§192 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

§192 Defense Agencies and Department of Defense Field Activities: oversight by the Secretary of Defense

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART I— - ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL MILITARY POWERS › Chapter CHAPTER 8— - DEFENSE AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FIELD ACTIVITIES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - COMMON SUPPLY AND SERVICE ACTIVITIES › § 192

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must pick someone to watch over each Defense Agency and Department of Defense Field Activity. That person can be a civilian leader in the Office of the Secretary of Defense or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The watcher must tell the Secretary how well each agency’s programs and budgets meet the needs of the military departments and the combatant commands. The Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency are not covered by that part, but the Secretary will decide how the NSA is reviewed after talking with the Director of National Intelligence and must set up ways to get the NSA’s information for review. By January 1, 2020, and at least every four years after that, the Secretary must review how efficient and effective each agency or field activity is. The review must find activities that are duplicate or not done well and follow internal guidance the Secretary makes. Within 90 days of a review, the Secretary must send a report to the congressional defense committees that lists agencies that work well and are not duplicative, and gives plans to fix or move functions for those that are not. The Secretary cannot move control of the Defense Commissary Agency to a military department unless a law after October 17, 1998 allows it. The Secretary also cannot close an agency until 30 days after sending Congress a notice of the intent and any legislative recommendations.

Title 10, §192

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary of Defense shall assign responsibility for the overall supervision of each Defense Agency and Department of Defense Field Activity designated under section 191(b) of this title—

(A)to a civilian officer within the Office of the Secretary of Defense listed in section 131(b) of this title; or

(B)to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(2)An official assigned such a responsibility with respect to a Defense Agency or Department of Defense Field Activity shall advise the Secretary of Defense on the extent to which the program recommendations and budget proposals of such agency or activity conform with the requirements of the military departments and of the unified and specified combatant commands.

(3)This subsection does not apply to the Defense Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency.

(b)The Secretary of Defense shall establish procedures to ensure that there is full and effective review of the program recommendations and budget proposals of each Defense Agency and Department of Defense Field Activity.

(c)(1)(A)Not later than January 1, 2020, and periodically (but not less frequently than every four years) thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall conduct a review of the efficiency and effectiveness of each Defense Agency and Department of Defense Field Activity. Each review shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be conducted in coordination with other ongoing efforts in connection with business enterprise reform.

(B)As part of each review under this paragraph, the Secretary shall identify each activity of an Agency or Activity that is substantially similar to, or duplicative of, an activity carried out by another organization or element of the Department of Defense, or is not being performed to an adequate level to meet Department needs.

(C)For purposes of conducting reviews under this paragraph, the Secretary shall develop internal guidance that defines requirements for such reviews and provides clear direction for conducting and recording the results of reviews.

(2)(A)Not later than 90 days after the completion of a review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report that sets forth the results of the review.

(B)The report on a review under this paragraph shall, based on the results of the review, include the following:

(i)A list of each Defense Agency and Department of Defense Field Activity that the Secretary has determined—

(I)operates efficiently and effectively; and

(II)does not carry out any function that is substantially similar to, or duplicative of, a function carried out by another organization or element of the Department of Defense.

(ii)With respect to each Agency or Activity not included on the list under clause (i), a plan, aimed at better meeting Department needs, for—

(I)rationalizing the functions within such Agency or Activity; or

(II)transferring some or all of the functions of such Agency or Activity to another organization or element of the Department.

(iii)Recommendations for functions, if any, currently conducted separately by the military departments that should be consolidated into an Agency or Activity.

(3)Paragraph (1) shall apply to the National Security Agency as determined appropriate by the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence. The Secretary shall establish procedures under which information required for review of the National Security Agency shall be obtained.

(d)Notwithstanding the results of any periodic review under subsection (c) with regard to the Defense Commissary Agency, the Secretary of Defense may not transfer to the Secretary of a military department the responsibility to manage and fund the provision of services and supplies provided by the Defense Commissary Agency unless the transfer of the management and funding responsibility is specifically authorized by a law enacted after October 17, 1998.

(e)The Secretary of Defense may not terminate a Defense Agency or Department of Defense Field Activity until 30 days after the date on which the Secretary submits to the congressional defense committees a report setting forth the following:

(1)Notice of the intent of the Secretary to terminate the Agency or Activity.

(2)Such recommendations for legislative action as the Secretary considers appropriate in connection with the termination of the Agency or Activity.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 192, Pub. L. 98–215, title V, § 501(a), Dec. 9, 1983, 97 Stat. 1478, which related to benefits for certain personnel of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was redesignated as section 1605 of this title and amended by Pub. L. 99–145, title XIII, § 1302(a)(1), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 737. Provisions of prior section 192 as related to members of the armed forces were enacted as section 431 of Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services, by section 1302(b)(1) of Pub. L. 99–145.

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (c)(1)(A). Pub. L. 118–31, § 901(b)(1)(A), substituted “the Secretary of Defense” for “the Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense”. Subsec. (c)(1)(B), (C). Pub. L. 118–31, § 901(b)(1)(B), substituted “the Secretary” for “the Chief Management Officer”. Subsec. (c)(2)(A), (B)(i). Pub. L. 118–31, § 901(b)(2), substituted “the Secretary” for “the Chief Management Officer”. 2021—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 116–283 struck out par. (1) relating to periodic review of services and supplies provided by each Defense Agency and Department of Defense Field Activity. 2018—Subsec. (c)(1) to (3). Pub. L. 115–232, § 923(a), added par. (1) relating to efficiency and effectiveness reviews and par. (2) and redesignated former par. (2) as (3). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–232, § 923(b), (c), added subsec. (e) and struck out former subsec. (e) which related to special rule for Defense Business Transformation Agency. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 115–232, § 1081(f)(1)(A)(i), substituted “Chief Management Officer” for “Deputy Chief Management Officer”. 2008—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 110–181, § 931(a)(1), substituted “Director of National Intelligence” for “Director of Central Intelligence”. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 110–181, § 904(c), substituted “that the Director of the Agency shall report directly to the Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense.” for “that the Agency be managed cooperatively by the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation and the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Financial Management.” 2006—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 109–163 added subsec. (e). 1999—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106–65 substituted “October 17, 1998” for “the date of the enactment of this subsection”. 1998—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–261 added subsec. (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

First Review of Defense Agencies by Secretary of Defense Pub. L. 99–433, title III, § 304(a), Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1024, required the first review under subsec. (c) of this section to be completed not later than two years after the date that the report under Pub. L. 99–433, § 303(e), formerly set out as a note under section 191 of this title, was required to be submitted to Congress (Oct. 1, 1987).