The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment ASD Sustainment formerly known as the Assistant Secretary of Defense

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment (ASD (Sustainment)), formerly known as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness (ASD(L&MR)), is one of three assistant secretaries reporting to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. Formerly the position was an adviser to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of Defense on logistics and materiel readiness issues within the Department of Defense (DoD), including programs related to logistics, materiel readiness, maintenance, strategic mobility, and sustainment support. As the principal logistics official within the senior management of the DoD, the ASD(Sustainment) exercises authority, direction and control over the director of the Defense Logistics Agency. Like all other Assistant Secretaries of Defense, the ASD(Sustainment) is considered a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment
Seal of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment
Flag of an Assistant Secretary of Defense
Incumbent (Acting) since 1 October 2024
Office of the Secretary of Defense
Style	The Honorable (formal address in writing)
Reports to	Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
Appointer	The President with the advice and consent of the Senate
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	12 October 2018
Deputy	3 deputy assistant secretaries
Website	www.acq.osd.mil/log/

History

This position can trace its lineage partially back to the National Security Act of 1947, which established a Munitions Board to oversee logistics and supply within the nascent Defense Department. Through the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations, oversight of logistics and materiel readiness was merged with oversight of installations and properties. In 1977, the acquisition functions of this office were transferred to the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, and responsibilities for logistics were merged with manpower and reserve affairs throughout the Carter and early Reagan administrations.

For a year in the middle of the Reagan administration, responsibilities for logistics and materiel support were split between two ASDs after the creation of a new Assistant Secretary of Defense for Development and Support, established by Defense Directive 5129.4 (signed 25 November 1984). However, this office was abolished after Defense Directive 5128.1 (signed in November 1985) merged logistics responsibilities into a single office, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Logistics. This office was then replaced by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Production and Logistics in April 1987, and phased out completely in 1993 after the reorganization of the office of the USD (AT&L). From 1993 until 2000, there was no principal staff assistant to the USD (AT&L) responsible for oversight of logistics and materiel readiness.^{[citation needed]}

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, (P.L. 106-65, signed 5 October 1999) created the new position of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, or DUSD (L&MR). The DUSD (L&MR) was meant to serve as a second DUSD, after the Principal DUSD, reporting to the USD (AT&L). According to an official DoD history, the intent of Congress in establishing the DUSD (L&MR) was to emphasize the importance of these functions.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (P.L. 111-84, signed 28 October 2009) redesignated this position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, or ASD(L&MR), as part of an overall effort to limit the number of DUSD positions to five. However, this post remained vacant throughout the Obama administration, with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (PDASD) Alan F. Estevez serving as the highest-ranking official in this office.

In February 2018, the Logistics and Materiel Readiness office was combined into a new office, headed by the Assistant Secretary for Sustainment.

As part of a reorganization on 12 October 2018, the ASD(L&MR) was combined with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment (ASD(EI&E)) into a new Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment. The ASD(EI&E) position was reestablished on February 10, 2022.

Office holders

Assistant Secretaries for Logistics and Materiel Readiness

The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices.

Assistant Secretaries of Defense (Logistics & Materiel Readiness)
Name	Tenure	Secretary(ies) served under	President(s) served under
Chairman, Munitions Board
Thomas J. Hargrave	30 September 1947 – 20 September 1948	James V. Forrestal	Harry Truman
Donald F. Carpenter	21 September 1948 – 30 June 1949	James V. Forrestal Louis A. Johnson
Hubert E. Howard	25 November 1949 – 18 September 1950	Louis A. Johnson
John D. Small	16 November 1950 – 20 January 1953	George C. Marshall Robert A. Lovett
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Supply and Logistics)
Charles S. Thomas	5 August 1953 – 2 May 1954	Charles Erwin Wilson	Dwight Eisenhower
Thomas P. Pike	3 May 1954 – 27 June 1956	Charles Erwin Wilson
E. Perkins McGuire	28 December 1956 – 20 January 1961	Charles Erwin Wilson Neil H. McElroy Thomas S. Gates
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics)
Thomas D. Morris	29 January 1961 – 11 December 1964	Robert S. McNamara	John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson
Paul R. Ignatius	23 December 1964 – 31 August 1967	Robert S. McNamara	Lyndon Johnson
Thomas D. Morris	1 September 1967 – 1 February 1969	Robert S. McNamara Clark M. Clifford Melvin R. Laird	Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon
Barry J. Shillito	1 February 1969 – 1 February 1973	Melvin R. Laird	Richard Nixon
Arthur I. Mendolia	21 June 1973 – 31 March 1975	James R. Schlesinger	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
John J. Bennett (acting)	1 April 1975 – 9 February 1976	James R. Schlesinger Donald H. Rumsfeld	Gerald Ford
Frank A. Shrontz	10 February 1976 – 19 January 1977	Donald H. Rumsfeld	Gerald Ford
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, and Logistics)
John P. White	11 May 1977 – 31 October 1978	Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
Robert B. Pirie Jr.	17 June 1979 – 20 January 1981	Harold Brown	Jimmy Carter
Lawrence Korb	4 May 1981 – 12 January 1984	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Installations, and Logistics)
Lawrence J. Korb	12 January 1984 – 5 July 1985	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Development and Support)
James P. Wade	6 August 1984 – 5 July 1985	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Logistics)
James P. Wade	5 July 1985 – 3 November 1986	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Robert B. Costello	13 March 1987 – 15 April 1987	Caspar W. Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Production and Logistics)
Robert B. Costello	15 April 1987 – 17 December 1987	Caspar W. Weinberger Frank C. Carlucci III	Ronald Reagan
Jack Katzen	28 March 1988 – 8 January 1990	Frank C. Carlucci III William Howard Taft IV (acting) Dick Cheney	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush
Colin McMillan	5 March 1990 – 11 December 1992	Dick Cheney	George H. W. Bush
No position
Position vacant from 1993 to 2000
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness)
Roger W. Kallock	15 September 2000 – 19 January 2001	William S. Cohen	Bill Clinton
Diane Morales	17 July 2001 – 2 January 2004	Donald H. Rumsfeld	George W. Bush
Bradley M. Berkson (acting)	2 January 2004 – 8 August 2005	Donald H. Rumsfeld
Phillip J. "Jack" Bell	8 August 2005 – 20 January 2009	Donald H. Rumsfeld Robert M. Gates
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness)
Position vacant from 20 January 2009 to 8 August 2011
Alan Estevez	8 August 2011 – 30 October 2013	Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel	Barack Obama
David J. Berteau	16 December 2014 – 25 March 2016	Chuck Hagel, Ashton B. Carter	Barack Obama
Position vacant from 26 March 2016 to 30 November 2017
Robert H. McMahon	30 November 2017 – 11 October 2018	James Mattis	Donald Trump

Assistant Secretary for Sustainment

Assistant Secretaries for Sustainment
Name	Tenure	Secretary(ies) served under	President(s) served under
Robert H. McMahon	12 October 2018 – 22 November 2019	Jim Mattis Mark Esper	Donald Trump
Peter Potochney (acting)	22 November 2019 – 30 March 2020	Mark Esper	Donald Trump
Jordan Gillis	30 March 2020 – 20 January 2021	Mark Esper	Donald Trump
Steven J. Morani (acting)	20 January 2021 – 10 June 2022	Lloyd Austin	Joe Biden
Christopher Lowman	10 June 2022 – 30 September 2024	Lloyd Austin	Joe Biden
Steven J. Morani (acting)	1 October 2024 – Incumbent	Lloyd Austin Pete Hegseth	Joe Biden Donald Trump

References

https://www.acq.osd.mil/asds/leadership/steven-morani.html
"Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
Title IX, Subtitle A, Section 906, Part b, http://intelligence.senate.gov/pdfs/military_act_2009.pdf Archived 3 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
"Alan F. Estevez biography". Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2007.
Mehta, Aaron (2 August 2017). "This is the Pentagon's new acquisition structure". Retrieved 17 October 2018.
"Report to Congress: Restructuring the Department of Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Organization and Chief Management Officer Organization" (PDF). 1 August 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
"Statement of Mr. Paul Cramer Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations & Environment) Before the House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness Department of Defense Energy, Installations & Environment Programs" (PDF). 16 March 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
"The Decision Makers: Defense Department". GovExec.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2005. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
"Cost-effective Joint Support for the Warfighter", Defense AT&L Interview with Jack BellArchived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine

External links

[1] ttps://www.acq.osd.mil/asds/leadership/steven-morani.html

[multiple-2] "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.

[3] Title IX, Subtitle A, Section 906, Part b, http://intelligence.senate.gov/pdfs/military_act_2009.pdf Archived 3 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine

[4] "Alan F. Estevez biography". Archived from the original on 7 February 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2007.

[5] Mehta, Aaron (2 August 2017). "This is the Pentagon's new acquisition structure". Retrieved 17 October 2018.

[:2-6] "Report to Congress: Restructuring the Department of Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Organization and Chief Management Officer Organization" (PDF). 1 August 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.

[docs.house.gov-7] "Statement of Mr. Paul Cramer Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations & Environment) Before the House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness Department of Defense Energy, Installations & Environment Programs" (PDF). 16 March 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.

[8] "The Decision Makers: Defense Department". GovExec.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2005. Retrieved 17 September 2011.

[9] "Cost-effective Joint Support for the Warfighter", Defense AT&L Interview with Jack BellArchived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine