The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is the principal staff element of the Secretary of Defense that has the unique responsibility of exercising policy development, planning, resource management, fiscal, and program evaluation responsibilities. The office also includes subordinate offices; including the immediate offices of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Under Secretaries of Defense, Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Assistant Secretaries of Defense, General Counsel, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, Assistants to the Secretary of Defense, Director of Administration and Management, and such other staff offices as the Secretary establishes to assist in carrying out assigned responsibilities. Defining the responsibilities of this office is not as simple as the author suggests. Its diversity and abundance of subordinate offices create myriad responsibilities. Mr. Schlesinger does give an overarching definition of the primary responsibilities that I can agree with. He states that the overall responsibility is to relate U.S. policy objectives, as established through the National Security Council system, to develop, the sustaining and the deployment of forces. This cannot be accomplished if the primary means is not available. Mr Schlesinger identifies that the ability for the OSD to accomplish its goals and objectives, the most important quotient to the formula is the budget. Budgetary limits makes or breaks the OSD; it sets the limits to funding for pay to technological advancements that keep us far in advance of our adversaries. Making matters even worse, not only is the Secretary of Defense responsible for the aforementioned items he is also responsible for both White House relations and executive branch relations. This in my opinion is the most important of his responsibilities. Here is where the rubber meets the road. The secretary usually has the Executive Branch's ear on all issues and most of the time has the ability to talk directly to the President in regards to the Military.
