In order to qualify to be assigned to the position of Director, an individual shall—

(1) There is an Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director of Corrosion Policy and Oversight, who shall be assigned to such position by the Under Secretary from among civilian employees of the Department of Defense with the qualifications described in paragraph (3). The Director is responsible in the Department of Defense to the Secretary of Defense (after the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment) for the prevention and mitigation of corrosion of the military equipment and infrastructure of the Department of Defense..[1]

In order to qualify to be assigned to the position of Director, an individual shall—

(A) have management expertise in, and professional experience with, corrosion project and policy implementation, including an understanding of the effects of corrosion policies on infrastructure; research, development, test, and evaluation; and maintenance; and

(B) have an understanding of Department of Defense budget formulation and execution, policy formulation, and planning and program requirements.

(4) The Secretary of Defense shall designate the position of Director as a critical acquisition position under section 1733(b)(1)(C) of this title.

The Director shall provide oversight and coordination of the efforts within the Department of Defense to prevent or mitigate corrosion during—

(1) The Director of Corrosion Policy and Oversight (in this section referred to as the “Director”) shall oversee and coordinate efforts throughout the Department of Defense to prevent and mitigate corrosion of the military equipment and infrastructure of the Department. The duties under this paragraph shall include the duties specified in paragraphs (2) through (5).

(2) The Director shall develop and recommend any policy guidance on the prevention and mitigation of corrosion to be issued by the Secretary of Defense.

(3) The Director shall review the programs and funding levels proposed by the Secretary of each military department during the annual internal Department of Defense budget review process as those programs and funding proposals relate to programs and funding for the prevention and mitigation of corrosion and shall submit to the Secretary of Defense recommendations regarding those programs and proposed funding levels.

The Director shall provide oversight and coordination of the efforts within the Department of Defense to prevent or mitigate corrosion during—

(A) the design, acquisition, and maintenance of military equipment; and

(B) the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure.

The Director shall monitor acquisition practices within the Department of Defense—

(A) to ensure that the use of corrosion prevention technologies and the application of corrosion prevention treatments are fully considered during research and development in the acquisition process; and

(B) to ensure that, to the extent determined appropriate for each acquisition program, such technologies and treatments are incorporated into that program, particularly during the engineering and design phases of the acquisition process.

The Director is authorized to—

(1) develop, update, and coordinate corrosion training with the Defense Acquisition University;

(2) participate in the process within the Department of Defense for the development of relevant directives and instructions; and

(3) interact directly with the corrosion prevention industry, trade associations, other government corrosion prevention agencies, academic research and educational institutions, and scientific organizations engaged in corrosion prevention, including the National Academy of Sciences.

The strategy under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(1) The Secretary of Defense shall develop and implement a long-term strategy to reduce corrosion and the effects of corrosion on the military equipment and infrastructure of the Department of Defense.

The strategy under paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A) Expansion of the emphasis on corrosion prevention and mitigation within the Department of Defense to include coverage of infrastructure.

(B) Application uniformly throughout the Department of Defense of requirements and criteria for the testing and certification of new corrosion-prevention technologies for equipment and infrastructure with similar characteristics, similar missions, or similar operating environments.

(C) Implementation of programs, including supporting databases, to ensure that a focused and coordinated approach is taken throughout the Department of Defense to collect, review, validate, and distribute information on proven methods and products that are relevant to the prevention of corrosion of military equipment and infrastructure.

(D) Establishment of a coordinated research and development program for the prevention and mitigation of corrosion for new and existing military equipment and infrastructure that includes a plan to transition new corrosion prevention technologies into operational systems, including through the establishment of memoranda of agreement, joint funding agreements, public-private partnerships, university research and education centers, and other cooperative research agreements.

The strategy shall include, for the matters specified in paragraph (2), the following:

(A) Policy guidance.

(B) Performance measures and milestones.

(C) An assessment of the necessary personnel and funding necessary to accomplish the long-term strategy.

For each budget for a fiscal year, beginning with the budget for fiscal year 2009 and ending with the budget for fiscal year 2022, the Secretary of Defense shall submit, with the defense budget materials, a report on the following:

For each budget for a fiscal year, beginning with the budget for fiscal year 2009 and ending with the budget for fiscal year 2022, the Secretary of Defense shall submit, with the defense budget materials, a report on the following:

(A) Funding requirements for the long-term strategy developed under subsection (d).

(B) The estimated composite return on investment achieved by implementing the strategy, and documented in the assessments by the Department of Defense of completed corrosion projects and activities.

(C) For the fiscal year covered by the report and the preceding fiscal year, the funds requested in the budget compared to the funding requirements.

(D) If the full amount of funding requirements is not requested in the budget, the reasons for not including the full amount and a description of the impact on readiness, logistics, and safety of not fully funding required corrosion prevention and mitigation activities.

(E) For the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year covered by the report, the amount of funds requested in the budget for each project or activity described in subsection (d) compared to the funding requirements for the project or activity.

(F) For the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year covered by the report, a description of the specific amount of funds used for military corrosion projects, the Technical Corrosion Collaboration program, and other corrosion-related activities.

Not later than December 31 of each year, through December 31, 2020, the corrosion control and prevention executive of a military department shall submit to the Director of Corrosion Policy and Oversight a report containing recommendations pertaining to the corrosion control and prevention program of the military department. Such report shall include recommendations for the funding levels necessary for the executive to carry out the duties of the executive under this section. The report required under this subparagraph shall—

(A) Each report under this section shall include, in an annex to the report, a summary of the most recent report required by subparagraph (B).

(B) Not later than December 31 of each year, through December 31, 2020, the corrosion control and prevention executive of a military department shall submit to the Director of Corrosion Policy and Oversight a report containing recommendations pertaining to the corrosion control and prevention program of the military department. Such report shall include recommendations for the funding levels necessary for the executive to carry out the duties of the executive under this section. The report required under this subparagraph shall— (i) provide a summary of key accomplishments, goals, and objectives of the corrosion control and prevention program of the military department; and (ii) include the performance measures used to ensure that the corrosion control and prevention program achieved the goals and objectives described in clause (i).

In this section:

(1) The term “corrosion” means the deterioration of a material or its properties due to a reaction of that material with its chemical environment.

(2) The term “military equipment” includes all weapon systems, weapon platforms, vehicles, and munitions of the Department of Defense, and the components of such items.

(3) The term “infrastructure” includes all buildings, structures, airfields, port facilities, surface and subterranean utility systems, heating and cooling systems, fuel tanks, pavements, and bridges.

(4) The term “budget”, with respect to a fiscal year, means the budget for that fiscal year that is submitted to Congress by the President under section 1105(a) of title 31.

(5) The term “defense budget materials”, with respect to a fiscal year, means the materials submitted to Congress by the Secretary of Defense in support of the budget for that fiscal year.

(Added Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title X, § 1067(a)(1), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2657; amended Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title III, § 371(a)–(e), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 79–81; Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title X, § 1061(b)(1), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4612; Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title III, § 331, Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4185; Pub. L. 112–239, div. A, title III, § 341, Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1699; Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title IX, § 954(a), (b), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2376, 2377; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 811(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1845.)