Defense Secretary and 2019 Wash100 Award winner Mark Esper released a memo detailing his 2020 priorities, including reforming the operations of military departments to better address National Defense Strategy goals, Federal News Network reported Thursday.
Esper has tasked Lisa Hershman, chief management officer of the DoD, to reform the business procedures of defense-wide organizations and oversee their resource allocation efforts. Hershman’s office will also help develop methods for managing DW allocation activities, as well as a unified fiscal 2022 to 2026 program and budget plan for such organizations.
In addition, the defense secretary will assess each combatant command and task the secretaries of military departments to “execute aggressive reform plans” to help free up resources and cut costs ahead of the FY2022 budget request.
“In short, I expect leaders across the department to approach reform as an opportunity to support the strategy, rather than as a tax that can be avoided,” Esper said. “To achieve full, irreversible implementation of the NDS, we must accomplish a mindset shift where leaders think critically about the optimal application of every dollar in their respective budgets to advance the strategy.”
