Readiness)[1]
Name Tenure Secretary(ies) served under President(s) served under
Chairman, Munitions Board
Thomas J. Hargrave 30 September 1947 – 20 September 1948 James V. Forrestal Harry Truman
Donald F. Carpenter 21 September 1948 – 30 June 1949 James V. Forrestal
Louis A. Johnson
Hubert E. Howard 25 November 1949 – 18 September 1950 Louis A. Johnson
John D. Small 16 November 1950 – 20 January 1953 George C. Marshall
Robert A. Lovett
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Supply and Logistics)
Charles S. Thomas 5 August 1953 – 2 May 1954 Charles Erwin Wilson Dwight Eisenhower
Thomas P. Pike 3 May 1954 – 27 June 1956
E. Perkins McGuire 28 December 1956 – 20 January 1961 Charles Erwin Wilson
Neil H. McElroy
Thomas S. Gates
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics)
Thomas D. Morris 29 January 1961 – 11 December 1964 Robert S. McNamara John F. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
Paul R. Ignatius 23 December 1964 – 31 August 1967 Robert S. McNamara Lyndon Johnson
Thomas D. Morris 1 September 1967 – 1 February 1969 Robert S. McNamara
Clark M. Clifford
Melvin R. Laird
Lyndon Johnson
Richard Nixon
Barry J. Shillito 1 February 1969 – 1 February 1973 Melvin R. Laird Richard Nixon
Arthur I. Mendolia 21 June 1973 – 31 March 1975 James R. Schlesinger Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
John J. Bennett (acting) 1 April 1975 – 9 February 1976 James R. Schlesinger
Donald H. Rumsfeld
Gerald Ford
Frank A. Shrontz 10 February 1976 – 19 January 1977 Donald H. Rumsfeld
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics)
John P. White 11 May 1977 – 31 October 1978 Harold Brown Jimmy Carter
Robert B. Pirie Jr. 17 June 1979 – 20 January 1981
Lawrence Korb 4 May 1981 – 12 January 1984 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Installations, and Logistics)
Lawrence J. Korb 12 January 1984 – 5 July 1985 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Development and Support)
James P. Wade 6 August 1984 – 5 July 1985 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Logistics)
James P. Wade 5 July 1985 – 3 November 1986 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan
Robert B. Costello 13 March 1987 – 15 April 1987
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Production and Logistics)
Robert B. Costello 15 April 1987 – 17 December 1987 Caspar W. Weinberger
Frank C. Carlucci III
Ronald Reagan
Jack Katzen 28 March 1988 – 8 January 1990 Frank C. Carlucci III
William Howard Taft IV (acting)
Dick Cheney
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Colin McMillan 5 March 1990 – 11 December 1992 Dick Cheney George H. W. Bush
No position
Position vacant from 1993 to 2000
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness)
Roger W. Kallock 15 September 2000 – 19 January 2001 William S. Cohen Bill Clinton
Diane Morales 17 July 2001 – 2 January 2004 Donald H. Rumsfeld George W. Bush
Bradley M. Berkson (acting) 2 January 2004[7] – 8 August 2005
Phillip J. "Jack" Bell 8 August 2005[8] – 20 January 2009 Donald H. Rumsfeld
Robert M. Gates
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness)
Position vacant from 20 January 2009 to 8 August 2011
Alan Estevez 8 August 2011 – 30 October 2013 Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel Barack Obama
David J. Berteau 16 December 2014 – 25 March 2016 Chuck Hagel, Ashton B. Carter
Position vacant from 26 March 2016 to 30 November 2017
Robert H. McMahon 30 November 2017 – 11 October 2018 James Mattis Donald Trump

Assistant Secretary for Sustainment

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Assistant Secretaries for Sustainment
Name Tenure Secretary(ies) served under President(s) served under
Robert H. McMahon 12 October 2018 – 22 November 2019 Jim Mattis
Mark Esper
Donald Trump
Peter Potochney (acting) 22 November 2019 – 26 March 2020 Mark Esper Donald Trump
Jordan Gillis 26 March 2020 – 20 January 2021 Mark Esper Donald Trump
Steven J. Morani (acting) 20 January 2021 – 10 June 2022 Lloyd Austin Joe Biden
Christopher Lowman 10 June 2022 – present Lloyd Austin Joe Biden

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  2. ^ Title IX, Subtitle A, Section 906, Part b, http://intelligence.senate.gov/pdfs/military_act_2009.pdf Archived 3 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Alan F. Estevez biography". Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2007.
  4. ^ Mehta, Aaron (2 August 2017). "This is the Pentagon's new acquisition structure". Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Report to Congress: Restructuring the Department of Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Organization and Chief Management Officer Organization" (PDF). 1 August 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Statement of Mr. Paul Cramer Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations & Environment) Before the House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness Department of Defense Energy, Installations & Environment Programs" (PDF). 16 March 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  7. ^ "The Decision Makers: Defense Department". GovExec.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2005. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Cost-effective Joint Support for the Warfighter", Defense AT&L Interview with Jack BellArchived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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