2456.

2457.

2458.

Repealed.]

Coordination with General Services Administration.

Standardization of equipment with North Atlantic Treaty Organization members.

Inventory management policies.

§ 2451. Defense supply management

(a) The Secretary of Defense shall develop a single catalog system and related program of standardizing supplies for the Department of Defense.

(b) In cataloging, the Secretary shall name, describe, classify, and number each item recurrently used, bought, stocked, or distributed by the Department of Defense, so that only one distinctive combination of letters or numerals, or both, identifies the same item throughout the Department of Defense. Only one identification may be used for each item for all supply functions from purchase to final disposal in the field or other area. The catalog may consist of a number of volumes, sections, or supplements. It shall include all items of supply and, for each item, information needed for supply operations, such as descriptive and performance data, size, weight, cubage, packaging and packing data, a standard quantitative unit of measurement, and other related data that the Secretary determines to be desirable.

(c) In standardizing supplies the Secretary shall, to the highest degree practicable

(1) standardize items used throughout the Department of Defense by developing and using single specifications, eliminating overlapping and duplicate specifications, and reducing the number of sizes and kinds of items that are generally similar; (2) standardize the methods of packing, packaging, and preserving such items; and

(3) make efficient use of the services and facilities for inspecting, testing, and accepting such items.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 138; Sept. 2, 1958, P.L. 85–861, § 33(a)(13), 72 Stat. 1565.) § 2452. Duties of Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense shall

(1) develop and maintain the supply catalog, and the standardization program, described in section 2451 of this title;

(2) direct and coordinate progressive use of the supply catalog in all supply functions within the Department of Defense from the determination of requirements through final disposal;

(3) direct, review, and approve

(A) the naming, description, and pattern of description of all items;

(B) the screening, consolidation, classification, and numbering of descriptions of all items; and

(C) the publication and distribution of the supply catalog;

(4) maintain liaison with industry advisory groups to coordinate the development of the supply catalog and the standardization program with the best practices of industry and to obtain the fullest practicable cooperation and participation of industry in developing the supply catalog and the standardization program;

(5) establish, publish, review, and revise, within the Department of Defense, military specifications, standards, and lists of qualified products, and resolve differences between the military departments, bureaus, and services with respect to them;

(6) assign responsibility for parts of the cataloging and the standardization programs to the military departments, bureaus, and services within the Department of Defense, when practical and consistent with their capacity and interest in those supplies;

(7) establish time schedules for assignments made under clause (6); and

(8) make final decisions in all matters concerned with the cataloging and standardization programs.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 139.)

§ 2453. Supply catalog: distribution and use

The Secretary of Defense shall distribute the parts of the supply catalog described in section 2451 of this title as they are completed. Existing catalogs shall be replaced according to schedules established by the Secretary. After replacement no other supply catalog may be used within the Department of Defense with respect to the kinds of items covered by that part. All property reports and records shall use the nomenclature, item numbers, and descriptive data of the supply catalog.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 139.)

§ 2454. Supply catalog: new or obsolete items

(a) After any part of the supply catalog described in section 2451 of this title is distributed, and with respect to the kinds of items covered by that part, only the items listed in it may be procured for recurrent use in the Department of Defense. However, a military department may acquire any new item that is necessary to carry out its mission. As soon as such an item is acquired, it shall be submitted to the Secretary for inclusion in the catalog and the standardization program.

(b) Obsolete items may be deleted from the catalog at any time. (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 140.)

[§ 2455. Repealed. P.L. 101-510, § 1322(a)(9), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1671]

$2456. Coordination with General Services Administration

To avoid unnecessary duplication, the Administrator of General Services and the Secretary of Defense shall coordinate the cataloging and standardization activities of the General Services Administration and the Department of Defense.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 140.)

$2457. Standardization of equipment with North Atlantic Treaty Organization members

(a) It is the policy of the United States to standardize equipment, including weapons systems, ammunition, and fuel, procured for the use of the armed forces of the United States stationed in Europe under the North Atlantic Treaty or at least to make that equipment interoperable with equipment of other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. To carry out this policy, the Secretary of Defense shall

(1) assess the costs and possible loss of nonnuclear combat effectiveness of the military forces of the members of the Organization caused by the failure of the members to standardize equipment;

(2) maintain a list of actions to be taken, including an evaluation of the priority and effect of the action, to standardize equipment that may improve the overall nonnuclear defense capability of the Organization or save resources for the Organization; and

(3) initiate and carry out, to the maximum extent feasible, procurement procedures to acquire standardized or interoperable equipment, considering the cost, function, quality, and availability of the equipment.

(b) Progress in realizing the objectives of standardization and interoperability would be enhanced by expanded inter-Allied procurement of arms and equipment within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Expanded inter-Allied procurement would be made easier by greater reliance on licensing and coproduction cooperative agreements among the signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty. If constructed to preserve the efficiencies associated with economies of scale, the agreements could minimize potential economic hardship to parties to the agreements and increase the survivability, in time of war, of the North Atlantic Alliance's armaments production base by dispersing manufacturing facilities. In conjunction with other members of the Organization and to the maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall

(1) identify areas in which those cooperative agreements may be made with members of the Alliance; and

(2) negotiate those agreements.

(c)(1) It is the sense of Congress that weapons systems being developed wholly or primarily for employment in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization theater should conform to a common Organization requirement in order to proceed toward joint doctrine and planning and to facilitate maximum feasible standardization and interoperability of equipment, and that a common Organization re

quirement should be understood to include a common definition of the military threat to the members of the Organization.

(2) It is further the sense of Congress that standardization of weapons and equipment within the Organization on the basis of a "two-way street" concept of cooperation in defense procurement between Europe and North America can only work in a realistic sense if the European nations operate on a united and collective basis. Therefore, the governments of Europe are encouraged to accelerate their present efforts to achieve European armanents collaboration among all European members of the Organization.

(d) Before February 1, 1989, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that includes

(1) each specific assessment and evaluation made and the results of each assessment and evaluation, and the results achieved with the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, under subsections (a) (1) and (2) and (b);

(2) procurement action initiated on each new major system not complying with the policy of subsection (a);

(3) procurement action initiated on each new major system that is not standardized or interoperable with equipment of other members of the Organization, including a description of the system chosen and the reason for choosing that system; (4) the identity of

(A) each program of research and development for the armed forces of the United States stationed in Europe that supports, conforms, or both, to common Organization requirements of developing weapon systems for use by the Organization, including a common definition of the military threat to the Organization; and

(B) the common requirements of the Organization to which those programs conform or which they support; (5) action of the Alliance toward common Organization requirements if none exist;

(6) efforts to establish a regular procedure and mechanism in the Organization to determine common military requirements;

(7) a description of each existing and planned program of the Department of Defense that supports the development or procurement of a weapon system or other military equipment originally developed or procured by members of the Organization other than the United States and for which funds have been authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year in which the report is submitted, including a summary listing of the amount of funds

(A) appropriated for those programs for the fiscal year in which the report is submitted; and

(B) requested, or proposed to be requested, for those programs for each of the 2 fiscal years following the fiscal year for which the report is submitted; and

(8) a description of each weapon system or other military equipment originally developed or procured in the United States and that is being developed or procured by members_of the Organization other than the United States during the fiscal year for which the report is submitted.

(e) If the Secretary decides that procurement of equipment manufactured outside the United States is necessary to carry out the policy of subsection (a), the Secretary may determine under section 2 of title III of the Act of March 3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a), that acquiring that equipment manufactured in the United States is inconsistent with the public interest.

(f) The Secretary shall submit the results of each assessment and evaluation made under subsection (a) (1) and (2) to the appropriate North Atlantic Treaty Organization body to become an integral part of the overall Organization review of force goals and development of force plans.

(Added P.L. 97-295, §1(30)A), Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1294, and amended P.L. 101-510, § 1311(5), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1670.)

§ 2458. Inventory management policies

(a) POLICY REQUIRED.-The Secretary of Defense shall issue a single, uniform policy on the management of inventory items of the Department of Defense. Such policy shall

(1) establish maximum levels for inventory items sufficient to achieve and maintain only those levels for inventory items necessary for the national defense;

(2) provide guidance to item managers and other appropriate officials on how effectively to eliminate wasteful practices in the acquisition and management of inventory items; and

(3) set forth a uniform system for the valuation of inventory items by the military departments and Defense Agencies. (b) PERSONNEL EVALUATIONS.-The Secretary of Defense shall establish procedures to ensure that, with regard to item managers and other personnel responsible for the acquisition and management of inventory items of the Department of Defense, personnel appraisal systems for such personnel give appropriate consideration to efforts made by such personnel to eliminate wasteful practices and achieve cost savings in the acquisition and management of inventory items.

(Added P.L. 101-510, 323(a)(1), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1530, and amended P.L. 102-190, §347(a), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1347.)