The Secretary of Defense, per statute (10 U.S.C. §117), is to measure and report on "the capability of the armed forces to carry out" the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy (NDS), and the National Military Strategy(NMS). The executive branch prepares these documents periodically, to guide national efforts and manage resources to attain and protect U.S. national security interests. The Secretary is using "Secretary of War" as a "secondary title" under Executive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), per statute (10 U.S.C. §153), is to evaluate "comprehensive joint readiness" semi-annually. This task, in turn, has five components: (1) evaluating joint force preparedness for significant worldwide contingencies; (2) assessing risks from readiness shortfalls; (3) advising the Secretary on joint capability deficiencies and strengths; (4) advising the Secretary on requirements for non-DOD support; and (5) developing a uniform system to assess joint force readiness.
DOD readiness policy, generally, focuses on "building capability and proficiency for future crises or conflict, while still meeting existing strategic missions and demands." In Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 3000.18, Strategic Readiness, DOD uses the above definition for readiness and adds, Strategic Readiness, "The ability to build, maintain, and balance warfighting capabilities and competitive advantages that ensure the DoD can achieve strategic objectives across threats and time horizons."
Chairman Of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction (CJCSI) 3100.01F, Joint Strategic Planning System, states, "Consistent with title 10, [Section 153(a)(4) of the] U.S. Code, this instruction takes a broad view of Comprehensive Joint Readiness…. Readiness is the ability of the Joint Force to meet immediate contingency and warfighting challenges while preparing for future challenges."
DODI 3000.18 and CJCSI 3100.01F distinguish between the military's ability to "Fight Tonight" and its ability to fight in the future against forecasted and unforecasted threats. DODI 3000.18, as of November 2023, incorporates distinct, yet related, "strategic readiness dimensions."
Title 10, Section 117 of the U.S. Code requires the Secretary of Defense to establish and maintain a uniform reporting system to "measure in an objective, accurate, and timely manner" the military's ability to execute the NSS, the NDS and the NMS. The statute does not prescribe metrics but stipulates the items to be measured. To meet the requirements of 10 U.S.C. §117, DOD uses the Defense Readiness Reporting System (DRRS). DRRS aggregates readiness information and related reporting submitted by commanders, allowing the analysis of resourcing and training, and mission capability of units across the services. DRRS includes service-specific systems to accommodate differences in reporting requirements.
To fulfill 10 U.S.C. §153(a)(4), the CJCS, through the Joint Staff, performs two assessments of comprehensive joint readiness: the Joint Force Readiness Review (JFRR), "DOD's principal strategic readiness assessment," and the Semi-annual Readiness Report to Congress (SRRC), which "provides the strategic readiness assessment acrost the Joint Force and DOD."
DODI 3000.18 directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USDP&R) to "conduct an annual comprehensive assessment of [DOD] readiness to achieve strategic objectives as outlined in the [National Defense Strategy]." This Strategic Readiness Assessment (SRA) is to inform the DPG, and therefore, may fulfill the requirement of 10 U.S.C. §117.
Title 10, Section 118 of the U.S. Code directs DOD component heads to develop and apply metrics and objectives for the role of equipment in overall readiness. For major weapon systems, these metrics and objectives are to address: materiel availability (i.e., the percentage of weapon systems capable of performing an assigned mission); operational availability (i.e., the percentage of time a weapon system is operable), operational capability (i.e., the assessed ability of a weapon system to perform its assigned function; materiel reliability (i.e., the probability that a weapon system will perform without failure over a specified interval.
DOD uses assessments derived from data in DRRS to create required readiness reports.
Title 10, Section 118 of the U.S. Code, requires the heads of DOD components to assess and revise their organization's materiel readiness objectives and submit the revisions to Congress with the President's Budget submission. Section 118 also requires the Secretary of Defense to submit "an annual report on major weapons systems sustainment for the period covered by the future years defense program [five years]."
Per 10 U.S.C. §482(a), the Secretary is to submit to Congress a report on "the military readiness of the active and reserve components and the Space Force," no later than 30 days after the second and fourth quarter of the calendar year (i.e., the SRRC). It is to summarize
Section 482 also requires the Secretary of Defense to brief Congress on changes to readiness elements since the last SRRC submission, no later than 30 days after the first and third quarters of the calendar year.
Per 10 U.S.C. §482(d), the CJCS is to provide the JFRR to Congress no later than 30 days after the first and third quarter of each calendar year. The CJCS is also required to address the readiness deficiencies identified in the JFRR as part of the Annual Report on Combatant Command Requirements required by 10 U.S.C. §153(c).
Per 10 U.S.C. §8674 the Navy is to report the "material readiness" of its vessels to Congress annually. A Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) is to inspect selected ships and report on overall material readiness, the number and types of ships inspected over the preceding year, and material readiness trends over the preceding five years.