§5502 Missile Defense Agency

Summary

The Missile Defense Agency must have a Director who is a general or flag officer chosen for a six-year term. The Secretary of Defense must also name a Deputy Director from the active-duty generals or flag officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Space Force. The Deputy must come from a different service than the Director, serve for 2 to 4 years, follow the Director’s direction, do tasks the Director gives, and act as Director when the Director is absent or the job is empty. The Secretary of Defense cannot change the missile defense “non-standard” buying and requirements rules unless the Secretary personally completes a set of steps and waits 120 days after sending a report to Congress. The Secretary must talk with specific leaders (three Under Secretaries, the military department Secretaries, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the commanders of U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Northern Command, and the Director of the Missile Defense Agency), certify to the congressional defense committees that those views were gotten, and send a report that describes the changes, explains why, gives those leaders’ views, and certifies the changes will not harm U.S. missile defense or reduce the Agency’s special buying authorities. If the change affects Department of Defense Directive 5134.09, the Secretary must also send a final draft of the new directive (electronic and hard copy) and give the committees a briefing. The term “non-standard acquisition and requirements processes and responsibilities” covers three specific documents: the January 2, 2002 “Missile Defense Program Direction” memorandum, DoD Directive 5134.09, and U.S. Strategic Command Instruction 538–3 “MD Warfighter Involvement Process,” or any successors to those documents.