The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department of Defense in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource management, fiscal, and program evaluation responsibilities. OSD is the Secretary of Defense's support staff for managing the Department of Defense, and it corresponds to what the Executive Office of the President of the U.S. is to the U.S. president for managing the whole of the Executive branch of the federal government.
A program executive officer, or PEO, is one of a few key individuals in the United States military acquisition process. As can be seen from the examples below, a program executive officer may be responsible for a specific program, or for an entire portfolio of similar programs.
The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, or USD (A&S), is the Principal Staff Assistant (PSA) and advisor to the Secretary of Defense for all matters relating to acquisition and sustainment in the Department of Defense. This includes the DoD Acquisition System; system design and development; production; logistics and distribution; installation maintenance, management, and resilience; military construction; procurement of goods and services; material readiness; maintenance; environment and energy resilience ; utilities; business management modernization; International Armaments Cooperation, Cooperative Acquisition and International Agreements, Promoting exportability of military components to allies and partners; nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs; and nuclear command, control, and communications.
The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (SAF/AQ) is a civilian position in the Department of the Air Force that is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. This position is established under Title 10 US Code Section 9016 and is one of five Assistant Secretary positions under the Secretary of the Air Force. The Assistant Secretary reports to the Secretary of the Air Force.
The Office of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT) pronounced A-salt) is known as OASA(ALT). OASA(ALT) serves, when delegated, as the Army Acquisition Executive, the Senior Procurement Executive, the Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, and as the senior research and development official for the Department of the Army. The OASA(ALT) also has the principal responsibility for all Department of the Army matters related to logistics.
John Jacob Young Jr. was United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 2001 to 2005 and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics from 2007 to 2009. He is the founder and principal of JY Strategies, LLC.
The under secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the under secretary of the Department of the Air Force, is the second-highest ranking civilian official in the Department of the Air Force of the United States of America, serving directly under the secretary of the Air Force. In the absence of the secretary, the under secretary exercises all the powers and duties of the secretary and serves as acting secretary when the position of secretary is vacant. The under secretary of the Air Force is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Malcolm Ross O'Neill was the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, having been sworn into office by United States Under Secretary of the Army Joseph W. Westphal on March 10, 2010, and resigned June 3, 2011.
Claude Milburn Bolton Jr. was a United States Air Force major general who served also as United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology from 2002 to 2008.
The U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC) is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. USAASC is headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va.
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) (abbreviated ASN (RDA)) is a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) requires Senate confirmation, and engages in duties as directed by the United States Secretary of the Navy.
Gustave F. Perna is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as the chief operating officer of the federal COVID-19 response for vaccine and therapeutics. He previously served as the chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed from July 2020 until the operation's duties and responsibilities were transferred to the White House COVID-19 Response Team in February 2021. As chief operating officer of COVID-19 response, he oversaw the logistics in the United States federal government's distribution of the vaccine to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senate confirmed his nomination as chief operating officer on 2 July 2020, and he assumed the office shortly after.
The United States Army Acquisition Corps (AAC) is the officer / NCO corps of the United States Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW), a branch which includes civilians, officers, and NCOs. The Acquisition Corps is composed of army officers who serve in acquisition, a specialized form of product development, fielding, and support and Noncommissioned Officers who specialize in Contracting, Level I Program Management and Purchasing. These officers begin their careers in the other branches of the army for eight years, after which they may elect the Acquisition branch as their career as assistant program managers (APMs), program managers (PMs), and program executive officers (PEOs). The Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) are reclassified in the Army Acquisition NCO Corps after serving 7-10 years in their respective enlisted career management fields, and serve primarily in the Army Acquisition Career Management Field - 51 and (MOS) 51C. 4% percentage of the Army Acquisition Officers serve among the 40,000 members of the army acquisition workforce, 6% in MOS 51C - Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Contracting Noncommissioned Officer, and the remainder 90% percentage consist largely of Department of the Army civilians.
Donna D. Shipton is a United States Air Force lieutenant general who serves as commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The center is responsible for total life cycle management for aircraft, engines, munitions, electronic, computer, network, cyber and agile combat support systems. The center employs more than 28,000 people and has a budget of over $300 billion. Previously she served as military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration (SAF/SQ) is a civilian position in the United States Department of the Air Force that is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. This position is established under Title 10 US Code Section 9016. The assistant secretary reports to the Secretary of the Air Force.
Leon Neil Thurgood is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who last served as the director of Hypersonics, Directed Energy, Space, and Rapid Acquisition of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. He previously served as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology.
Robert L. Marion is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the principal military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology and the Director of the United States Army Acquisition Corps from 2020 to 2024. He previously served as the Deputy Commander of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan.
Robert A. Rasch Jr. is a United States Army lieutenant general who has served as the director of hypersonics, directed energy, space, and rapid acquisition of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology since 2 September 2022. He was previously the program executive officer for missiles and space from July 2018 to August 2022.
Charles R. Hamilton is a former United States Army general who last served as the commanding general of United States Army Materiel Command from 16 March 2023 to 22 March 2024. He previously served as the deputy chief of staff for logistics of the Army Staff from 6 April 2022 to 16 March 2023. Prior to this he was the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics of the United States Army from May 2021 to March 2022, and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Operations of the United States Army Materiel Command from July 2020 to April 2021.
