10 U.S.C. § 139: Director of Operational Test and Evaluation

There is a Director of Operational Test and Evaluation in the Department of Defense, appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director shall be appointed without regard to political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of the office of Director. The Director may be removed from office by the President. The President shall communicate the reasons for any such removal to both Houses of Congress. the field test, under realistic combat conditions, of any item of (or key component of) weapons, equipment, or munitions for the purpose of determining the effectiveness and suitability of the weapons, equipment, or munitions for use in combat by typical military users; and the evaluation of the results of such test. The term “major defense acquisition program” means a Department of Defense acquisition program that is a major defense acquisition program for purposes of section 4201 of this title or that is designated as such a program by the Director for purposes of this section. ensure that all operational test and evaluation activities are aligned with, and are conducted in a manner that supports, the objectives of the defense acquisition system established pursuant to section 3102 of this title ; prescribe, by authority of the Secretary of Defense, policies and procedures for the conduct of operational test and evaluation in the Department of Defense; provide guidance to and consult with the Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Secretaries of the military departments with respect to operational test and evaluation in the Department of Defense in general and with respect to specific operational test and evaluation to be conducted in connection with a major defense acquisition program; monitor and review all operational test and evaluation in the Department of Defense; coordinate operational testing conducted jointly by more than one military department or defense agency; review and make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense on all budgetary and financial matters relating to operational test and evaluation, including operational test facilities and equipment, in the Department of Defense; monitor and review the live fire testing activities of the Department of Defense provided for under section 4172 of this title ; and have access to approved test and evaluation master plans and test strategies of the armed forces for purposes of conducting independent reviews of such plans and strategies. The Director may communicate views on matters within the responsibility of the Director directly to the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense without obtaining the approval or concurrence of any other official within the Department of Defense. The Director shall consult closely with, but the Director and the Director’s staff are independent of, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and all other officers and entities of the Department of Defense responsible for acquisition. The Director may not be assigned any responsibility for developmental test and evaluation, other than the provision of advice to officials responsible for such testing. The Secretary of a military department shall report promptly to the Director the results of all operational test and evaluation conducted by the military department and of all studies conducted by the military department in connection with operational test and evaluation in the military department. The Director may require that such observers as he designates be present during the preparation for and the conduct of the test part of any operational test and evaluation conducted in the Department of Defense. The Director shall have access to all records and data in the Department of Defense (including the records and data of each military department) that the Director considers necessary to review in order to carry out his duties under this section. The Director shall have prompt access to all data regarding modeling and simulation activity proposed to be used by military departments and defense agencies in support of operational or live fire test and evaluation of military capabilities. This access shall include data associated with verification, validation, and accreditation activities. The Director of the Missile Defense Agency shall make available to the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation the results of all tests and evaluations conducted by the Missile Defense Agency and of all studies conducted by the Missile Defense Agency in connection with tests and evaluations in the Missile Defense Agency. The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation may require that such observers as the Director designates be present during the preparation for and the conducting of any test and evaluation conducted by the Missile Defense Agency. The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation shall have access to all records and data in the Department of Defense (including the records and data of the Missile Defense Agency) that the Director considers necessary to review in order to carry out his duties under this subsection. The Director shall ensure that safety concerns developed during the operational test and evaluation of a weapon system under a major defense acquisition program are communicated in a timely manner to the program manager for that program for consideration in the acquisition decisionmaking process. The Director shall prepare an annual report summarizing the operational test and evaluation activities (including live fire testing activities) of the Department of Defense during the preceding fiscal year. Each such report shall be submitted concurrently to the Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the Secretaries of the military departments, and the Congress not later than January 31 of each year. If the Director submits the report to Congress in a classified or controlled unclassified form, the Director shall concurrently submit to Congress a version of the report that is unclassified and does not require safeguarding or dissemination controls. The report shall include such comments and recommendations as the Director considers appropriate, including comments and recommendations on resources and facilities available for operational test and evaluation and levels of funding made available for operational test and evaluation activities. The report for a fiscal year shall also include an assessment of the waivers of and deviations from requirements in test and evaluation master plans and other testing requirements that occurred during the fiscal year, any concerns raised by the waivers or deviations, and the actions that have been taken or are planned to be taken to address the concerns. The Director shall solicit comments from the Secretaries of the military departments on each report of the Director to Congress under this section and include any comments as an appendix to the Director’s report. The Director shall determine the amount of time available for the Secretaries to comment on the draft report on a case by case basis, and consider the extent to which substantive discussions have already been held between the Director and the military department. The Director shall reserve the right to issue the report without comment from a military department if the department’s comments are not received within the time provided, and shall indicate any such omission in the report. The Director shall comply with requests from Congress (or any committee of either House of Congress) for information relating to operational test and evaluation in the Department of Defense. The President shall include in the Budget transmitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31 for each fiscal year a separate statement of estimated expenditures and proposed appropriations for that fiscal year for the activities of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Director under this section. The Director shall have sufficient professional staff of military and civilian personnel to enable the Director to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Director prescribed by law, and the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the amount requested for the Office of the Director in the Department of Defense budget for each fiscal year is sufficient to enable the Director to fulfill the duties and responsibilities assigned by this section. test planning, preparation, and monitoring; data collection; data analysis; drafting and reviewing test reports; providing technical expertise and support to program offices; and performing such other duties as the Director determines appropriate. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the Director has sufficient funding to enter into the contracts or other agreements for which authorization is provided under paragraph (1). command and control and data integration architecture for layered integrated missile defense of the homeland; the Joint Fires Network; and the Cryptographic Modernization Program. For any effort under subsection (a) assigned to the software acquisition pathway pursuant to section 3603 of title 10 , United States Code, the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation shall assess the effort in accordance with the alternative test and evaluation pathway established by section 218 of this Act [ 10 U.S.C. 4171 note].” divest or consolidate a capability specified in paragraph (2); transfer responsibility for such a capability away from the organization responsible for the capability as of the date of the enactment of this Act; or take any other action that would reduce the scope or effectiveness of the capability. the Cyber Assessment Program; the Center for Countermeasures; the Test and Evaluation Threat Resource Activity; the Joint Technical Coordinating Group for Munitions Effectiveness Program; the Joint Aircraft Survivability Program; the Joint Test and Evaluation Program; and the Test and Evaluation Transformation Program. identification of the organization to which such capability will be transferred; and an explanation of the level of resources needed to sustain such capability at the new organization, staffing levels for the capability at such organization, and any agreements needed to implement the proposed transfer; and in the case of a capability proposed to be divested or consolidated by the Secretary, a justification for the divestment or consolidation together with an explanation of how the proposed divestment or consolidation will not result in a loss of capabilities or functions in a manner that poses a risk to any mission of the Department of Defense; and a period of 30 days has elapsed following the date on which the plan under subparagraph (A) was submitted. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that sufficient funding and personnel are made available to the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation to maintain the capabilities specified in paragraph (2) during the period in which the limitation under paragraph (1) applies.” the operational effectiveness, suitability, and survivability of the ballistic missile defense system and the elements of the system that have been fielded or tested; and the adequacy and sufficiency of the test program of such system as of the date of the assessment, including with respect to the operational realism of the tests. Each assessment under subsection (a) may be submitted in unclassified form, and may include a classified annex.” reaffirm the test and evaluation principles that should guide traditional acquisition programs; and determine how best to apply appropriate test and evaluation principles to emerging acquisition approaches. If the Under Secretary determines as a result of the review under paragraph (1) that a revision of the policies and practices referred to in that paragraph is necessary, the Under Secretary and the Director shall jointly issue new or revised guidance for the Department of Defense on test and evaluation to address that determination. items that are acquired pursuant to the authority for rapid acquisition and deployment of items in section 3601 of title 10 , United States Code; programs that are conducted pursuant to the authority for spiral development in [former] section 803 of the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 ( Public Law 107–314 ; 116 Stat. 2603 ; [former] 10 U.S.C. 2430 note), or other authority for the conduct of incremental acquisition programs; systems that are acquired pursuant to other emerging acquisition approaches, as approved by the Under Secretary; and equipment that is not subject to the operational test and evaluation requirements in sections 2366 and 2399 of title 10, United States Code [now 10 U.S.C. 4172 , 4171], but that may require limited operational test and evaluation for the purpose of ensuring the safety and survivability of such equipment and personnel using such equipment; and ensure the appropriate use, if any, of operational test and evaluation resources to assess technology readiness levels for the purpose of section 2366a of title 10 , United States Code [now 10 U.S.C. 4251 ], and other applicable technology readiness requirements. reflects any testing needs of the Department of Defense that are identified as a result of activities under subsection (b); and includes an assessment of the test and evaluation facilities, resources, and budgets that will be required to meet such needs. Not later than nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act [ Oct. 17, 2006 ], the Under Secretary and the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation shall submit to the congressional defense committees [Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives] a report on the review conducted under paragraph (1) of subsection (b), including any new or revised guidance issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of that subsection.”