12 2 STA T . 2 60PUBLIC LA W 110 – 1 8 1 —J A N .28 , 2008 Subti t leG—D e f e ns e Ma te r iel R ea d iness Bo ard SEC.871 . ES TABLI S HM E N T OFD EFENSE MATE R IEL READINESS BOARD. (a)ESTABLI S HMEN T .—Notl at er t h a n6m onth s a f ter the d ate of the ena c tment of th i s A ct , the S ecretar y of D efense shall esta b lish a Defense M ateriel R eadiness B oard (in this s u btitle referred to as the ‘ ‘Board ’ ’) w ithin the O ffice of the Secretary of Defense. (b) MEMBE R SHI P .— T he Secretary shall a p point the chairman and the members of the Board from amon g officers of the Armed F orces with e x pertise in matters rele v ant to the function of the Board to assess materiel readiness and evaluate plans and policies relating to materiel readiness. At a minimum, the Board shall include representatives of the J oint C hiefs of Staff, each of the Armed Forces, and each of the reserve components of the Armed Forces. (c) STA F F.—The Secretary of Defense shall assign staff, and re q uest the Secretaries of the military departments to assign staff, as necessary to assist the Board in carrying out its duties. (d) F U N C TI O NS.—The Board shall provide independent assess - ments of materiel readiness, materiel readiness shortfalls, and materiel readiness plans to the Secretary of Defense and the Con- gress. To carry out such functions, the Board shall— ( 1 ) monitor and assess the materiel readiness of the Armed Forces
( 2 ) assist the Secretary of Defense in the identification of deficiencies in the materiel readiness of the Armed Forces caused by shortfalls in weapons systems, equipment, and sup- plies; ( 3 ) identify shortfalls in materiel readiness, including crit- ical materiel readiness shortfalls, for purposes of the Secretary’s designations under section 87 2 and the funding needed to address such shortfalls; ( 4 ) assess the adequacy of current Department of Defense plans, policies, and programs to address shortfalls in materiel readiness, including critical materiel readiness shortfalls (as designated by the Secretary under section 872), and to sustain and improve materiel readiness; ( 5 ) assist the Secretary of Defense in determining whether the industrial capacity of the Department of Defense and of the defense industrial base is being best utili z ed to support the materiel readiness needs of the Armed Forces; (6) review and assess Department of Defense systems for measuring the status of current materiel readiness of the Armed Forces; and (7) ma k e recommendations with respect to materiel readi- ness funding, measurement techniques, plans, policies, and pro- grams. (e) REPORTS.—The Board shall submit to the Secretary of Defense a report summarizing its findings and recommendations not less than once every six months. W ithin 3 0 days after receiving a report from the Board, the Secretary shall forward the report in its entirety, together with his comments, to the congressional defense committees. The report shall be submitted in unclassified Deadlin e .10USC 11 7 n ot e.
�
