The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) is a principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary

United States Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...

 and Deputy Secretary of Defense

United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

The Deputy Secretary of Defense is the second-highest ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Deputy Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate...

 in the Office of the Secretary of Defense

Office of the Secretary of Defense

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is a headquarters-level staff of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It is the principal civilian staff element of the Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department...

. The postholder, as chartered under United States Department of Defense Directive 5141.1 in 1996, provides independent analytic advice to the Secretary of Defense on all aspects of the Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 (DoD) program, including alternative weapon systems 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. Consistent with its advisory role, the office has no decision authority or line responsibilities.

The Director of CAPE reports directly to the Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Secretary of Defense. As a political appointee, the Director of CAPE is an Executive Service Level IV official who is nominated by the President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 and confirmed by the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. He or she coordinates and exchanges information with other Office of the Secretary of Defense

Office of the Secretary of Defense

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is a headquarters-level staff of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It is the principal civilian staff element of the Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department...

 officials, the Heads of the DoD Components, and Federal officials having collateral or related functions.

CAPE's staff of approximately 155 people includes a combination of government civilians and military officers and is augmented by contractor support. The military officers serve in two- to three-year rotational 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.

This office was most previously known as the Office of Program Analysis & Evaluation (PA&E). However, PA&E was made defunct by the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009

Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009

The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act was an Act of Congress passed in 2009 that was created to reform the way the Pentagon contracts and purchases major weapons systems...

.

Office Holders

The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices.

Directors of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation

Name	Tenure	SecDef(s) Served Under	President(s) Served Under
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 Melvin R. Laird Melvin Robert Laird is an American politician and writer. Laird was a Republican congressman who also served as Richard Nixon's Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973. Laird urged Nixon to maintain a policy of withdrawing US soldiers from Vietnam...	Richard Nixon Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
Gardiner L. Tucker	January 30, 1970 - March 30, 1973	Melvin R. Laird Melvin R. Laird Melvin Robert Laird is an American politician and writer. Laird was a Republican congressman who also served as Richard Nixon's Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973. Laird urged Nixon to maintain a policy of withdrawing US soldiers from Vietnam...   Elliot L. Richardson Elliot Richardson Elliot Lee Richardson was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S...	Richard Nixon Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
Director (Defense Program Analysis and Evaluation)
Leonard Sullivan	May 21, 1973 - February 11, 1974	Elliot L. Richardson Elliot Richardson Elliot Lee Richardson was an American lawyer and politician who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S...   James R. Schlesinger James R. Schlesinger Dr. James Rodney Schlesinger is an American politician. He is best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...	Richard Nixon Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Program Analysis and Evaluation)
Leonard Sullivan	February 11, 1974 - March 13, 1976	James R. Schlesinger James R. Schlesinger Dr. James Rodney Schlesinger is an American politician. He is best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...   Donald H. Rumsfeld	Richard Nixon Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...   Gerald Ford Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
Director for Planning and Evaluation
Edward C. Aldridge, Jr.	May 18, 1976 - March 11, 1977	Donald H. Rumsfeld  Harold Brown Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense) Harold Brown , American scientist, was U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1977 to 1981 in the cabinet of President Jimmy Carter. He had previously served in the Lyndon Johnson administration as Director of Defense Research and Engineering and Secretary of the Air Force.While Secretary of Defense, he...	Gerald Ford Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...   Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Program Analysis and Evaluation)
Russell Murray II	April 28, 1977 - January 20, 1981	Harold Brown Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense) Harold Brown , American scientist, was U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1977 to 1981 in the cabinet of President Jimmy Carter. He had previously served in the Lyndon Johnson administration as Director of Defense Research and Engineering and Secretary of the Air Force.While Secretary of Defense, he...	Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation
David S. C. Chu David S. C. Chu David S. C. Chu is an American politician and consultant born New York, NY, May 28, 1944. As of 2009, he was President and CEO of the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses. From 2001 to 2008, he served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the George W...	May 19, 1981 - July 13, 1988	Caspar W. Weinberger  Frank C. Carlucci III	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Program Analysis and Evaluation)
David S. C. Chu David S. C. Chu David S. C. Chu is an American politician and consultant born New York, NY, May 28, 1944. As of 2009, he was President and CEO of the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses. From 2001 to 2008, he served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the George W...	July 13, 1988 - January 20, 1993	Frank C. Carlucci III  William H. Taft IV William Howard Taft IV William Howard Taft IV is an attorney who has served in the United States government under several Republican administrations. He is the son of William Howard Taft III and the great-grandson of U.S. President William Howard Taft....  (Acting) Richard B. Cheney	Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....   George H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
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 Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
Robert R. Soule	July 1, 1998 - April 27, 2001	William S. Cohen  Donald H. Rumsfeld	Bill Clinton Bill Clinton William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...   George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Barry D. Watts	May 1, 2001 - July 1, 2002	Donald H. Rumsfeld	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Stephen A. Cambone	July 1, 2002 - March 7, 2003	Donald H. Rumsfeld	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Kenneth J. Krieg	July 23, 2003 - June 2005	Donald H. Rumsfeld	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Bradley M. Berkson Bradley M. Berkson Bradley M. Berkson was the last United States Department of Defense Director, Program Analysis and Evaluation, a position retitled Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. Berkson also served as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness now...	June 6, 2005 - April 3, 2009	Donald H. Rumsfeld  Robert M. Gates	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....   Barack Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
Director of Cost Assessment & Program Evaluation
Christine H. Fox	October 28, 2009 -	Robert M. Gates  Leon Panetta Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency...	Barack Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...