§8014 Office of the Secretary of the Navy

Summary

Creates an Office of the Secretary of the Navy to help the Secretary do his job. That Office includes the Under Secretary, the Assistant Secretaries, the General Counsel, the Judge Advocate General, the Naval Inspector General, the Chief of Legislative Affairs, the Chief of Naval Research, and other offices set by law or by the Secretary. The Office is solely responsible, inside the Office of the Secretary, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and Headquarters, Marine Corps, for acquisition; auditing; comptroller and financial management; information management; inspector general work; legislative affairs; and public affairs. The Secretary must set up one office or entity inside the Office of the Secretary to handle each of those functions, define how each will work with the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and make sure those offices give the staff support the leaders need. Other Navy parts may give advice or help, but only under the direction of the office in charge. The head of the auditing office must have at least five years of accounting or auditing experience and be a career-reserved position under 5 U.S.C. 3132(a)(8). Regional directors and other supervisory posts in that office may not be held by active-duty members. The Office of the Secretary also has sole responsibility for research and development, though the Secretary may give the CNO and Headquarters, Marine Corps responsibility for military requirements and test and evaluation. The Secretary must prevent duplication of specific functions. No more than 3,150 total Navy personnel may be permanently assigned to the three headquarters, no more than 1,800 may be active-duty officers, and no more than 74 may be general or flag officers. These limits do not apply in wartime, and each limit can be increased by 15 percent in a national emergency.