The Department of Defense has created two deputy assistant secretaries as part of the reorganization of its industrial policy office to improve oversight of the defense industrial base amid supply chain challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Defense One reported Thursday.
Jessica Maxwell, a spokesperson for DOD, said one of the new deputies will focus on industrial base resilience and the other will deal with industrial base development and international engagement.
Maxwell said the restructuring effort led to the dissolution of the position of deputy assistant secretary for industrial policy and established a “career principal deputy” role to supervise the two newly created deputy positions. Michael Vaccaro, a non-political civil servant, is currently performing the duties of principal deputy assistant secretary, according to the office’s updated organizational chart.
Deborah Rosenblum, assistant defense secretary for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, performs the duties of assistant secretary for assistant base policy, which requires Senate confirmation. The White House has yet to announce its nominee for the role.
