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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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The postholder, as chartered under United States Department of Defense Directive 5141.1 in 1996 (subsequently superseded and canceled with the publication of United States Department of Defense Directive 5105.84, Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (DCAPE)),{{Cite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

|Robert S. McNamara

Clark M. Clifford

|Lyndon Johnson

Ivan Selin (Acting)

|January 31, 1969 – January 30, 1970

|Melvin R. Laird

|Richard Nixon

Gardiner L. Tucker

|January 30, 1970 – March 30, 1973

|Melvin R. Laird

Elliot L. Richardson

|Richard Nixon

colspan="4" align="center" | Director (Defense Program Analysis and Evaluation)
Leonard Sullivan

|May 21, 1973 – February 11, 1974

|Elliot L. Richardson

James R. Schlesinger

|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

Donald H. Rumsfeld

|Richard Nixon

Gerald Ford

colspan="4" align="center" | Director for Planning and Evaluation
Edward C. Aldridge, Jr.

|May 18, 1976 – March 11, 1977

|Donald H. Rumsfeld

Harold Brown

|Gerald Ford

Jimmy Carter

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

|Caspar W. Weinberger

Frank C. Carlucci III

|Ronald Reagan

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)

Richard B. Cheney

|Ronald Reagan

George H. W. Bush

colspan="4" align="center" |Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation
William J. Lynn

|June 25, 1993 – November 19, 1997

|Leslie Aspin, Jr.

William J. Perry

William S. Cohen

|Bill Clinton

Robert R. Soule

|July 1, 1998 – April 27, 2001

|William S. Cohen

Donald H. Rumsfeld

|Bill Clinton

George W. Bush

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

Robert M. Gates

|George W. Bush

Barack Obama

colspan="4" align="center" |Director of Cost Assessment & Program Evaluation
Christine H. Fox

|October 28, 2009 – June 28, 2013

|Robert M. Gates

Leon Panetta

Chuck Hagel

|Barack Obama

Jamie M. Morin

|June 30, 2014 – January 20, 2017

|Chuck Hagel

Ashton Carter

|Barack Obama

Scott Comes (Acting)

|January 20, 2017 - August 7, 2017

|James Mattis

|Donald Trump

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}}

|James Mattis

|Donald Trump

E. Y. (Yisroel) Brumer (Acting)

|May 18, 2019 – August 16, 2019

|Mark Esper

|Donald Trump

John Whitley (Acting)

|August 16, 2019 – May 4, 2020{{Cite web|title=Department of Defense Key Officials September 1947–December 2020|url=https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/key_officials/KeyOfficialsNew12-01-20.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516214036/https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/key_officials/KeyOfficialsNew12-01-20.pdf |archive-date=May 16, 2021 }}

|Mark Esper

|Donald Trump

Joseph Nogueira (Acting)

|May 4, 2020 – January 20, 2021

|Mark Esper

Lloyd Austin

|Donald Trump

Joe Biden

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 BlumeAugust 5, 2021 – January 20, 2025

|Lloyd Austin

|Joe Biden

Michael Payne (acting)January 20, 2025 - Present

|Pete Hegseth

|Donald Trump

References

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