2011 US Code
Title 10 - Armed Forces
Subtitle A - General Military Law (§§ 101 - 2925)
Part I - ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL MILITARY POWERS (§§ 101 - 491)
Chapter 5 - JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF (§§ 151 - 156)
Section 153 - Chairman: functions

(a) Planning; Advice; Policy Formulation.—Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the President and the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall be responsible for the following:

(1) Strategic Direction.—Assisting the President and the Secretary of Defense in providing for the strategic direction of the armed forces.

(2) Strategic Planning.—(A) Preparing strategic plans, including plans which conform with resource levels projected by the Secretary of Defense to be available for the period of time for which the plans are to be effective.

(B) Preparing joint logistic and mobility plans to support those strategic plans and recommending the assignment of logistic and mobility responsibilities to the armed forces in accordance with those logistic and mobility plans.

(C) Performing net assessments to determine the capabilities of the armed forces of the United States and its allies as compared with those of their potential adversaries.

(3) Contingency Planning; Preparedness.—(A) Providing for the preparation and review of contingency plans which conform to policy guidance from the President and the Secretary of Defense.

(B) Preparing joint logistic and mobility plans to support those contingency plans and recommending the assignment of logistic and mobility responsibilities to the armed forces in accordance with those logistic and mobility plans.

(C) Identifying the support functions that are likely to require contractor performance under those contingency plans, and the risks associated with the assignment of such functions to contractors.

(D) Advising the Secretary on critical deficiencies and strengths in force capabilities (including manpower, logistic, and mobility support) identified during the preparation and review of contingency plans and assessing the effect of such deficiencies and strengths on meeting national security objectives and policy and on strategic plans.

(E) Establishing and maintaining, after consultation with the commanders of the unified and specified combatant commands, a uniform system of evaluating the preparedness of each such command to carry out missions assigned to the command.

(4) Advice on Requirements, Programs, and Budget.—(A) Advising the Secretary, under section 163(b)(2) of this title, on the priorities of the requirements identified by the commanders of the unified and specified combatant commands.

(B) Advising the Secretary on the extent to which the program recommendations and budget proposals of the military departments and other components of the Department of Defense for a fiscal year conform with the priorities established in strategic plans and with the priorities established for the requirements of the unified and specified combatant commands.

(C) Submitting to the Secretary alternative program recommendations and budget proposals, within projected resource levels and guidance provided by the Secretary, in order to achieve greater conformance with the priorities referred to in clause (B).

(D) Recommending to the Secretary, in accordance with section 166 of this title, a budget proposal for activities of each unified and specified combatant command.

(E) Advising the Secretary on the extent to which the major programs and policies of the armed forces in the area of manpower and contractor support conform with strategic plans.

(F) Assessing military requirements for defense acquisition programs.

(5) Doctrine, Training, and Education.—(A) Developing doctrine for the joint employment of the armed forces.

(B) Formulating policies for the joint training of the armed forces.

(C) Formulating policies for coordinating the military education and training of members of the armed forces.

(6) Other Matters.—(A) Providing for representation of the United States on the Military Staff Committee of the United Nations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

(B) Performing such other duties as may be prescribed by law or by the President or the Secretary of Defense.

(b) Risks Under National Military Strategy.—(1) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Chairman shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report providing the Chairman's assessment of—

(A) the nature and magnitude of the strategic and military risks associated with executing the missions called for under the current National Military Strategy; and

(B) the critical deficiencies and strengths in force capabilities (including manpower, logistics, intelligence, and mobility support) identified during the preparation and review of contingency plans of each geographic combatant commander, and the effect of such deficiencies and strengths on strategic plans and on meeting national security objectives and policy.

(2) The Secretary shall forward the report received under paragraph (1) in any year, with the Secretary's comments thereon (if any), to Congress with the Secretary's next transmission to Congress of the annual Department of Defense budget justification materials in support of the Department of Defense component of the budget of the President submitted under section 1105 of title 31 for the next fiscal year. If the Chairman's assessment in such report in any year is that risk associated with executing the missions called for under the National Military Strategy is significant, or that critical deficiencies in force capabilities exist for a contingency plan, the Secretary shall include with the report as submitted to Congress the Secretary's plan for mitigating that risk or deficiency.

(c) Annual Report on Combatant Command Requirements.—(1) At or about the time that the budget is submitted to Congress for a fiscal year under section 1105(a) of title 31, the Chairman shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the requirements of the combatant commands established under section 161 of this title.

(2) Each report under paragraph (1) shall contain the following:

(A) A consolidation of the integrated priority lists of requirements of the combatant commands.

(B) The Chairman's views on the consolidated lists.

(C) A description of the extent to which the most recent future-years defense program (under section 221 of this title) addresses the requirements on the consolidated lists.

(D) A description of the funding proposed in the President's budget for the next fiscal year, and for the subsequent fiscal years covered by the most recent future-years defense program, to address each deficiency in readiness identified during the joint readiness review conducted under section 117 of this title for the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

(d) Biennial Review of National Military Strategy.—(1) Not later then February 15 of each even-numbered year, the Chairman shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report containing the results of a comprehensive examination of the national military strategy. Each such examination shall be conducted by the Chairman in conjunction with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commanders of the unified and specified commands.

(2) Each report on the examination of the national military strategy under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A) Delineation of a national military strategy consistent with—

(i) the most recent National Security Strategy prescribed by the President pursuant to section 108 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 404a);

(ii) the most recent annual report of the Secretary of Defense submitted to the President and Congress pursuant to section 113 of this title; and

(iii) the most recent Quadrennial Defense Review conducted by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 118 of this title.

(B) A description of the strategic environment and the opportunities and challenges that affect United States national interests and United States national security.

(C) A description of the regional threats to United States national interests and United States national security.

(D) A description of the international threats posed by terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and asymmetric challenges to United States national security.

(E) Identification of United States national military objectives and the relationship of those objectives to the strategic environment, regional, and international threats.

(F) Identification of the strategy, underlying concepts, and component elements that contribute to the achievement of United States national military objectives.

(G) Assessment of the capabilities and adequacy of United States forces (including both active and reserve components) to successfully execute the national military strategy.

(H) Assessment of the capabilities, adequacy, and interoperability of regional allies of the United States and or other friendly nations to support United States forces in combat operations and other operations for extended periods of time.

(I) Assessment of the requirements for contractor support of the armed forces in conducting peacetime training, peacekeeping, overseas contingency operations, and major combat operations, and the risks associated with such support.

(3)(A) As part of the assessment under this subsection, the Chairman, in conjunction with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commanders of the unified and specified commands, shall undertake an assessment of the nature and magnitude of the strategic and military risks associated with successfully executing the missions called for under the current National Military Strategy.

(B) In preparing the assessment of risk, the Chairman should make assumptions pertaining to the readiness of United States forces (in both the active and reserve components), the length of conflict and the level of intensity of combat operations, the levels of support from allies and other friendly nations, and the levels of contractor support.

(4) Before submitting a report under this subsection to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Chairman shall provide the report to the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary's assessment and comments thereon (if any) shall be included with the report. If the Chairman's assessment in such report in any year is that the risk associated with executing the missions called for under the National Military Strategy is significant, the Secretary shall include with the report as submitted to those committees the Secretary's plan for mitigating the risk.

(Added Pub. L. 99–433, title II, §201, Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1007; amended Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title X, §1033, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 751; Pub. L. 106–398, §1 [[div. A], title IX, §905], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–226; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title IX, §921(b), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1198; Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title X, §1062(a)(1), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2649; Pub. L. 108–136, div. A, title IX, §903, title X, §1043(b)(2), Nov. 24, 2003, 117 Stat. 1558, 1610; Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title VIII, §820(b), title IX, §941, Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1501, 1548.)

2011—Subsec. (a)(3)(C) to (E). Pub. L. 112–81, §820(b)(1), added subpar. (C) and redesignated former subpars. (C) and (D) as (D) and (E), respectively.

Subsec. (a)(4)(E). Pub. L. 112–81, §820(b)(2), inserted “and contractor support” after “area of manpower”.

Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 112–81, §941(1), substituted “assessment of—” for “assessment of the nature and magnitude of the strategic and military risks associated with executing the missions called for under the current National Military Strategy.” and added subpars. (A) and (B).

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 112–81, §941(2), inserted “or that critical deficiencies in force capabilities exist for a contingency plan,” after “National Military Strategy is significant,” and “or deficiency” before period at end.

Subsec. (d)(2)(I). Pub. L. 112–81, §820(b)(3)(A), added subpar. (I).

Subsec. (d)(3)(B). Pub. L. 112–81, §820(b)(3)(B), substituted “the levels of support from allies and other friendly nations, and the levels of contractor support” for “and the levels of support from allies and other friendly nations”.

2003—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 108–136, §903(b), substituted “of each odd-numbered year” for “each year”.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 108–136, §1043(b)(2), in par. (1), substituted “congressional defense committees” for “committees of Congress named in paragraph (2)”, designated the second sentence of par. (1) as par. (2), in par. (2), substituted “Each report under paragraph (1)” for “The report”, and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: “The committees of Congress referred to in paragraph (1) are the Committees on Armed Services and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives.”

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 108–136, §903(a), added subsec. (d).

2002—Pub. L. 107–314 inserted subsec. (a) heading and redesignated subsecs. (c) and (d) as (b) and (c), respectively.

2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–107, §921(b)(1), struck out “(a) Planning; Advice; Policy Formulation.—” before “Subject to the authority”.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–107, §921(b)(2), struck out heading and text of subsec. (b) which read as follows:

“(b) Report on Assignment of Roles and Missions.—(1) Not less than once every three years, or upon the request of the President or the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report containing such recommendations for changes in the assignment of functions (or roles and missions) to the armed forces as the Chairman considers necessary to achieve maximum effectiveness of the armed forces. In preparing each such report, the Chairman shall consider (among other matters) the following:

“(A) Changes in the nature of the threats faced by the United States.

“(B) Unnecessary duplication of effort among the armed forces.

“(C) Changes in technology that can be applied effectively to warfare.

“(2) The Chairman shall include in each such report recommendations for such changes in policies, directives, regulations, and legislation as may be necessary to achieve the changes in the assignment of functions recommended by the Chairman.”

2000—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 106–398, §1 [[div. A], title IX, §905(b)], substituted “At or about the time that the budget is submitted to Congress for a fiscal year under section 1105(a) of title 31,” for “Not later than August 15 of each year,” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (d)(1)(C), (D). Pub. L. 106–398, §1 [[div. A], title IX, §905(a)], added subpars. (C) and (D).

1999—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 106–65 added subsecs. (c) and (d).

Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title III, §326, Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1679, provided that:

“(a) Means for Measurement.—The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall, to the maximum extent practicable, develop (1) a common means of measuring the operations tempo (OPTEMPO) of each of the Armed Forces, and (2) a common means of measuring the personnel tempo (PERSTEMPO) of each of the Armed Forces. The Chairman shall consult with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in developing those common means of measurement.

“(b) PERSTEMPO Measurement.—The measurement of personnel tempo developed by the Chairman shall include a means of identifying the rate of deployment for individual members of the Armed Forces in addition to the rate of deployment for units.”

Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title III, §376, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1637, provided for an annual assessment of readiness and capability of the Armed Forces by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be submitted to Congress not later than March 1 of each of 1994, 1995, and 1996 and for interim assessments between annual submissions in the event of a significant change in readiness or capability of the Armed Forces.

Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title IX, §901, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 2469, provided for the Secretary of Defense to transmit to Congress a copy of the first report relating to the roles and missions of the Armed Forces that was submitted by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under subsec. (b) of this section after Jan. 1, 1992, and directed the Chairman to include in the report comments and recommendations.

Pub. L. 99–433, title II, §204(a), (b), Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1011, provided dates for establishment of the uniform system of evaluating the preparedness of each unified and specified combatant command and for submission of the first report.