Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

Defense Security Cooperation Agency

The director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency is responsible for providing allies and partner nations with financial and technical assistance, transfer of defense matériel, training, and the promotion of military-to-military contacts.

Defense Technology Security Administration

The director of the

Budget

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2017)

Budget features

• Defense Critical Infrastructure Program (DCIP): Oversees policy formulation and strategic planning for the Defense Critical Infrastructure Program, to include the Defense Industrial Base, which provides defense-related products and services that are essential to equip; mobilize; deploy and sustain military operations, enabling the Warfighter to minimize risk. Ensures the resiliency of networked infrastructure assets, whether owned or operated by the DoD or private industry, that are critical to executing military missions. Activities include the identification, assessment, monitoring, and risk management of cyber and physical infrastructure assets critical to the execution of the National Military Strategy. DCIP is run under the auspices of the
  Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs
  , where it is overseen by the DASD, Homeland Defense Strategy and Force Planning.
• Global Threat Management: Provides policy, guidance and oversight on existential threats, supranational threats and non-state actor threats. OUSD(P) fulfills this global mission by crafting and implementing initiatives to expand cultural understanding throughout the world in governed and ungoverned areas to aid in preventing the expansion of terrorist cells. Utilizes table top exercises to enable Members of Congress, Administration Officials, and DoD personnel to form strategies in addressing catastrophic security events. Active research and involvement in the ever-changing cyber environment to protect security assets and prevent sophisticated threats in cyberspace from adversaries domestic and foreign. This funding appears to primarily support the programs of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs.
• Homeland Defense Support Activities: Formulates policy and conducts DoD strategic planning for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities, including installation preparedness; CBRNE preparedness and consequence management; border security and National Security Special Events. Supports the U.S. Northern Command in homeland defense strategy, and enhances the U.S. Southern Command mission through engagement with the ministries of defense of Western Hemisphere nations. It supervises intradepartmental and inter-agency coordination of the above issues. Conducts oversight of DoD processes to exercise force readiness through the National Exercise Program. Manages defense continuity and conducts crisis management. This funding appears to primarily support the programs of the
  Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs
  .
• Policy Planning and Integration: OUSD(P) coordinates activities to aid in formulating strategies for DoD programs at national and international levels. This involves establishing and monitoring strategic direction, planning and force development as laid out in reporting documents such as the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) and Defense Planning and Programming Guidance (DPPG). OUSD(P) ensures decisions are not made in a vacuum by integrating policies and resources related to humanitarian efforts and their compliance with international laws. Initiates crisis decision-making in an interagency setting; creates forums to explore emerging national security issues; and examines the capabilities and limitations of national power through various instruments. Funding allows interagency integration and coordination to determine requirements for potential dual-use application of Defense assets.
• Regional Security Affairs: Provides analysis of management of cultural situations in nation states and oversight to military joint ventures and cooperative DoD-Foreign government programs including educational, training, and developmental opportunities. Using a variety of resources, maintains regional expertise to support DoD leadership in forming and implementing strategies and contributes to coordinating holistic government engagement in programs and policies. Regional expertise provides the ability to: monitor and solve security cooperation issues, effectively execute coalition management, monitor international security operations, and further develop cooperative relations with foreign countries. This funding appears to primarily support the programs of the
  Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs and Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
• Rewards Program: Provides funds to publicize the program and pay rewards for information to disrupt international terrorist activities.
• Travel: This funding supports travel in support of the OUSD(P) mission.
• US Mission to NATO: Funding provides regional stability interface with US allies, NATO resolution of regional conflicts, response to terrorism and unstable conditions in fragile and failed nation states that include NATO involvement, weapons of mass destruction bilateral measures, and support of overseas facilities.
• Warfighting Support Activities: OUSD(P) provides resources to orchestrate the development of special technologies and capabilities. It sustains these efforts by conducting in-depth analyses of the assignment of additional military and civilian personnel to long-term, non-intelligence positions in high-priority countries. Prepares the military for confronting threats in culturally diverse countries, supports policies and strategies that develop skills unique to counterinsurgency and stabilization efforts; reinforces and builds international support over shared security concerns,
  Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict & Interdependent Capabilities

List of under secretaries of defense for policy

Portrait	Name[2]	Tenure	SecDef(s) served under	President(s) served under
	Stanley Rogers Resor	14 August 1978 – 1 April 1979	Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
	Robert Komer	24 October 1979 – 20 January 1981
	Fred Iklé	2 April 1981 – 19 February 1988	Caspar Weinberger Frank Carlucci	Ronald Reagan
	Paul Wolfowitz	15 May 1989 – 19 January 1993	Dick Cheney	George H. W. Bush
	Frank G. Wisner	6 July 1993 – 9 June 1994	Les Aspin William Perry	Bill Clinton
	Walter B. Slocombe	15 September 1994 – 19 January 2001	William Perry William Cohen
	Peter F. Verga (acting)	20 January 2001 – 16 July 2001	Donald Rumsfeld	George W. Bush
	Douglas J. Feith	16 July 2001 – 8 August 2005	Donald Rumsfeld
	Eric S. Edelman	9 February 2006 – 20 January 2009	Donald Rumsfeld Robert Gates
	Michèle Flournoy[3]	9 February 2009 – 3 February 2012	Robert Gates Leon Panetta	Barack Obama
	James N. Miller	18 February 2012 – 8 January 2014	Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel
	Michael D. Lumpkin (acting)	9 January 2014 – 23 June 2014	Chuck Hagel
	Christine Wormuth	23 June 2014 – 10 June 2016	Chuck Hagel Ash Carter
	Brian P. McKeon (acting)	10 June 2016 – 20 January 2017	Ash Carter
	Theresa Whelan (acting)	20 January 2017 – 7 June 2017[4]	James Mattis	Donald Trump
	Robert S. Karem (acting)	7 June 2017 – 27 October 2017
	David Trachtenberg (acting)	27 October 2017 – 8 January 2018
	John Rood	9 January 2018 – 28 February 2020	James Mattis Mark Esper
	James Anderson (acting)	1 March 2020 – 10 November 2020[5]
	Anthony Tata (performing the duties of)	10 November 2020 – 20 January 2021[6]	Christopher C. Miller (acting)
	Amanda J. Dory (performing the duties of)	20 January 2021 – 28 April 2021	Lloyd Austin	Joe Biden
	Colin Kahl	28 April 2021 – 17 July 2023
	Sasha Baker (acting)	18 July 2023 – Present

Principal Deputy

The Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy is the chief staff assistant to the USD(P). Originally established as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 1992–93 (P.L. 102–190), the post was re-designated Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Policy), or PDUSD(P) in December 1999 by DoD Directive 5111.3.[3] The PDUSD(P) provides advice and assistance to the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and USD(P) on national security policy, military strategy, and defense policy.

Notes and references