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United States
Under Secretary of Defense
for Personnel and Readiness

Incumbent:
Jessica L. Wright (Acting)
since: December 31, 2012
First Edwin Dorn
Formation 1994
Website Official website

US Under Secretary of Defense flag

The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, or USD(P&R), is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) within the United States Department of Defense[1] responsible for advising the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on recruitment, career development, pay and benefits, and oversight of the state of military readiness. The Under Secretary is appointed from civilian life by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve at the pleasure of the President.

The current Acting Under Secretary is Jessica L. Wright.

Overview[]

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (OUSD(P&R)) is the principal staff element for the Department of Defense for all human resources, human capital development, and personnel logistics matters. The USD(P&R) has oversight of the Defense Commissary Agency, Department of Defense Education Activity, Defense Human Resources Activity, the Military Health System, and the Defense Travel Management Office. The USD(P&R) is also responsible for training, health affairs, National Guard and Reserve affairs, personnel requirements for weapons support, and military and civilian family matters, subject to the authority of the Secretary of Defense.[2] Through the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, the United States Military Entrance Processing Command also reports to the Under Secretary.[3]

With the rank of Under Secretary, the USD(P&R) is a Level III position within the Executive Schedule. Since January 2010, the annual rate of pay for Level III is $165,300.

History[]

The position was first mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (P.L. 103-160), signed by President Clinton on November 30, 1993.[4] Defense Directive 5124.2, passed 17 March 1994, officially established the position, incorporating the functions of the Assistant Secretary of Defense(Force Management and Personnel) and authorizing authority over the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.[5] Since the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 was signed on October 5, 1999, the Under Secretary has been responsible for establishing standards on deployment of units away from assigned duty stations, the length of time they may be away for a deployment away from assigned duty stations, and for establishing systems for reporting tracking deployments.[6]

When created in 1993, the USD(P&R) assumed authority primarily over three DoD offices: the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management Policy. The ASD(FMP) has since been abolished, its responsibilities assumed by other officials reporting to the USD(P&R).

Reporting Officials[]

Officials reporting to the USD(P&R) include:

Budget[]

Budget Totals[]

The annual budget for the USD(P&R) is contained in the Office of the Secretary of Defense's (OSD) budget, under the Defense-Wide Operation and Maintenance (O&M) account.

USD Personnel and Readiness Budget, FY 10-12 ($ in thousands) [7]
Line Item FY10 Actual FY11 Estimate FY12 Request
Core OSD Operating Program[8]
Civilian Pay and Benefits, USD (P&R) 23,688 35,457 24,816
Program Structure[9]
Contracts and other Support Services 1,000 1,007 995
Advancing Diversity and Equal Opportunity Program 8,500 8,925 9,667
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) 2,219 2,393 1,131
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs) 2,364 2,691 2,018
Combatant Commander’s Exercise 688,632 760,837 766,450
Defense Safety Oversight Council 10,692 12,615 12,550
Defense Readiness Reporting System 13,354 6,900 3,882
Lost Work Days System 3,230 3,060 3,032
Military Personnel Policy Naturalization Support 5,799 6,345 6,463
Military Spouse Intern Program 0 17,500 16,689
Studies Program 0 2,820 2,792
Training Transformation 6,563 6,035 5,112
Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy 43,664 79,412 77,623
Travel 1,338 1,402 817
Overseas Contingency Operations[10]
OCO OUSD (Intel) 2,064 0 0
Totals
Total Budget 813,107 947,399 934,037

Budget Features[]

  • Contracts and other Support Services - Funds contracts and other support services for mission requirements, including Intergovernmental Personnel Act requirements
  • Advancing Diversity and Equal Opportunity Program - Funding to increase the number of people with targeted disabilities in the federal civilian workforce to support the DoD goal of two percent DoD-wide, emphasizing the benefit for wounded service members
  • Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) - ASD(HA) is the principal medical staff advisor to the Secretary of Defense and principal program manager for all DoD health matters to include medical readiness, health care delivery, preventive medicine, medical military construction, and the procurement, development, training and retention of medical military and civilian personnel
  • Assistant Secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs) - Funds managed by ASD (RA) are utilized to conduct valuable research and analysis for specific topics and issues that arise related to the National Guard and military Reserve components
  • Combatant Commander’s Exercise Engagement and Training Transformation (CE2T2) - The program was established as a result of direction from the Quadrennial Defense Review that re-aligned and consolidated joint training programs and applies resulting efficiencies against new mission areas and existing joint training shortfalls
  • Defense Safety Oversight Council (DSOC) - Supports safety initiatives to reduce and prevent injuries to Defense Department personnel
  • Defense Readiness Reporting System (DRRS) - Allows for quick analysis of force capability issues, effective program oversight, operator training, and data maintenance
  • Lost Work Days System - Lost Work Days aims to increase operational readiness by providing data and analysis to eliminate preventable mishaps
  • Military Personnel Policy (MPP) Naturalization Support - Funding to pay U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the United States Department of Homeland Security to not charge fees to military members applying for naturalization to become US citizens
  • Military Spouse Intern Program - Assists eligible spouses of active duty military in obtaining positions in federal agencies by paying the spouses’ salary and benefits for the first year of employment
  • Studies Program - The Department contracts for assistance in facilitating studies that improve the overall operation and efficiency of the OUSD(P&R) and the programs over which it exercises oversight
  • Training Transformation - Provides oversight of the Department’s Joint training effort
  • Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy (WWCTP) - Funds WWCTP operations that provide OSD-level oversight of the development and implementation of comprehensive disability, non-medical care and case management, and transition programs, policies and standards Department-wide
  • Travel - Funds employee travel to support USD(P&R) mission

Office Holders[]

Under Secretaries of Defense (Personnel and Readiness)[5]
Portrait Name Tenure Secretary(ies) of Defense Served Under President(s) Served Under
Edwindorn Edwin Dorn March 16, 1994 - July 7, 1997 William J. Perry William Clinton
Rudy de Leon, official military photo, 1997 Rudy de Leon August 5, 1997 - March 31, 2000 William J. Perry
William S. Cohen
William Clinton
Defense.gov News Photo 970912-A-3569D-001 Charles Cragin (Acting) March 31, 2000 - May 23, 2000 William S. Cohen William Clinton
Bernard Rostker Bernard D. Rostker May 23, 2000 - January 19, 2001 William S. Cohen William Clinton
Dr David S C Chu David S. C. Chu June 1, 2001 – January 20, 2009 Donald H. Rumsfeld
Robert M. Gates
George W. Bush
Gail H. McGinn (Performing the duties of) January 21, 2009 - February 8, 2010 Robert M. Gates Barack Obama
Stanley Clifford Clifford Stanley February 9, 2010 - October 27, 2011 Robert M. Gates
Leon Panetta
Barack Obama
JoAnnRooney Jo Ann Rooney (Acting) [11] October 27, 2011 - June 8, 2012 Leon Panetta [12] Barack Obama
Erin C. Conaton USDPR Erin C. Conaton [11] June 8, 2012 – December 31, 2012 Leon Panetta [13] Barack Obama
Jessica L. Wright (Acting) January 1, 2013 – Present Leon Panetta
Chuck Hagel
Barack Obama

Principal Deputy[]

The Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (PDUSD(P&R)) is the Under Secretary's chief staff assistant. PDUSD(P&R) is delegated full power and authority to act for the USD(P&R) and exercise the powers of the USD(P&R) on any and all matters that the USD(P&R) is authorized to act, except in those areas where delegation of the USD(P&R) authority is otherwise restricted by higher authority or prohibited by law.

Established as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2002 (P.L. 107-107), the post took over the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management Policy, which was then abolished. The DUSD(P&R) was re-designated Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), or PDUSD(P&R) in July 2003 by DoD Directive 5124.8.[5] As of 2012, the position again holds the rank of Principal Deputy Under Secretary.

Principal Deputy Under Secretaries of Defense for Personnel and Readiness[5]
Name Tenure USD(P&R) Served Under SecDef(s) Served Under President(s) Served Under
Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
Charles S. Abell November 14, 2002 - July 11, 2006 David S. C. Chu Donald H. Rumsfeld George W. Bush
Michael L. Dominguez July 11, 2006 – January 20, 2009 David S. C. Chu Donald H. Rumsfeld George W. Bush
William J. Carr (Acting) January 20, 2009 - February 8, 2010 Michael L. Dominguez (Acting) Robert M. Gates Barack Obama
Lynn C. Simpson(Performing the duties of) February 8, 2010 - June 2, 2011 Gail McGinn (Performing the duties of) Robert M. Gates Barack Obama
Jo Ann Rooney June 2, 2011 - 24 May 2012 Clifford Stanley Leon Panetta Barack Obama
Vacant 24 May 2012 – Present Jessica L. Wright (Acting) Chuck Hagel Barack Obama

References[]

  1. http://www.defenselink.mil/odam/omp/pubs/GuideBook/Pdf/DoD.PDF
  2. "US CODE: Title 10,136. Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness". http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00000136----000-.html. Retrieved 2007-09-21. 
  3. http://prhome.defense.gov/MPP/, accessed June 2010
  4. "H.R.2401". http://www.law.cornell.edu/usc-cgi/get_external.cgi?type=pubL&target=103-160. Retrieved September 21, 2007. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Department of Defense Key Officials". Historical Office, OSD. 2013. http://history.defense.gov/resources/DODKeyOfficials1947-2013.pdf. Retrieved 2013-09-01. 
  6. "S.1059". http://www.law.cornell.edu/usc-cgi/get_external.cgi?type=pubL&target=106-65. Retrieved September 21, 2007. 
  7. "Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Budget Estimates, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)". Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), OSD. 2011. http://comptroller.defense.gov/defbudget/fy2012/budget_justification/pdfs/01_Operation_and_Maintenance/O_M_VOL_1_PARTS/O_M_VOL_1_BASE_PARTS/OSD_OP-5_FY_2012.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-29. 
  8. Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Budget Estimates, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), p.664
  9. Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Budget Estimates, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), p.697-707
  10. Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Budget Estimates, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), p.714
  11. 11.0 11.1 http://prhome.defense.gov/PDUSD/
  12. http://www.defense.gov/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=310
  13. http://prhome.defense.gov/bios/ErinConaton.aspx
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