§ 118b. Quadrennial roles and missions review

(a)Review Required.— The Secretary of Defense shall every four years conduct a comprehensive assessment (to be known as the “quadrennial roles and missions review”) of the roles and missions of the armed forces and the core competencies and capabilities of the Department of Defense to perform and support such roles and missions.

(b)Independent Military Assessment of Roles and Missions.—

(1) In each year in which the Secretary of Defense is required to conduct a comprehensive assessment pursuant to subsection (a), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall prepare and submit to the Secretary the Chairman’s assessment of the roles and missions of the armed forces and the assignment of functions to the armed forces, together with any recommendations for changes in assignment that the Chairman considers necessary to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness of the armed forces.

(2) The Chairman’s assessment shall be conducted so as to—

(A) organize the significant missions of the armed forces into core mission areas that cover broad areas of military activity;

(B) ensure that core mission areas are defined and functions are assigned so as to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort among the armed forces; and

(C) provide the Chairman’s recommendations with regard to issues to be addressed by the Secretary of Defense under subsection (c).

(c)Identification of Core Mission Areas and Core Competencies and Capabilities.— Upon receipt of the Chairman’s assessment, and after giving appropriate consideration to the Chairman’s recommendations, the Secretary of Defense shall identify—

(1) the core mission areas of the armed forces;

(2) the core competencies and capabilities that are associated with the performance or support of a core mission area identified pursuant to paragraph (1);

(3) the elements of the Department of Defense (including any other office, agency, activity, or command described in section 111(b) of this title) that are responsible for providing the core competencies and capabilities required to effectively perform the core missions identified pursuant to paragraph (1);

(4) any gaps in the ability of the elements (or other office, agency activity, or command) of the Department of Defense to provide core competencies and capabilities required to effectively perform the core missions identified pursuant to paragraph (1);

(5) any unnecessary duplication of core competencies and capabilities between defense components; and

(6) a plan for addressing any gaps or unnecessary duplication identified pursuant to paragraph (4) or paragraph (5).

(d)Report.— The Secretary shall submit a report on the quadrennial roles and missions review to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The report shall be submitted in the year following the year in which the review is conducted, but not later than the date on which the President submits the budget for the next fiscal year to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31.

(Added Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title IX, § 941(a), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 286.)

Miscellaneous

Inclusion of Assessment of Joint Military Training and Force Allocations in Quadrennial Defense Review and National Military Strategy

Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title III, § 348, Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1375, provided that: “The assessments of the National Military Strategy conducted by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under section 153(b) of this title [sic; probably means Title 10, Armed Forces], and the quadrennial roles and missions review pursuant to section 118b of this title [sic], shall include an assessment of joint military training and force allocations to determine—

“(1) the compliance of the military departments with the joint training, doctrine, and resource allocation recommendations promulgated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and

“(2) the effectiveness of the Joint Staff in carrying out the missions of planning and experimentation formerly accomplished by Joint Forces Command.”

Timing of Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review

Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title IX, § 941(c), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 287, provided that:

“(1)First review.—The first quadrennial roles and missions review under section 118b of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be conducted during 2008.

“(2)Subsequent reviews.—Subsequent reviews shall be conducted every four years, beginning in 2011.”