Role of DoD assistant secretary for networks changes

The position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integeration no longer has acquisition-specific functions or resources for command, ...

The position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integeration officially went away Jan. 11.

Defense Deputy Secretary Ashton Carter issued the long-anticipated memo changing the role of the DoD chief information officer.

The DoD CIO continues to have oversight over policy for information resources management, network defense and network operations. But the CIO no longer has acquisition-specific functions or resources for command, control, communications, non-intelligence space matters and major automated information systems.

Carter moved these functions to his former positions, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

He said the DoD CIO “will retain its statutory responsibilities relating to acquisition matters, including … being responsible and accountable for any defense business system for which the primary purpose is to support information technology infrastructure or information assurance activities.”

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates first called for the elimination of NII in August 2010. At the time, he said NII’s functions have become redundant, costly and cumbersome.

Gates also called for moving the CIO’s functions to a “refashioned” Defense Information Systems Agency, but that never materialized.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report. For more defense news, click here.

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