§ 181 — Joint Requirements Oversight Council

(a) There is a Joint Requirements Oversight Council in the Department of Defense. (b) In addition to other matters assigned to it by the President or Secretary of Defense, the Joint Requirements Oversight Council shall assist the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in— (1) assessing joint military capabilities, and identifying, approving, and prioritizing gaps in such capabilities, to meet applicable requirements in the national defense strategy under section 113(g) of this title; (2) increasing awareness of global trends, threats, and adversary capabilities to address gaps in joint military capabilities and validate joint requirements developed by the military departments; (3) reviewing and validating whether a capability proposed by an armed force, Defense Agency, or other entity of the Department of Defense fulfills a gap in joint military capabilities; (4) establishing and approving joint performance requirements that— (A) ensure interoperability, where appropriate, between and among joint military capabilities; and (B) are necessary, as designated by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to fulfill capability gaps of more than one armed force, Defense Agency, or other entity of the Department; (5) reviewing performance requirements for any existing or proposed capability that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff determines should be reviewed by the Council; (6) identifying new joint military capabilities based on advances in technology and concepts of operation; and (7) identifying alternatives to any acquisition program that meets approved joint military capability requirements for the purposes of sections 4251(b), 4252(a)(4), and 4375(b) of this title. (1) The Joint Requirements Oversight Council is composed of the following: (A) The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is the Chair of the Council and is the principal adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for making recommendations about joint military capabilities or joint performance requirements. (B) An Army officer in the grade of general. (C) A Navy officer in the grade of admiral. (D) An Air Force officer in the grade of general. (E) A Marine Corps officer in the grade of general. (F) A Space Force officer in the grade of general. (2) Members of the Council under subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (E) of paragraph (1) shall be selected by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after consultation with the Secretary of Defense, from officers in the grade of general or admiral, as the case may be, who are recommended for selection by the Secretary of the military department concerned. (3) In making any recommendation to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as described in paragraph (1)(A), the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall provide the Chairman any dissenting view of members of the Council under paragraph (1) with respect to such recommendation. (1) The following officials of the Department of Defense shall serve as advisors to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council on matters within their authority and expertise: (A) The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. (B) The Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. (C) The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. (D) The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering who shall serve as the Chief Technical Advisor to the Council and— (i) shall provide assistance in evaluating the technical feasibility of requirements under development; and (ii) shall identify options for expanding or generating new requirements based on opportunities provided by new or emerging technologies. (E) The Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). (F) The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. (G) The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation. (H) The commander of a combatant command when matters related to the area of responsibility or functions of that command are under consideration by the Council. (2) The Council shall seek and consider input from the commanders of the combatant commands in carrying out its mission under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b). (3) The Council shall seek, and strongly consider, the views of the Chiefs of Staff of the armed forces, in their roles as customers of the acquisition system, on matters pertaining to a capability proposed by an armed force, Defense Agency, or other entity of the Department of Defense under subsection (b)(2) and joint performance requirements pursuant to subsection (b)(3). (4) The Council shall seek, and strongly consider, the views of the Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau regarding non-Federalized National Guard capabilities in support of homeland defense and civil support missions. (e) The Chief of Staff of an armed force is responsible for all performance requirements for that armed force and, except for performance requirements specified in subsections (b)(4) and (b)(5), such performance requirements do not need to be validated by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council. (f) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that analytical organizations within the Department of Defense, such as the Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, provide resources and expertise in operations research, systems analysis, and cost estimation to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council to assist the Council in performing the mission in subsection (b). (g) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that, in the case of a recommendation by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Secretary that is approved by the Secretary, oversight information with respect to such recommendation that is produced as a result of the activities of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council is made available in a timely fashion to the congressional defense committees. (h) In this section: (1) The term “joint military capabilities” means the collective capabilities across the joint force, including both joint and force-specific capabilities, that are available to conduct military operations. (2) The term “performance requirement” means a performance attribute of a particular system considered critical or essential to the development of an effective military capability. (3) The term “joint performance requirement” means a performance requirement that is critical or essential to ensure interoperability or fulfill a capability gap of more than one armed force, Defense Agency, or other entity of the Department of Defense, or impacts the joint force in other ways such as logistics. (4) The term “oversight information” means information and materials comprising analysis and justification that are prepared to support a recommendation that is made to, and approved by, the Secretary of Defense.