Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, or ASD (L&MR), is the principal staff assistant and adviser to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, (USD (AT&L)), Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF), and Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) on logistics and materiel readiness issues within the Department of Defense (DoD), including programs related to logistics, materiel readiness, maintenance, strategic mobility, and sustainment support. As the principal logistics official within the senior management of the DoD, the ASD (L&MR) exercises authority, direction and control over the director of the Defense Logistics Agency. Like all other Assistant Secretaries of Defense, the ASD (L&MR) is considered a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The current Assistant Secretary is David J. Berteau.

History

This position can trace its lineage partially back to the National Security Act of 1947, which established a Munitions Board to oversee logistics and supply within the nascent Defense Department. Through the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations, oversight of logistics and materiel readiness was merged with oversight of installations and properties. In 1977, the acquisition functions of this office were transferred to the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, and responsibilities for logistics were merged with manpower and reserve affairs throughout the Carter and early Reagan administrations.^[1]

For a year in the middle of the Reagan administration, responsibilities for logistics and materiel support were split between two ASDs after the creation of a new Assistant Secretary of Defense for Development and Support, established by Defense Directive 5129.4 (signed 25 November 1984). However, this office was abolished after Defense Directive 5128.1 (signed in November 1985) merged logistics responsibilities into a single office, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Logistics. This office was then replaced by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Production and Logistics in April 1987, and phased out completely in 1993 after the reorganization of the office of the USD (AT&L).^[1] From 1993 until 2000, there was no principal staff assistant to the USD (AT&L) responsible for oversight of logistics and materiel readiness.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, (P.L. 106-65, signed 5 October 1999) created the new position of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, or DUSD (L&MR). The DUSD (L&MR) was meant to serve as a second DUSD, after the Principal DUSD, reporting to the USD (AT&L). According to an official DoD history, the intent of Congress in establishing the DUSD (L&MR) was to emphasize the importance of these functions.^[1]

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84, signed 28 October 2009) redesignated this position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, or ASD (L&MR), as part of an overall effort to limit the number of DUSD positions to five.^[2] However, this post has remained vacant throughout the Obama administration, with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (PDASD) Alan F. Estevez serving as the highest-ranking official in this office.^[3] It is unclear whether the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency is required to report to the USD (AT&L) through the PDASD (L&MR) in the absence of an ASD (L&MR).

Office Holders

The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices.

Assistant Secretaries of Defense (Logistics & Materiel Readiness)^[1]

Name	Tenure	SecDef(s) Served Under	President(s) Served Under
Chairman, Munitions Board
Thomas J. Hargrave	September 30, 1947 - September 20, 1948	James V. Forrestal	Harry Truman
Donald F. Carpenter	September 21, 1948 - June 30, 1949	James V. Forrestal Louis A. Johnson	Harry Truman
Hubert E. Howard	November 25, 1949 - September 18, 1950	Louis A. Johnson	Harry Truman
John D. Small	November 16, 1950 - January 20, 1953	George C. Marshall Robert A. Lovett	Harry Truman
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Supply and Logistics)
Charles S. Thomas	August 5, 1953 - May 2, 1954	Charles E. Wilson	Dwight Eisenhower
Thomas P. Pike	May 3, 1954 - June 27, 1956	Charles E. Wilson	Dwight Eisenhower
E. Perkins McGuire	December 28, 1956 - January 20, 1961	Charles E. Wilson Neil H. McElroy Thomas S. Gates	Dwight Eisenhower
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics)
Thomas D. Morris	January 29, 1961 - December 11, 1964	Robert S. McNamara	John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson
Paul R. Ignatius	December 23, 1964 - August 31, 1967	Robert S. McNamara	Lyndon Johnson
Thomas D. Morris	September 1, 1967 - February 1, 1969	Robert S. McNamara Clark M. Clifford Melvin R. Laird	Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon
Barry J. Shillito	February 1, 1969 - February 1, 1973	Melvin R. Laird	Richard Nixon
Arthur I. Mendolia	June 21, 1973 - March 31, 1975	James R. Schlesinger	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
John J. Bennett (Acting)	April 1, 1975 - February 9, 1976	James R. Schlesinger Donald H. Rumsfeld	Gerald Ford
Frank A. Shrontz	February 10, 1976 - January 19, 1977	Donald H. Rumsfeld	Gerald Ford
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics)
John P. White	May 11, 1977 - October 31, 1978	Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
Robert B. Pirie, Jr.	June 17, 1979 - January 20, 1981	Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
Lawrence J. Korb	May 4, 1981 - January 12, 1984	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Installations, and Logistics)
Lawrence J. Korb	January 12, 1984 - July 5, 1985	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Development and Support)
James P. Wade	August 6, 1984 - July 5, 1985	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Logistics)
James P. Wade	July 5, 1985 - November 3, 1986	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Robert B. Costello	March 13, 1987 - April 15, 1987	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Production and Logistics)
Robert B. Costello	April 15, 1987 - December 17, 1987	Caspar W. Weinberger Frank C. Carlucci III	Ronald Reagan
Jack Katzen	March 28, 1988 - January 8, 1990	Frank C. Carlucci III William H. Taft IV (Acting) Richard B. Cheney	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush
Colin McMillan	March 5, 1990 - December 11, 1992	Richard B. Cheney	George H. W. Bush
No Position
Position Vacant	1993–2000	Leslie Aspin, Jr. William J. Perry William S. Cohen	Bill Clinton
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness)
Roger W. Kallock	September 15, 2000 - January 19, 2001	William S. Cohen	Bill Clinton
Diane Morales	July 17, 2001 - January 2, 2004	Donald H. Rumsfeld	George W. Bush
Bradley M. Berkson (Acting)	January 2004[4] - August 2005	Donald H. Rumsfeld	George W. Bush
Phillip J. "Jack" Bell	August 8, 2005[5] - January 2009	Donald H. Rumsfeld Robert M. Gates	George W. Bush
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness)
Position Vacant	January 2009 - August 8, 2011	Robert M. Gates Leon Panetta	Barack Obama
Alan F. Estevez	August 8, 2011 -	Leon Panetta	Barack Obama

References

1. "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
2. Title IX, Subtitle A, Section 906, Part b, http://intelligence.senate.gov/pdfs/military_act_2009.pdf
3. L&MR Website, Accessed 14 Feb 2011, http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/lmr/bio.htm
4. "The Decision Makers: Defense Department". GovExec.com. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
5. "Cost-effective Joint Support for the Warfighter," Defense AT&L Interview with Jack Bell, http://www.dau.mil/pubscats/PubsCats/atl/2007_03_04/bel_ma07.pdf

External links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20110516010527/http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/lmr/about_us.htm