The Defense Department has told Congress that it is considering creating the position of chief management officer, who would be responsible for both department-wide business processes and for processes within Office of the Secretary of Defense and defense agencies.
“Our goal is to create a position that will attract the best qualified candidate who possesses the requisite business acumen to optimize the business operations of the department and to give that person the requisite authority to improve the performance of the business operations of the department,” a letter to Capitol Hill from Deputy Secretary Robert Work said.
The letter was an interim response to a provision in the 2017 defense budget requiring a review of the department’s management structure, potentially to include abolishing the position of under secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics, and replacing it with separate under secretaries for research and engineering and for acquisition and sustainment, plus a chief management officer.
Work said he planned to submit his full recommendations–final decisions are to be made by Secretary James Mattis–in spring or early summer, ahead of the August 1 deadline, so that needed technical language can be included in the fiscal 2018 defense budget.
“The department is also examining the realignment of legacy AT&L functions to other OSD and service officials if it is prudent and can provide greater integration of efforts. In so doing, these actions, in tum, can facilitate greater focus of these two USDs on the imperatives for technology innovation and continuing acquisition reform; both of which directly support the needs of our warfighters, now and in the future,” he added.
