Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment

Happy Birthday, United States Space Force!   Established on December 20, 2019, the Space Force is the sixth military branch in the U.S. Armed Forces. Today, we celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Space Force and honor the Guardians who serve — professionals who are uniquely and specifically trained and educated in warfighting activities in, from, and to space.   Learn more about Space Force's history here: https://lnkd.in/evZf4DTh #SemperSupra #AlwaysAbove

The United States Department of Defense released the 2024 Chemical and Biological Defense Program Enterprise Strategy that positions DoD to ensure the total force's ability to carry out its missions in the face of advanced chemical and biological threats.   "Strategic competition and rapid technological changes are making chemical and biological threats harder to defend against and increasingly attractive to adversaries," said Ian Watson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense. "This strategy creates the urgency and change necessary to continue to outpace our adversaries and the threat." The Chemical and Biological Defense Program develops chemical and biological defense material capabilities for all the Military Services, and this enterprise strategy aligns the Department's efforts in four ways: 🔹Generating material solutions that increase decision space, reduce initial operational impact, and rapidly restore combat power. 🔹Pursuing technical enablers and innovative approaches that accelerate capability delivery at sufficient scales. 🔹Posturing the Chemical and Biological Defense Program around delivering operationally relevant capabilities at speed and scale. 🔹Leveraging and expanding interagency, international, industry, and academic partners. Read more below, as well as the full strategy at https://lnkd.in/dUtt7weY #SustainTheForce

This week, the United States Department of Defense issued an important update to DoD Instruction 3150.02 covering the Nuclear Weapons Systems Surety Program. This reissuance elevates and integrates nuclear weapon system risk management processes for surety and cybersecurity, and ensures U.S. nuclear weapons are safe, secure, and under positive control. "As members of the nuclear surety community, it is our shared responsibility to ensure our standards evolve to address growing digital threats," said Ms. Deborah Rosenblum, Acting Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. “Our community took ownership and updated our surety standards to protect our enterprise."   As the Department modernizes legacy Cold War-era nuclear weapon systems, we are increasingly relying on digital technologies. The update ensures DoD's nuclear surety standards are modernized to account for digital threats and ensures the continued success and applicability of the standards to meet both current and future threats to the nuclear enterprise. 

#ICYMI: On Friday, the United States Department of Defense announced a $15.8 million award via the Defense Production Act to Canadian company Fireweed Metals Corp. to accelerate the development of the Mactung tungsten mine in the Yukon, Canada – one of the world’s largest undeveloped high-grade tungsten deposits. “Tungsten is used in a diverse set of DoD systems and is essential to national security,” said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. “The United States is overly reliant on overseas sources of tungsten and a secure North American supply for this commodity will mitigate one of our most critical material risks. This award also highlights the importance of the Department’s partnership with our Canadian allies.” This effort aligns with the 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy goal of expanding support for production of critical minerals. Canada’s Department of Natural Resources is contributing up to CAD $12.9 million (approximately USD $9.2 million) to support this project. Learn more about this strategic investment below! #ExpandTheBase #NDIS #DPA

The recently published National Defense Industrial Strategy Implementation Plan (NDIS-IP) addresses six cross-cutting initiatives to enable the DoD to achieve a more resilient defense industrial ecosystem and buy-down risks. This week we highlight Implementation Initiative #4: Capabilities and Infrastructure Modernization.             Capabilities and infrastructure modernization ensures technological viability, security, sustainability, and competitiveness in a constantly evolving industrial landscape. Modernizing critical public and private capacities and infrastructure bolsters U.S., ally, and partner defense industries, and creates a diverse, global ecosystem to produce and sustain our military capabilities.   “Fostering a 21st century defense industrial base requires investment in infrastructure and fundamental industrial capability to meet strategic and key operational requirements,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience Carla Zeppieri said. “These efforts will lay the groundwork for generating the systems we need.”   Nuclear Modernization, Organic Industrial Base Modernization, and Improving Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul, and Upgrades are the three lines of effort that directly support this initiative. These efforts will ensure the DIB can securely produce the products, services, and technologies needed at speed and scale. This implementation initiative supports the following NDIS Priorities: Resilient Supply Chains and Flexible Acquisition.   Read the full NDIS and NDIS-IP here: https://lnkd.in/dUp-pDem #NDIS #ExpandTheBase

#ICYMI: Dr. William LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, highlights 2024 achievements and initiatives shaping the future of defense in the latest edition of Defense Acquisition University magazine. Read his full article: https://lnkd.in/eC_dp-3p #DefenseAcquisition #SustainTheForce #ExpandTheBase

Happy 388th Birthday, National Guard! Today, we honor the primary combat reserve of the US Army and United States Air Force, and their ability to seamlessly provide enduring, rotational, surge and follow-on forces to the Joint Force to fight and win the nation’s wars and defend the homeland. #HappyBirthday #AlwaysReadyAlwaysThere

The United States Department of Defense has awarded a five-year contract valued at more than $16 million to the Steel Founders’ Society of America (SFSA) to support the annual Cast in Steel manufacturing competition series. Funded through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program, this initiative strengthens the defense industrial base’s workforce by investing in future generations.   "The competition pushes students to embrace resilience and teamwork, providing them with hands-on experience that mirrors the demands of careers in the defense sector," said Carla Zeppieri, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience. “Participants use cutting-edge casting techniques that blend innovation with history—skills they will carry forward as future contributors to the defense industrial base."   The dedicated funding that allows SFSA to lead this project reinforces the DoD’s commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration between academia and industry in steel casting.   #NDIS #ExpandtheBase #DefenseIndustry

⏰ REMINDER: The 2024 Defense Acquisition Awards ceremony is today at 10:00 a.m. EST! Hosted by USD(A&S) LaPlante, this event will celebrate the accomplishments of the acquisition and sustainment workforce who continue to strengthen our national defense.   📺 Watch LIVE here: https://lnkd.in/eGuExi8M   Congratulations to this year's winners for their dedication to building enduring advantages for our warfighters, allies, and partners. See the full list of winners: https://lnkd.in/eXutm5Cm   #DefenseAcquisition | Acquisition Human Capital Initiatives OUSD (A&S) | Defense Acquisition University 

Yesterday, USD(A&S) LaPlante supported Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Christopher Grady at the U.S.-U.K. Defense Dialogue in London. Discussing the resilience of our collective industrial base, Dr. LaPlante briefed leaders from both nations on the National Defense Industrial Strategy Implementation Plan and key actions the United States Department of Defense is taking—and will continue to take—to strengthen transatlantic industrial cooperation. Read more below, and learn more about the National Defense Industrial Strategy's focus on allied and partner collaboration at https://lnkd.in/dUp-pDem #SucceedThroughTeamwork #NDIS #ExpandTheBase