DOD Initial Request Letter

DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
1010 DEFENSE PENTAGON
WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1010

The Honorable Rebecca Blank
Deputy Secretary of Commerce (Acting)
U.S. Department of Commerce
,.,....
Washington, DC 20230

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MAR 1 8 2011

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I am writing to request your Department's assistance with an important Department of
Defense (DoD) project that will map and assess the supply chain in the U.S. defense industrial
base. The Office of Technology Evaluation within the Department of Commerce's Bureau of
Industry and Security has the expertise and legal authority to collect data through a robust survey
process that is essential to getting a comprehensive picture of the defense industrial base.
The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
will produce a sector-by-sector, tier-by-tier evaluation of the defense industrial base. The
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy (MIBP),
Mr. Brett Lambert, will lead the effort, and his office has been provided appropriate resources to
conduct it. We expect some results in time to influence DoD's programmatic and budget choices
in next year's budget proposal. That budget development process will begin in earnest this
summer, imposing an unusually tight schedule. After the initial deadline, we anticipate MIBP
will sustain the effort to understand the sub-tiers of the defense industry. I look forward to our
Departments building a long-term cooperative relationship on this topic.
Because we understand that the Department of Commerce has already committed to its
regular work schedule this spring, we have made arrangements to carry as much of the workload
as possible during this intensive 6-month period. I hope that you will do whatever you can to
enable the Department of Commerce to assist in this important undertaking.