ASB CHARTER
1. Committee’s Official Designation: The advisory committee will be known as the U.S. Army Science Board (ASB).
2. Authority: The Secretary of Defense, in accordance with chapter 10 of title 5, U.S.C. (commonly known as “the Federal Advisory Committee Act” or “FACA”) and 41 C.F.R. § 102-3.50(d), established this discretionary advisory committee.
3. Objectives and Scope of Activities: The ASB provides independent advice and recommendations related to the Department of the Army’s scientific, technical, manufacturing, acquisition, logistics, and science-related business management functions, as set out in Section 4.
4. Description of Duties: Besides focusing on the Army’s scientific, technical, manufacturing, acquisition, logistics, and business management functions, the ASB will focus on matters pertaining to environmental and water resource management issues involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), to include the Military Program and the Civil Works Program, and other Department of the Army-related matters as determined by the Secretary of Defense or the Deputy Secretary of Defense (“the DoD Appointing Authority”) or the Secretary of the Army, as the ASB’s Sponsor.
The ASB was not established to advise on individual Department of Defense (DoD) or Department of the Army procurement or acquisition matters. Instead, it shall consider the pressing and complex technological problems facing the DoD and the Department of the Army in such areas as research, engineering, organizational structure and process, business and functional concepts, and manufacturing, and ensure the identification of new technologies and new applications of technology in those areas to strengthen national security. No matter or task shall be assigned to the ASB or any subcommittees for consideration that would require an ASB member to participate personally and substantially in any action related to DoD or Department of the Army procurements or acquisitions or would place them in the position of acting as, or consulting with, a contracting, procurement, or acquisition official of the DoD or Department of the Army.
All ASB work, including subcommittee work, will be in response to written terms of reference (ToR) approved by the DoD Appointing Authority or by the Secretary of the Army, unless otherwise provided by statute or Presidential directive.
5. Agency or Official to Whom the Committee Reports: The ASB reports to the DoD Appointing Authority through the Secretary of the Army, who, in accordance with DoD Policy and procedures, may act upon the ASB’s advice and recommendations.
6. Support: The DoD, through the Department of the Army, provides support for the ASB’s functions and ensures compliance with the requirements of the FACA, 5 U.S.C. § 552b (commonly known as “the Government in the Sunshine Act” or “the Sunshine Act”), governing Federal statutes and regulations, and DoD policy and procedures.
7. Estimated Annual Operating Costs and Staff Years: The estimated annual operating cost, to include travel, meetings, and contract support, is approximately $2,660,000. The estimated annual personnel cost to the DoD is 6.0 full-time equivalents.
8. Designated Federal Officer: The ASB's Designated Federal Officer (DFO) shall be a full-time or permanent part-time DoD Federal civilian officer or employee, or active-duty member of the Armed Forces, designated in accordance with DoD policy and procedures.
The ASB’s DFO is required to attend all ASB and subcommittee meetings for the entirety of each meeting. However, in the absence of the ASB’s DFO, a properly approved Alternate DFO, duly designated to the ASB in accordance with DoD policy and procedures, shall attend the entirety of all ASB and subcommittee meetings.
The DFO, or Alternate DFO, calls all ASB and subcommittee meetings; prepares and approves all meeting agendas; and adjourns any meeting when the DFO, or the Alternate DFO, determines adjournment to be in the public’s interest or required by governing regulations or DoD policy and procedures.
9. Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings: The ASB shall meet at the call of the ASB’s DFO, in consultation with the Secretary of the Army and the Chair. The estimated number of ASB meetings is four per year.
10. Duration: The need for the ASB is on a continuing basis; however, the committee is subject to renewal every two years.
11. Termination: The ASB shall terminate upon completion of its mission or two years from the date this charter is filed, whichever is sooner, unless the DoD renews the ASB in accordance with the FACA and DoD policy and procedures.
12. Membership and Designation: The ASB shall be composed of no more than 20 members who are eminent authorities in one or more of the following disciplines and fields: science; technology; manufacturing; acquisition; logistics; science-related business management functions; natural (e.g., biology, ecology, etc.), social (e.g., anthropology, community planning, etc.), and related sciences; and other matters of special interest to the DoD Appointing Authority or the Secretary of the Army.
The appointment of ASB members will be approved by the DoD Appointing Authority for a term of service of one-to-four years, with annual renewals, in accordance with DoD policy and procedures. No member, unless approved by the DoD Appointing Authority, may serve more than two consecutive terms of service on the ASB, to include its subcommittees, or serve on more than two DoD Federal advisory committees at one time.
ASB members who are not full-time nor permanent part-time Federal civilian officers or employees, or active-duty members of the Uniformed Services, will be appointed as experts or consultants pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 3109 to serve as special government employee (SGE) members. ASB members who are full-time or permanent part-time Federal civilian officers or employees, or active-duty members of the Uniformed Services, shall be designated pursuant to 41 C.F.R. §102-3.130(a) to serve as regular government employee (RGE) members.
The DoD Appointing Authority shall appoint the ASB’s leadership from among the previously approved membership, in accordance with DoD policy and procedures, to serve a term of service of one-to-two years, with annual renewal, not exceed the member’s approved ASB appointment.
All ASB members are appointed to exercise their own best judgement on behalf of the DoD, without representing any particular point of view, and to discuss and deliberate in a manner that is free from conflicts of interest. Except for the reimbursement of official ASB-related travel and per diem, ASB members serve without compensation.
13. Subcommittees: The DoD, when necessary and consistent with the ASB’s mission and DoD policy and procedures, may establish subcommittees, task groups, task forces, or working groups (“subcommittees”) to support the ASB. Establishment of subcommittees will be based upon a written determination, to include ToR, by the DoD Appointing Authority or the Secretary of the Army, as the ASB’s Sponsor. All subcommittees operate in accordance with the FACA, the Sunshine Act, governing Federal statutes and regulations, and DoD policy and procedures. All subcommittees will terminate when the ASB does.
The Secretary of the Army has established six permanent subcommittees, and each subcommittee shall meet at least twice each year. While the number of individuals appointed to each subcommittee may vary, no individual subcommittee shall have more than 15 members, unless otherwise provided by statute, Presidential directive, or in writing by the DoD Appointing Authority. These subcommittees, when tasked in accordance with DoD policy and procedures, shall provide advice and recommendations to the ASB as described for each respective subcommittee:
1) Basic Sciences and Enabling and Disruptive Technologies Subcommittee – Provides advice and recommendations, for the ASB' s consideration, on matters addressing basic sciences and enabling and disruptive technologies, to include Soldier performance enhancement, cognition improvement, and training; autonomous systems and human-machine teaming; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives; countering weapons of mass destruction; energetics; material science; and emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, machine learning, additive manufacturing, quantum computing, human enhancement, etc.).
2) Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) and Digital (Information Technologies) Subcommittee – Provides advice and recommendations, for the ASB' s consideration, on matters relating to the Army’s C5ISR and digital (information technologies) core competencies, including tactical edge command, control, and communications in contested environments; situational awareness overmatch; information operations; electronic warfare; intelligence analysis processes and tools and visualization methods; and information technologies embedded in systems and Army, Joint, and ally/coalition networks.
3) Environmental Advisory Board (EAB) Subcommittee – Provides advice and recommendations, for the ASB' s consideration, on matters addressing environmental matters relating to USACE civil works and military program missions, to include engineering, construction, real estate, stability operations, and environmental management products and services, and the development and management of the Nation's water resources for flood risk management, navigation, ecosystem restoration, hydropower, recreation, water supply, and environmental stewardship.
4) Intelligence and Assessment Subcommittee – Provides advice and recommendations, for the ASB' s consideration, on matters relating to the Army’s intelligence and assessment core competencies, including assessment of threat technical and operational capabilities and their impact on the Army; assessment of U.S. vulnerabilities and potential mitigation approaches; and interactions/integration with the other members of the Intelligence Community including access to classified intelligence up to TOP SECRET collateral, Sensitive Compartmented Intelligence, and Special Access Programs levels as required.
5) Science and Engineering Adoption, Adaption, Integration, and Sustainment/ Disposal Subcommittee – Provides advice and recommendations, for the ASB's consideration, on matters relating to the Army’s core competencies in science and engineering adoption, adaption, integration and sustainment/disposal, including digital engineering to include advanced physical and digital prototyping and experimentation in operational environments and advanced tools to support prototyping and experimentation; adoption, adaption, and integration of emerging technologies into existing weapons systems; sustainment during widely distributed and contested large scale combat operations to include predictive logistics, engineered resilient systems, agile logistics, and health management; disposal and divestiture of weapons systems through foreign military sales, demilitarization, and other means to better use existing resources; and acquisition, funding, fielding, and equipping policies affecting the modernization of weapon systems and the organizations in which they are employed.
6) Weapons Systems Subcommittee – Provides advice and recommendations, for the ASB' s consideration, on matters relating to the Army’s weapon systems core competencies, including rotorcraft design synthesis & performance assessment (DS&PA); ground combat vehicle DS&PA, Soldier interaction, and system integration; lethality, including impact physics, energetics, warhead DS&PA, effects modeling and simulation; survivability and protection, including armor and balanced approach for detection/hit/kill avoidance; and air & missile defense DS&PA, precision fires, seekers, and precision guidance.
Subcommittees will not work independently of the ASB and will report all their recommendations and advice solely to the ASB for its thorough deliberation and discussion at a publicly noticed and open ASB meeting unless the meeting can be closed in accordance with one or more of the Sunshine Act exemptions. A subcommittee has no authority to make decisions or recommendations, either orally or in writing, on behalf of the ASB. Neither the subcommittee nor any of its members may provide updates or report, orally or in writing, directly to the DoD or any Federal officer or employee, or active-duty member of the Armed Forces. If a majority of ASB members are appointed to a particular subcommittee, then that subcommittee may be required to operate pursuant to the same notice and openness requirements of FACA that govern the ASB’s operations.
Individual appointments to serve on ASB subcommittees, which are separate and distinct from appointment to the ASB itself, shall be approved by the DoD Appointing Authority for a term of service of one-to-four years, with annual renewals, in accordance with DoD policy and procedures. No member shall serve more than two consecutive terms of service on a subcommittee unless approved by the DoD Appointing Authority.
Subcommittee members who are not full-time or permanent part-time Federal civilian officers or employees, or active-duty members of the Uniformed Services, will be appointed as experts or consultants pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 3109 to serve as SGE members. Subcommittee members who are full-time or permanent part-time Federal civilian officers or employees, or active-duty members of the Uniformed Services, will be designated pursuant to 41 C.F.R. § 102-3.130(a) to serve as RGE members. Each subcommittee member is appointed to exercise their own best judgment on behalf of the DoD, without representing any point of view, and to discuss and deliberate in a manner that is free from conflicts of interest.
The DoD Appointing Authority will appoint a subcommittee’s leadership from among its previously approved or nominated members in accordance with DoD policy and procedures and for a term of service of one-to-two years, with annual renewal, which will not exceed the member’s approved subcommittee appointment.
Except for reimbursement of official ASB subcommittee-related travel and per diem, subcommittee members serve without compensation.
14. Recordkeeping: The ASB and its subcommittee records are managed in accordance with General Record Schedule 6.2, Federal Advisory Committee Records or other approved agency records disposition schedule, and the appropriate DoD policy and procedures. These records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to 5 U.S.C. § 552 (commonly known as “the Freedom of Information Act”).
15. Filing Date: May 20, 2024.