10 U.S.C. § 172: Explosive safety board

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must run a joint board to watch how the military stores, spreads out, and moves ammunition and its parts for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The board includes military officers chosen by each service, and other civilian DoD staff as needed. If the Coast Guard is not part of the Navy, the Secretary of Homeland Security must put a Coast Guard officer on the board as a voting member. The military departments must oversee research, testing, and manufacturing of energetic materials that the services use. The board’s chair is the main DoD adviser on explosive and chemical agent safety, approves hazard classifications, leads meetings and staff, gives fair advice to senior leaders, helps with munitions acquisition, storage, transport, demilitarization, and creates safety procedures and recommendations. The executive director and civilian members help the chair and do other tasks the chair assigns. The board must meet at least quarterly, and the chair must send an annual report to the congressional defense committees about the board’s work. The board alone recommends new or updated explosive and chemical safety rules for the Department and is the main forum for coordinating explosive safety across DoD components (including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military departments, Joint Staff and Combatant Commands, Inspector General, Defense Agencies, field activities, and other DoD entities). For explosives used by space launch vehicles, the Secretary of Defense must delegate the chair’s duties to the Secretary of the Air Force, who may delegate them to Space Launch Delta commanders. The term “launch vehicle” is as defined in section 50902(11) of title 51.

Title 10, §172

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In General.—

The Secretary of Defense, acting through a joint board that includes members selected by the Secretaries of the military departments, composed of military officers designated as the chair and voting members of the board for each military department, and other civilian officers and employees of the Department of Defense, as necessary, shall provide oversight on storage and transportation of supplies of ammunition and components thereof for use of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard, with particular regard to keeping those supplies properly dispersed and stored and to preventing hazardous conditions from arising to endanger life and property inside or outside of storage reservations. When the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Department of the Navy, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall appoint an officer of the Coast Guard to serve as a voting member of the board.

(b)Oversight by Secretaries of the Military Departments.—

The Secretaries of the military departments shall provide research, development, test, evaluation, and manufacturing oversight for energetic materials supporting military requirements.

(c)Responsibilities of Chair.—

Except as provided in subsection (h), the chair of the explosive safety board shall carry out the following responsibilities:

(1)To act as the principal executive representative and advisor of the Secretary on explosive and chemical agent safety matters related to Department of Defense military munitions.

(2)To perform the hazard classification approval duties assigned to the chair.

(3)To preside over meetings of the explosive safety board.

(4)To direct the staff of the explosive safety board.

(5)To perform other functions relating to explosives safety management, as directed by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment.

(6)To provide impartial and objective advice related to explosives safety management to the Secretary of Defense and the heads of the military departments.

(7)To serve as the principal representative and advisor of the Department of Defense on matters relating to explosives safety management.

(8)To provide assistance and advice to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Deputy Director of Land Warfare and Munitions in munitions acquisition oversight and technology advancement for Department of Defense military munitions, especially in the areas of explosives and chemical agent safety and demilitarization.

(9)To provide assistance and advice to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Material Readiness in sustainment oversight of Department of Defense military munitions, especially in the areas of explosives and chemical agent safety, storage, transportation, and demilitarization.

(10)To develop and recommend issuances to define the functions of the explosive safety board.

(11)To establish joint hazard classification procedures with covered components of the Department.

(12)To make recommendations to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment with respect to explosives and chemical agent safety tenets and requirements.

(13)To conduct oversight of Department of Defense explosive safety management programs.

(14)To carry out such other responsibilities as the Secretary of Defense determines appropriate.

(d)Responsibilities of Executive Director and Civilian Members.—

The executive director and civilian members of the explosive safety board shall—

(1)provide assistance to the chair in carrying out the responsibilities specified in subsection (c); and

(2)carry out such other responsibilities as the chair determines appropriate.

(e)Meetings.—

(1)The explosive safety board shall meet not less frequently than quarterly.

(2)The chair shall submit to the congressional defense committees an annual report describing the activities conducted at the meetings of the board.

(f)Exclusive Responsibilities.—

The explosive safety board shall have exclusive responsibility within the Department of Defense for— (1)

(2)acting as the primary forum for coordination among covered components of the Department on all matters related to explosive safety management.

(g)Covered Components.—

In this section, the covered components of the Department are each of the following:

(1)The Office of the Secretary of Defense.

(2)The military departments.

(3)The Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands.

(4)The Office of the Inspector General of the Department.

(5)The Defense Agencies.

(6)The Department of Defense field activities.

(7)All other organizational entities within the Department.

(h)Explosives Used by Space Launch Vehicles.—

(1)The Secretary of Defense shall delegate to the Secretary of the Air Force, who may further delegate to the Commanders of the Space Launch Deltas, the responsibilities under subsection (c) with respect to explosives used by space launch vehicles.

(2)In this subsection, the term “launch vehicle” has the meaning given such term in section 50902(11) of title 51.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 172(a)172(b)50:83 (less last sentence).50:83 (last sentence).May 29, 1928, ch. 853 (last par. under “Ordnance Establishment”), 45 Stat. 928. In subsection (a), the words “informed on stored” are substituted for the words “advised of storage”. The words “particular regard” are substituted for the words “special reference”. The words “inside or outside of” are substituted for the words “within or without”. The word “selected” is substituted for the word “appointed”, since the filling of the position involved is not appointment to an office in the constitutional sense. In subsection (b), the words “in carrying out” are substituted for the words “in the execution of”.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 118–31, § 1601(a)(1), substituted “Except as provided in subsection (h), the chair” for “The chair” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 118–31, § 1801(a)(2)(A), substituted “perform” for “performs”. Subsec. (c)(11). Pub. L. 118–31, § 1801(a)(2)(B), substituted “establish” for “establishes”. Subsec. (c)(13). Pub. L. 118–31, § 1801(a)(2)(C), substituted “conduct” for “conducts”. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 118–31, § 1601(a)(2), added subsec. (h). 2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(2)(A)(ii), substituted “Marine Corps, Space Force,” for “Marine Corps,”. Subsecs. (c) to (g). Pub. L. 116–283, § 351(a), added subsecs. (c) to (g). 2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–23 substituted “Marine Corps, and Coast Guard” for “and Marine Corps” and inserted at end “When the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Department of the Navy, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall appoint an officer of the Coast Guard to serve as a voting member of the board.” 2017—Pub. L. 115–91, § 341(b)(1), substituted “Explosive safety” for “Ammunition storage” in section catchline. Pub. L. 115–91, § 341(a)(1)–(8), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and inserted heading, inserted “that includes members” after “joint board”, substituted “selected by the Secretaries of the military departments” for “selected by them”, inserted “military” before “officers”, “designated as the chair and voting members of the board for each military department” after “officers”, and “and other” before “civilian officers”, and substituted “as necessary” for “or both” and “provide oversight on storage and transportation of” for “keep informed on stored”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–91, § 341(a)(9), added subsec. (b). 2011—Pub. L. 111–383 struck out subsec. (a) designation before “The Secretaries” and struck out subsec. (b) which read as follows: “The board shall confer with and advise the Secretaries of the military departments in carrying out the recommendations in House Document No. 199 of the Seventieth Congress.” 1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–201 substituted “a joint board selected by them composed of officers, civilian officers and employees of the Department of Defense, or both” for “a joint board of officers selected by them”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Deadline for Appointment Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title III, § 351(b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3543, provided that: “By not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 1, 2021], the Secretary of Defense shall take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that the explosive safety board of the Department of Defense, as authorized under section 172 of title 10, United States Code, has a chair who is a military officer and whose responsibilities include the day-to-day management of the explosive safety board and the responsibilities provided in subsection (c) of such section.”

§172 Explosive Safety Board