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1 [1] (July 27, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthzzbfi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 July 27, 2018 Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Advances in science and technology have long played a critical role in ensuring the technological preeminence of the United States military. For this reason, the Department of Defense (DOD) is the largest funder of federal research and development. The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD (R&E)) is a civilian official reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense. The USD (R&E) serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for DOD research, engineering, and technology development activities and programs. Over the last several years, policymakers and others have expressed concern that the long-held technological edge of the U.S. military is eroding due, in part, to the proliferation of technologies outside the defense sector, organizational and cultural barriers to DOD effectively incorporating and exploiting commercial innovations, and insufficient engagement with leading-edge companies that have not historically been a part of the DOD innovation system. The establishment of the USD (R&E) as the fourth highest ranking DOD official-behind the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and Chief Management Officer-was intended to promote faster innovation and to reduce risk-intolerance in the pursuit of new technologies. Origin of the USD (R&E) Position Leadership for DOD research, engineering, and technology development activities and functions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) has been realigned multiple times over the course of DOD's history. For example, there was a USD (R&E) from 1977 to 1986. Reestablishment of the position of the USD (R&E) in 2016 through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY2017 NDAA, P.L. 114-328) represents the most recent realignment. Specifically, P.L. 114-328 eliminated the position of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD (AT&L)) and established the positions of USD (R&E), the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD (A&S)), and chief management officer effective February 1, 2018. In reestablishing the position of USD (R&E) the Senate Armed Services Committee stated (S.Rept. 114-255): The committee expects that just as previous USD (R&E) incumbents led the so-called Second Offset strategy, which successfully enabled the United States to leap ahead of the Soviet Union in terms of military technology, the new USD (R&E) would be tasked with driving the key technologies that must encompass what defense leaders are now calling a Third Offset strategy: cyber and space capabilities, unmanned systems, directed energy, undersea warfare, hypersonics, and robotics, among others. Roles and Responsibilities of the USD The FY2017 NDAA outlines the powers and duties of the USD (R&E) to include: * serving as the chief technology officer of DOD with the mission of advancing technology and innovation for the military services and DOD; * establishing policies on, and supervising and coordinating DOD's research and engineering, technology development, technology transition, prototyping, experimentation, and developmental testing activities and programs, including through the allocation of resources for defense research and engineering; and * serving as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on all research, engineering, and technology development activities and programs in DOD. Furthermore, in the conference report (H.Rept. 114-840) for the FY2017 NDAA, the conferees stated their expectation that the USD (R&E) would take risks, press the technology envelope, test and experiment, and have the latitude to fail, as appropriate. On December 11, 2017, President Trump nominated Michael D. Griffin to be the USD (R&E). His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on February 15, 2018. Office of the USD (R E) As required by P.L. 114-328, DOD submitted a report to Congress proposing an organizational and management structure for the office of the USD (R&E) (OUSD (R&E)). According to the 2017 report, the OUSD (R&E) is to be organized around three major components: * A Strategic Intelligence Analysis Cell focused on understanding the capabilities and vulnerabilities of potential adversaries, assessing U.S. capabilities, tracking global technology trends, assessing emerging threats, and identifying potential opportunities that warrant action and merit investment. * An Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for Research and Technology responsible for setting the strategic technical direction and investment strategy for DOD to ensure technical dominance on the battlefield, integrating DOD's laboratory infrastructure, and www.crs.gov 7-5700 S

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