The assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations, and environment (ASD(EI&E)), concurrently the chief sustainability officer, and formerly known as the deputy under secretary of defense for installations and environment (DUSD(I&E)), provides management and oversight of military installations worldwide and manages environmental, safety, and occupational health programs for the Department of Defense (DoD). DoD's installations cover some , with 539,000 buildings and structures valued at more than $700 billion. The responsibilities of the ASD(EI&E) include the development of installation capabilities, programs, and budgets; installation-energy programs and policy; base realignment and closure; privatization of military housing and utilities; and integration of environmental needs into the weapons acquisition process. The ASD(EI&E) is also responsible for environmental management, safety and occupational health; environmental restoration at active and closing bases; conservation of natural and cultural resources; pollution prevention; environmental research and technology; fire protection; and explosives safety. The ASD(EI&E) reports to the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, and is a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
History
Responsibility over installations and environmental affairs at the Defense Department was spread out across a variety of positions over time. Oversight for installations has been lumped together in the past with manpower, acquisition, and logistics functions (see, for example, the history of the assistant secretaries of defense for logistics and material readiness and force management policy). For a brief period in the mid-1990s, the assistant secretary of defense for economic security had oversight for installations and the base realignment and closure (BRAC) program, in addition to DoD policy in the areas of industrial affairs, dual-use technology, international cooperation programs, and community economic adjustment. On April 5, 1996, the DoD nullified Defense Directive 5134.7 (signed August 21, 1995), thereby abolishing the ASD (economic security) while noting that this position has served the "purpose for which it was intended and is no longer required." Responsibility for installations then migrated to the deputy under secretary of defense for installations.
Oversight for environmental affairs was linked together with health affairs for many years (see, for example, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs). In 2001, the responsibilities for installation and environment functions were merged into a single office. This office is not one of the five principal deputy under secretaries of defense authorized by law, as articulated in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010.Title IX, Subtitle A, Section 906, Part b, Thus, DoD is statutorily obligated to re-designate this office in the near future, similar to the recent re-designation of the deputy under secretaries of defense within the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
As part of a reorganization on February 1, 2018, the ASD(EI&E) was abolished and combined with the assistant secretary of defense for logistics and materiel readiness to form a new assistant secretary of defense for sustainment. The ASD(EI&E) was reestablished on February 10, 2022.
Officeholders
The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices. + Deputy under secretaries of defense (installations and environment) Name Tenure SecDef(s) served under President(s) served under Responsibility for Installations Director of installations Frank Creedon August 25, 1952 - June 29, 1953 Robert A. Lovett Charles E. Wilson Harry Truman Dwight Eisenhower Assistant Secretary of Defense (Properties and Installations) Franklin G. Floete August 3, 1953 - March 4, 1956 Charles E. Wilson Dwight Eisenhower Floyd S. Bryant May 2, 1956 - January 20, 1961 Charles E. Wilson Neil H. McElroy Thomas S. Gates Dwight Eisenhower Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics) Thomas D. Morris January 29, 1961 - December 11, 1964 Robert S. McNamara John F. Kennedy Lyndon Johnson Paul R. Ignatius December 23, 1964 - August 31, 1967 Robert S. McNamara Lyndon Johnson Thomas D. Morris September 1, 1967 - February 1, 1969 Robert S. McNamara Clark M. Clifford Lyndon Johnson Barry J. Shillito February 1, 1969 - February 1, 1973 Melvin R. Laird Richard Nixon Arthur I. Mendolia June 21, 1973 - March 31, 1975 James R. Schlesinger Richard Nixon Gerald Ford John J. Bennett (Acting) April 1, 1975 - February 9, 1976 James R. Schlesinger Donald H. Rumsfeld Gerald Ford Frank A. Shrontz February 10, 1976 - January 19, 1977 Donald H. Rumsfeld Gerald Ford Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Installations, and Logistics) Lawrence J. Korb January 12, 1984 - July 5, 1985 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan Assistant Secretary of Defense (Development and Support) James P. Wade August 6, 1984 - July 5, 1985 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Logistics) James P. Wade July 5, 1985 - November 3, 1986 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan Robert B. Costello March 13, 1987 - April 15, 1987 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan Assistant Secretary of Defense (Production and Logistics) Robert B. Costello April 15, 1987 - December 17, 1987 Caspar W. Weinberger Frank C. Carlucci III Ronald Reagan Jack Katzen March 28, 1988 - January 8, 1990 Frank C. Carlucci III William H. Taft IV (Acting) Richard B. Cheney Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Colin R. McMillan March 5, 1990 - December 11, 1992 Richard B. Cheney George H. W. Bush Assistant Secretary of Defense (Economic Security) Joshua Gotbaum May 20, 1994 - December 25, 1995 William J. Perry Bill Clinton Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations) Randall A. Yim 1999 - 2001 William S. Cohen Bill Clinton Responsibility for environment Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health and Environment) Dr. Louis M. Rousselot July 22, 1970 - July 1, 1971 Melvin R. Laird Richard Nixon Dr. Richard S. Wilbur July 27, 1971 - September 1, 1973 Melvin R. Laird Elliot L. Richardson James R. Schlesinger Richard Nixon Dr. James R. Cowan February 19, 1974 - March 1, 1976 James R. Schlesinger Donald H. Rumsfeld Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Vernon McKenzie (Acting) March 2, 1976 - March 8, 1976 Donald H. Rumsfeld Gerald Ford Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security Sherri W. Goodman 1993 - 2001 Leslie Aspin Jr. William J. Perry William S. Cohen Bill Clinton Merged responsibilities Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) Raymond F. DuBois April 2001 - October 31, 2004 Donald H. Rumsfeld George W. Bush Philip W. Grone November 1, 2004 - February 2008 Donald H. Rumsfeld Robert M. Gates George W. Bush Wayne Arny February 2008 - July 15, 2009 Robert M. Gates George W. Bush Barack Obama Dr. Dorothy Robyn July 15, 2009 - September 2012 Robert M. Gates Leon Panetta Barack Obama John Conger (Acting) September 2012 - December 20, 2014 Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel Barack Obama Merged responsibilities Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations and Environment) John Conger (Performing the Duties of) December 20, 2014 - January 20, 2017 Chuck Hagel Ashton Carter Barack Obama Pete Potochney (Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment) January 20, 2017 - August 1, 2017 Ashton Carter James Mattis Barack Obama Donald Trump Lucian Niemeyer August 2, 2017 - January 20, 2021 James Mattis Donald Trump Merged responsibilities Subsumed under Assistant Secretary of Defense (Sustainment) January 2021 - February 2022 Established responsibilities Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations, and Environment) Paul D. Cramer (Performing the Duties of) February 10, 2022 – January 26, 2023 Lloyd Austin Joe Biden Brendan Owens January 26, 2023 – January 20, 2025 Lloyd Austin Joe Biden Robert E. Thompson (acting) January 22, 2025 – June 10, 2025 Pete Hegseth Donald Trump Dale R. Marks June 10, 2025 – present Pete Hegseth Donald Trump
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