Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation
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| post = Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation
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| incumbent = Michael Payne
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| incumbentsince = January 20, 2025
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| reports_to = Deputy Secretary of Defense
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| seat = Washington D.C.
| nominator = President of the United States
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| first = Alain C. Enthoven
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The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) is a principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
The postholder, as chartered under United States Department of Defense Directive 5141.1 in 1996 (subsequently superseded and canceled with the publication of United States Department of Defense Directive 5105.84, Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (DCAPE)),{{Cite web |url=http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodd/510584p.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-02-14 |archive-date=2018-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215024149/http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodd/510584p.pdf |url-status=dead }} provides independent analytic advice to the Secretary of Defense on all aspects of the Department of Defense (DoD) program, including alternative weapons and force structures, the development and evaluation of defense program alternatives, and the cost-effectiveness of defense systems. The office also conducts analyses and offers advice in a number of related areas, such as military medical care, school systems for military dependents, information technology, and defense economics. As an advisory office, the office has no decision authority or line responsibilities.{{cite web |url=http://www.cape.osd.mil/ |title=Home |website=cape.osd.mil}}
The Director of CAPE reports directly to the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense. A political appointee, the Director of CAPE is an Executive Service Level IV official who is nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. He or she coordinates and exchanges information with other Office of the Secretary of Defense officials, the Heads of the DoD Components, and Federal officials having collateral or related functions.
CAPE has a staff of about 155 people, including government civilians and military officers, and hires contractors as well. The military officers serve in two- to three-year assignments with the organization. CAPE's civilian staff is drawn from a variety of academic disciplines, including physics, economics, engineering, mathematics, biology, and computer science. The CAPE staff is recognized as among the most capable in the Pentagon.
History
CAPE traces its history to the 1960s, when Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara created the office of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Systems Analysis).
This office was most previously known as the Office of Program Analysis & Evaluation (PA&E), made defunct by the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009.
Officeholders
The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices.
| class="wikitable"
|+Directors of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation{{cite web|year=2004|title=Department of Defense Key Officials|url=http://osdhistory.defense.gov/docs/DOD%20Key%20Officials%201947-2004.pdf|url-status=dead|publisher=Historical Office, OSD|accessdate=2011-02-01|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721034250/http://osdhistory.defense.gov/docs/DOD%20Key%20Officials%201947-2004.pdf|archivedate=2011-07-21}}{{Cite web|title=Department of Defense Key Officials: September 1947–May 2021|url=https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/key_officials/KeyOfficials05-12-21.pdf?ver=LWtDLiKKpOSu0xJwTjpazw%3d%3d|url-status=live|access-date=7 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607221844/https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/key_officials/KeyOfficials05-12-21.pdf?ver=LWtDLiKKpOSu0xJwTjpazw%3D%3D |archive-date=2021-06-07 }} ! scope="col" width="200" |Name ! scope="col" width="280" |Tenure ! scope="col" width="215" |SecDef(s) served under ! scope="col" width="215" |President(s) served under | |
| colspan="4" align="center" | Assistant Secretary of Defense (Systems Analysis) | |
| Alain C. Enthoven
|September 10, 1965 – January 20, 1969 | |
| Ivan Selin (Acting)
|January 31, 1969 – January 30, 1970 | |
| Gardiner L. Tucker
|January 30, 1970 – March 30, 1973 |Melvin R. Laird |Richard Nixon | |
| colspan="4" align="center" | Director (Defense Program Analysis and Evaluation) | |
| Leonard Sullivan
|May 21, 1973 – February 11, 1974 |Elliot L. Richardson |Richard Nixon | |
| colspan="4" align="center" | Assistant Secretary of Defense (Program Analysis and Evaluation) | |
| Leonard Sullivan
|February 11, 1974 – March 13, 1976 |James R. Schlesinger |Richard Nixon | |
| colspan="4" align="center" | Director for Planning and Evaluation | |
| Edward C. Aldridge, Jr.
|May 18, 1976 – March 11, 1977 |Donald H. Rumsfeld |Gerald Ford | |
| colspan="4" align="center" | Assistant Secretary of Defense (Program Analysis and Evaluation) | |
| Russell Murray II
|April 28, 1977 – January 20, 1981 |Harold Brown |Jimmy Carter | |
| colspan="4" align="center" | Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation | |
| David S. C. Chu
|May 19, 1981 – July 13, 1988 | |
| colspan="4" align="center" | Assistant Secretary of Defense (Program Analysis and Evaluation) | |
| David S. C. Chu
|July 13, 1988 – January 20, 1993 |Frank C. Carlucci III William H. Taft IV (Acting) |Ronald Reagan | |
| colspan="4" align="center" |Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation | |
| William J. Lynn
|June 25, 1993 – November 19, 1997 | |
| Robert R. Soule
|July 1, 1998 – April 27, 2001 |William S. Cohen Donald H. Rumsfeld | |
| Barry D. Watts
|May 1, 2001 – July 1, 2002 |Donald H. Rumsfeld |George W. Bush | |
| Stephen A. Cambone
|July 1, 2002 – March 7, 2003 |Donald H. Rumsfeld |George W. Bush | |
| Kenneth J. Krieg
|July 23, 2003 – June 6, 2005 |Donald H. Rumsfeld |George W. Bush | |
| Bradley M. Berkson
|June 6, 2005{{Cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/06/mil-050606-dod02.htm|title = DoD News: Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation Announced}} – April 3, 2009 |Donald H. Rumsfeld |George W. Bush | |
| colspan="4" align="center" |Director of Cost Assessment & Program Evaluation | |
| Christine H. Fox
|October 28, 2009 – June 28, 2013 |Robert M. Gates |Barack Obama | |
| Jamie M. Morin
|June 30, 2014 – January 20, 2017 |Chuck Hagel |Barack Obama | |
| Scott Comes (Acting)
|January 20, 2017 - August 7, 2017 | |
| Robert Daigle
|August 7, 2017 – May 18, 2019{{Cite web|url=https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2019/04/30/daigle-to-exit-as-cape-head-leaving-another-pentagon-vacancy/|title = Daigle to exit as CAPE head, leaving another Pentagon vacancy|date = 30 April 2019}} | |
| E. Y. (Yisroel) Brumer (Acting)
|May 18, 2019 – August 16, 2019 |Donald Trump | |
| John Whitley (Acting)
|Mark Esper |Donald Trump | |
| Joseph Nogueira (Acting)
|May 4, 2020 – January 20, 2021 |Mark Esper |Donald Trump | |
| Susanna Blume (Performing the Duties of) | January 20, 2021{{Cite press release |title=New Officials Sworn-In at the Department of Defense |date=January 20, 2021 |publisher=United States Department of Defense |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2477672/new-officials-sworn-in-at-the-department-of-defense/ |access-date=April 12, 2021}} – April 26, 2021
|Lloyd Austin |Joe Biden |
| Susanna Blume | August 5, 2021 – January 20, 2025
|Lloyd Austin |Joe Biden |
| Michael Payne (acting) | January 20, 2025 - Present |