
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-107 Section 921(b)]
[CITE: 10USC153]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle A--General Military Law
 
            PART I--ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL MILITARY POWERS
 
                    CHAPTER 5--JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
 
Sec. 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) 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.
        (D) 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 
    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) 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.
    (c) Risks Under National Military Strategy.--(1) Not later than 
January 1 each year, the Chairman shall submit to the Secretary of 
Defense a report providing the Chairman's 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.
    (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, the Secretary shall include with the 
report as submitted to Congress the Secretary's plan for mitigating that 
risk.
    (d) 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 
committees of Congress named in paragraph (2) a report on the 
requirements of the combatant commands established under section 161 of 
this title. The report 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.

    (2) 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.

(Added Pub. L. 99-433, title II, Sec. 201, Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 1007; 
amended Pub. L. 106-65, div. A, title X, Sec. 1033, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 
Stat. 751; Pub. L. 106-398, Sec. 1 [[div. A], title IX, Sec. 905], Oct. 
30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A-226.)


                               Amendments

    2000--Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 106-398, Sec. 1 [[div. A], title IX, 
Sec. 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, Sec. 1 [[div. A], title IX, 
Sec. 905(a)], added subpars. (C) and (D).
    1999--Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 106-65 added subsecs. (c) and (d).


       Common Measurement of Operations Tempo and Personnel Tempo

    Pub. L. 105-85, div. A, title III, Sec. 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.''


                  Annual Assessment of Force Readiness

    Pub. L. 103-160, div. A, title III, Sec. 376, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 
Stat. 1637, provided that:
    ``(a) Annual Assessment Required.--Not later than March 1 of each of 
1994, 1995, and 1996, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall 
submit to the Congress an assessment of--
        ``(1) the readiness and capability of the Armed Forces to carry 
    out the full range of the missions assigned to the Armed Forces; and
        ``(2) the associated level or degree of risk for the Armed 
    Forces in responding to current and anticipated threats to national 
    security interests of the United States.
    ``(b) Content of Assessment.--Each assessment shall include, for the 
five-year period described in subsection (c), the following matters:
        ``(1) An unclassified description of the current and projected 
    readiness and capability of the Armed Forces taking into 
    consideration each of the following areas:
            ``(A) Personnel.
            ``(B) Training and exercises.
            ``(C) Logistics, including equipment maintenance and supply 
        availability.
            ``(D) Equipment modernization.
            ``(E) Installations, real property, and facilities.
            ``(F) Munitions.
            ``(G) Mobility.
            ``(H) Wartime sustainability.
        ``(2) The personal assessment of the Chairman of the Joint 
    Chiefs of Staff regarding the readiness and capabilities of the 
    Armed Forces, together with the Chairman's personal judgment on 
    whether there are significant problems or risks regarding the 
    readiness and capabilities of the Armed Forces.
        ``(3) Any factors that the Chairman or any other member of the 
    Joint Chiefs of Staff believes may lead to a decrease in force 
    readiness or a degradation in the overall capability of the Armed 
    Forces.
        ``(4) Any recommended actions that the Chairman of the Joint 
    Chiefs of Staff considers appropriate.
        ``(5) Any classified annexes that the Chairman of the Joint 
    Chiefs of Staff considers appropriate.
    ``(c) Period Assessed.--The assessment shall include information for 
the fiscal year in which the assessment is submitted, the three 
preceding fiscal years, and projections for the subsequent fiscal year.
    ``(d) Interim Assessments.--If, at any time between submissions of 
assessments to the Congress under subsection (a), the Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff determines that there is a significant change in 
the projected readiness or capability of the Armed Forces from the 
readiness or capability projected in the most recent annual assessment, 
the Chairman shall submit to the Congress a revised assessment that 
reflects each such significant change.''


  Report of Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff on Roles and Missions of 
                              Armed Forces

    Pub. L. 102-484, div. A, title IX, Sec. 901, Oct. 23, 1992, 106 
Stat. 2469, provided that:
    ``(a) Report.--(1) The Secretary of Defense shall transmit to 
Congress a copy of the first report relating to the roles and missions 
of the Armed Forces that is submitted to the Secretary by the Chairman 
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under section 153(b) of title 10, United 
States Code, after January 1, 1992.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall transmit the report, together with his 
views on the report, within 30 days after receiving the report.
    ``(b) Additional Matters.--In addition to the matters required under 
such section 153(b), the Chairman shall include in the report referred 
to in subsection (a) the Chairman's comments and recommendations 
regarding the following matters:
        ``(1) Reassessing the roles and missions assigned to each of the 
    Armed Forces (under the Key West agreement of 1947 and subsequent 
    actions by the various Secretaries of Defense and the Congress) in 
    light of the new national security environment resulting from the 
    end of the Cold War.
        ``(2) The extent to which the efficiency of the Armed Forces in 
    carrying out their roles and missions can be enhanced by--
            ``(A) the elimination or reduction of duplication in the 
        capabilities of the military departments and Defense Agencies 
        without an undue diminution in their effectiveness; and
            ``(B) the consolidation or streamlining of organizations and 
        activities within the military departments and Defense Agencies.
        ``(3) Changes in the operational tempo of forces stationed in 
    the continental United States and changes in deployment patterns and 
    operational tempo of forces deployed outside the United States.
        ``(4) Changes in the readiness status of units based upon time-
    phased force deployment plans.
        ``(5) Transfers of functions from the active components of the 
    Armed Forces to the reserve components of the Armed Forces.''


                          Transition Provisions

    Section 204(a), (b) of Pub. L. 99-433 provided that:
    ``(a) Preparedness Evaluation System.--The uniform system of 
evaluating the preparedness of each unified and specified combatant 
command required to be established by paragraph (3)(D) of section 153(a) 
of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 201 of this Act, 
shall be established not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act [Oct. 1, 1986].
    ``(b) Date for First Report.--The first report under section 153(b) 
of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 201 of this Act, 
shall be submitted by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff not 
later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 
1, 1986].''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 2464 of this title.
