10 U.S. Code § 3104 - Acquisition-related functions of service chiefs

(a) Performance of Certain Acquisition-related Functions.—

The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the service chiefs assist the Secretary of the military department concerned, in accordance with the objectives established pursuant to section 3102 of this title, in the performance of the following acquisition-related functions of such department:

(1) The development of capability requirement statements for equipping the armed force concerned that—

(A) describes the operational problem to provide necessary context for the capability requirement;

(B) proposes nonprescriptive solutions to operational problems; and

(C) ensures system interoperability, where appropriate, between and among joint military capabilities (as defined in section 181 of this title).

(2) Implement strategies to support timely adjustments to capability requirement statements developed in paragraph (1).

(3) Advise on trade-offs among life-cycle costs, delivery schedules, performance objectives, technical feasibility, and procurement quantity objectives to maximize best value for the end user.

(4) In consultation with the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, prioritize—

(A) capability needs for investment; and

(B) resource allocation to meet operational readiness requirements (as defined in section 4324 of this title) and the materiel readiness objectives established under section 118(c) of this title.

(5) Make available appropriate personnel to provide end-user feedback for the development of new capabilities.

(6) Recommend modification, discontinuation, or termination of the development of capabilities—

(A) that no longer align with a capability requirement established by the Secretary of Defense; or

(B) that are experiencing significant cost growth, technical or performance deficiencies, or delays in schedule.

(7) Build acquisition career paths for officers and personnel (as required by section 1722a of this title) to ensure such officers and personnel have the necessary skills and opportunities for career progression to fulfill the objectives established pursuant to section 3102 of this title.

(b) Adherence to Requirements in Major Defense Acquisition Programs.—

(1) The Secretary of the military department concerned shall ensure that any requirements document for a major defense acquisition program may not be approved until the service chief concerned determines in writing that the requirements in the document are necessary and realistic in relation to the program cost and fielding targets established under section 4271(a) of this title.

(2) Consistent with the performance of duties under subsection (a), the service chief concerned, or in the case of a joint program the service chiefs concerned, with respect to major defense acquisition programs, shall—

(A) concur with the need for a materiel solution as identified in the Materiel Development Decision Review;

(B) concur with the life-cycle cost, delivery schedule, performance objective, technical feasibility, and procurement quantity trade-offs that have been made with regard to the program before Milestone A approval is granted under section 4251 of this title;

(C) concur that appropriate trade-offs among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance objectives have been made to ensure that the program is affordable when considering the per unit cost and the total life-cycle cost before Milestone B approval is granted under section 4252 of this title; and

(D) concur that the requirements in the program capability document are necessary and realistic in relation to program cost and fielding targets as required by paragraph (1) before Milestone C approval is granted.

(c) Rule of Construction.—

Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the assignment of functions under section 7014(c)(1)(A), section 8014(c)(1)(A), or section 9014(c)(1)(A) of this title, except as explicitly provided in this section.

(d) Requirements Document Defined.—

In this section, the term “requirements document” means a document that establishes the need for a materiel approach to address an operational problem.

(Added Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title VIII, § 861(a), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4289, § 2547; amended Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title IX, § 951(c), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1891; Pub. L. 114–92, div. A, title VIII, § 802(b), Nov. 25, 2015, 129 Stat. 879; Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VIII, § 807(c), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2261; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VIII, § 833, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1468; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 809(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1840; Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title XVII, § 1731(a)(52), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 1815; renumbered § 3104 and amended Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 924(b)(32), title XVIII, § 1808(a)(2), (b)(2), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3825, 4159, 4160; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVIII, § 1801(c), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1223.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

In addition to being transferred to this section as part of the renumbering of section 2547 of this title, subsec. (b) of section 2547 of this title had also been directed to be transferred to section 4274 of this title and redesignated as subsec. (a) of that section by Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title XVIII, § 1847(e)(4)(B), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4257. Section 1847(e)(4)(B) of Pub. L. 116–283 was repealed by Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title XVII, § 1701(r)(1)(B), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2149, effective as if included in title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283.

Amendments

2025—Pub. L. 119–60, § 1801(c)(1)(A), substituted “Acquisition-related functions of service chiefs” for “Acquisition-related functions of chiefs of the armed forces” in section catchline.

Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1801(c)(1)(B)(i), (ii), in introductory provisions, substituted “service chiefs assist” for “Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Chief of Space Operations assist” and inserted “, in accordance with the objectives established pursuant to section 3102 of this title,” after “Secretary of the military department concerned”.

Subsec. (a)(1) to (7). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1801(c)(1)(B)(iii), amended pars. (1) to (7) generally. Prior to amendment, pars. (1) to (7) read as follows:

“(1) The development of requirements for equipping the armed force concerned (subject, where appropriate, to validation by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council pursuant to section 181 of this title).

“(2) Decisions regarding the balancing of resources and priorities, and associated trade-offs among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance on major defense acquisition programs.

“(3) The coordination of measures to control requirements creep in the defense acquisition system.

“(4) The recommendation of trade-offs among life-cycle cost, schedule, and performance objectives, and procurement quantity objectives, to ensure acquisition programs deliver best value in meeting the approved military requirements.

“(5) Termination of development or procurement programs for which life-cycle cost, schedule, and performance expectations are no longer consistent with approved military requirements and levels of priority, or which no longer have approved military requirements.

“(6) The development and management of career paths in acquisition for military personnel (as required by section 1722a of this title).

“(7) The assignment and training of contracting officer representatives when such representatives are required to be members of the armed forces because of the nature of the contract concerned.”

Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1801(c)(2)(A), substituted “any requirements document” for “the program capability document supporting a Milestone B or subsequent decision” and “service chief concerned” for “chief of the armed force concerned”.

Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1801(c)(2)(B)(i), in introductory provisions, substituted “service chief concerned” for “Chief of the armed force concerned” and “service chiefs concerned” for “chiefs of the armed forces concerned”.

Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1801(c)(2)(B)(ii), struck out “prior to entry into the Materiel Solution Analysis Phase under Department of Defense Instruction 5000.02” before semicolon at end.

Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1801(c)(2)(B)(iii), substituted “life-cycle cost, delivery schedule, performance objective, technical feasibility, and procurement quantity trade-offs” for “cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and performance trade-offs”.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 119–60, § 1801(c)(3), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) defined the terms “requirements creep”, ‘requirements document”, and “program capability document”.

2021—Pub. L. 116–283, § 1808(a)(2), renumbered section 2547 of this title as this section.

Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(32), substituted “the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Chief of Space Operations” for “and the Commandant of the Marine Corps”.

Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1808(b)(2)(A), substituted “section 4271(a)” for “section 2448a(a)”.

Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1808(b)(2)(B), substituted “section 4251” for “section 2366a”.

Subsec. (b)(2)(C). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1808(b)(2)(C), substituted “section 4252” for “section 2366b”.

Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 116–283, § 1808(b)(2)(D), substituted “section 4401(b)(5)” for “section 2446a(b)(5)”.

2019—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 116–92 substituted “materiel” for “material” and “Materiel” for “Material” in two places.

2018—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “section 7014(c)(1)(A), section 8014(c)(1)(A), or section 9014(c)(1)(A)” for “section 3014(c)(1)(A), section 5014(c)(1)(A), or section 8014(c)(1)(A)”.

2017—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–91 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2).

2016—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 114–328, § 807(c)(1), (2), added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d).

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 114–328, § 807(c)(1), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d).

Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 114–328, § 807(c)(3), added par. (3).

2015—Subsec. (a)(2) to (5). Pub. L. 114–92, § 802(b)(1), (2), added par. (2) and redesignated former pars. (2) to (4) as (3) to (5), respectively. Former par. (5) redesignated (6).

Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 114–92, § 802(b)(1), (3), redesignated par. (5) as (6) and substituted “The development and management” for “The development”. Former par. (6) redesignated (7).

Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 114–92, § 802(b)(1), redesignated par. (6) as (7).

2013—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 112–239, § 951(c)(1), substituted “of requirements for equipping the armed force concerned” for “of requirements relating to the defense acquisition system”.

Subsec. (a)(3) to (6). Pub. L. 112–239, § 951(c)(2), (3), added pars. (3) and (4) and redesignated former pars. (3) and (4) as (5) and (6), respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2021 Amendment

Amendment by section 1808(a)(2), (b)(2) of Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Effective Date of 2018 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Implementation

Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title XVIII, § 1801(d), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1224, provided that:

“Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 18, 2025], the Secretary of Defense shall revise Department of Defense Directive 5000.01 and any other relevant instructions, policies, or guidance to carry out the requirements of this section and the amendments made by this section [amending this section and sections 133b, 139, 139a, 3102, and 3103 of this title].”