| Post: | Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment |
| Flag: | Flag of the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense.svg |
| Flagsize: | 150 |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of an Under Secretary of Defense |
| Insignia: | UnderSec Acquisition Sustainment Logo.png |
| Insigniasize: | 120 |
| Insigniacaption: | Seal of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment |
| Department: | Office of the Secretary of Defense |
| Reports To: | Secretary of Defense Deputy Secretary of Defense |
| Incumbent: | William A. LaPlante |
| Incumbentsince: | 15 April 2022 |
| Style: | Mr. Under Secretary |
| Appointer: | The President |
| Appointer Qualified: | with Senate advice and consent |
| Termlength: | No fixed term |
| Formation: | 2018 |
| Succession: | 5th in SecDef succession |
| Deputy: | Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment |
| Salary: | Executive Schedule, Level III |
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 (including renewable energy); 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.
Ellen Lord became the first Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment on 1 February 2018, after serving as the final Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.
The Under Secretary is appointed from civilian life by the President with the consent of the Senate to serve at the pleasure of the President.
The mission of the OUSD(A&S) is Enable the Delivery and Sustainment of Secure and Resilient Capabilities to the Warfighter and International Partners Quickly and Cost Effectively.[1]
The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)) is focused on forming an acquisition system that moves at the speed of relevance, and to do that, has been shaped into an organization that provides a defense-wide adaptive acquisition framework from need identification to disposal. Using data-driven analysis linked with the National Defense Strategy, OUSD(A&S) scales to enable new product and process development and supports a culture of innovation, critical thinking, and creative compliance. There are multiple organizations that fall under OUSD(A&S) that also work towards this goal.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition (OASD(A)) [2] delivers capability at the point of need through a Defense Acquisition System that is flexible, tailorable, and enables speed. ASD(A) is focused on moving defense acquisition away from being expensive, slow, and burdensome by reducing timelines, lowering costs, and improving quality while rapidly introducing new technology to enhance capability.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment (OASD(Sustainment)) [3] works with logistics and materiel readiness in the Department of Defense (DoD) and is the principal logistics official within the senior management of the DoD. In this capacity, the ASD(S) prescribes policies and procedures for the conduct of logistics, maintenance, materiel readiness, strategic mobility, and sustainment support in the DoD, to include, supply, maintenance, and transportation.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs (OASD(CNB)) [4] leads DoD efforts in preparing for, deterring, and mitigating current and future weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats. They aim to sustain and modernize the U.S. nuclear deterrent; develop capabilities to detect, protect against and respond to WMD threats; ensure DoD compliance with nuclear, chemical, and biological treaties and agreements; continue to work with allies and partners to strengthen our collective countering weapons of mass destruction (CWMD) capabilities; and advance the United States nonproliferation goals.
The Industrial Policy [5] office supports the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment by providing detailed analyses and in-depth understanding of the increasingly global, commercial, and financially complex industrial supply chain essential to our national defense.
The Executive Director for Special Access Program Central Office [6] facilitates and maintains MOAs and memorandums of understanding for foreign involvement with DoD SAPs and coordinates with appropriate oversight authorities.
International Cooperation (IC) [7] Office is to strengthen key international partnerships through cooperative Acquisition & Sustainment initiatives to improve interoperability and sharpen the warfighter’s technological edge. IC prioritizes enabling a lethal, secure, and networked constellation of allies and partners.
The Military Retirement Reform Act of 1986 created the position of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition (USD(A)), which was implemented with the issuance of Department of Defense Directive 5134.1 in February 1987. As part of this act, the position of Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) was redesignated as the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E), a lower-ranking position which reported to the new USD(A).
The title of USD(A) was changed to Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology (USD(A&T)) by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994, and the position was later redesignated as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD(AT&L)) by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000. The USD(AT&L) served as the principal assistant to the Secretary of Defense for research and development, production, procurement, logistics, and military construction.[8]
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 removed the position of USD(AT&L), and in its place it created the position of USD(R&E) once again, as well as the new position of USD(A&S). These changes took effect on 1 February 2018. As part of the reorganization, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness (ASD(L&MR)) and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment (ASD(EI&E)) positions were combined into a new Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment.[9] [10]
The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)), a unit of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, supervises all Department of Defense acquisitions, including procurement of goods and services, research and development, developmental testing, and contract administration, for all elements of the Department. Led by the Under Secretary, OUSD(A&S) oversees logistics, maintenance, and sustainment support for all elements of the Department and establishes policies for the maintenance of the defense industrial base of the United States.
The work of OUSD(A&S) is conducted through its several staff directorates, including:
| Portrait | Name | Tenure | SecDef(s) Served Under | President(s) Served Under | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition | |||||
| 30 September 1986 – 30 September 1987 | Caspar W. Weinberger | Ronald Reagan | |||
| Robert B. Costello | 18 December 1987 – 12 May 1989 | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush | |||
| 11 August 1989 – 31 December 1990 | George H. W. Bush | ||||
| Donald J. Yockey | 1 January 1991 – 20 June 1991 (Acting) 20 June 1991 – 20 January 1993 | George H. W. Bush | |||
| Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology | |||||
| 2 April 1993 – 11 March 1994 | Bill Clinton | ||||
| 3 October 1994 – 16 May 1997 | Bill Clinton | ||||
| Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics | |||||
| 10 November 1997 – 5 January 2001 | Bill Clinton | ||||
| 10 May 2001 – 23 May 2003 | George W. Bush | ||||
| Michael W. Wynne (Acting) | 23 May 2003 – 6 June 2005 | George W. Bush | |||
| Kenneth J. Krieg[11] | 6 June 2005[12] – 20 July 2007[13] | George W. Bush | |||
| John J. Young, Jr.[14] [15] | 20 July 2007 – 21 November 2007 (Acting) 21 November 2007 – 27 April 2009 | George W. Bush Barack Obama | |||
| Ashton Carter[16] | 27 April 2009 – 5 October 2011 | Barack Obama | |||
| 6 October 2011 – 20 January 2017 | Barack Obama | ||||
| Jimmy MacStravic[17] | 20 January 2017 – 7 August 2017 (Performing the Duties of) | James Mattis | Donald Trump | ||
| Ellen Lord | 7 August 2017 – 1 February 2018 | James Mattis | Donald Trump | ||
| Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment | |||||
| Ellen Lord[18] | 1 February 2018 – 20 January 2021 | Donald Trump | |||
| Stacy Cummings[19] | 20 January 2021 – 2 August 2021[20] (Performing the Duties of) | David L. Norquist (acting) Lloyd Austin | Joe Biden | ||
| Gregory M. Kausner[21] | 2 August 2021 – 7 February 2022(Performing the Duties of) | Lloyd Austin | Joe Biden | ||
| Andrew P. Hunter | 7 February 2022[22] – 15 April 2022(Performing the Duties of) | Lloyd Austin | Joe Biden | ||
| William A. LaPlante | 15 April 2022[23] – present | Lloyd Austin | Joe Biden | ||
| Name | Tenure | USD(s) Served Under | SecDef(s) Served Under | President(s) Served Under | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton Lohr | 3 October 1988 – 12 May 1989 | Robert B. Costello | Richard B. Cheney | George H. W. Bush | |
| Donald J. Yockey | 12 March 1990 – 20 January 1991 | John A. Betti | Richard B. Cheney | George H. W. Bush | |
| Donald C. Fraser | 4 December 1991 – 13 January 1993 | Donald J. Yockey | Richard B. Cheney | George H. W. Bush | |
| Noel Longuemare, Jr. | 18 November 1993 – 21 November 1997 | John M. Deutch Paul G. Kaminski Jacques S. Gansler | Leslie Aspin, Jr. William J. Perry William S. Cohen | Bill Clinton | |
| David Oliver | 1 June 1998 – 14 July 2001 | Jacques S. Gansler Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. | William S. Cohen Donald H. Rumsfeld | Bill Clinton George W. Bush | |
| Michael W. Wynne | 17 July 2001 – 2005 | Donald H. Rumsfeld | George W. Bush | ||
| Frank Kendall III | 8 March 2010 – 5 October 2011 | Robert M. Gates Leon Panetta | Barack Obama | ||
| Alan Estevez | 6 October 2011 – 20 January 2017 | Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel Ash Carter | Barack Obama | ||
| Vacant | 20 January 2017 – 1 February 2018 | Ellen Lord | James Mattis | Donald Trump |