The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency is requesting assistance on identifying materials critical to military and essential civilian needs. To ensure consideration of all materials important to the U.S. Department of Defense, the agency is seeking survey responses to be received before the end of July from organizations and experts who are concerned with availability of critical materials.
Visit the survey page on the Advanced Materials, Manufacturing, and Testing Information Analysis Center (AMMTIAC) website to download the survey and to receive instructions for completing and returning it.
Survey Background Information
The Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a biennial report to the Congress on National Defense Stockpile (NDS) requirements. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) prepares the NDS Requirements Report on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD) Stockpile Manager (Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics). The next NDS Requirements Report will be submitted in January 2015. To ensure that we consider the appropriate materials for this report, we are requesting your inputs on materials proposed for assessment and assistance identifying any other materials that should be added to this assessment.
The report estimates shortfalls in the supply of materials that could occur in the context of a major national security emergency and assesses strategies to mitigate those shortfalls such as establishing stockpiles, reclaiming and recycling materials, substitution and other options. The report addresses potential materials supply chain risks using a Base Case conflict scenario derived from the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The NDS requirements development planning scenario assumes the first year of a conflict would commence in 2017 with reconstitution completed by 2020.
Materials selected for assessment for the report are those deemed essential for U.S. military and civilian demands and those whose supplies could possibly be at risk in a future conflict or other crisis. In addition to assessing risks to the supply of raw materials, DoD assesses risks to the supply of materials throughout the supply chain (i.e., downstream) including compounds, metals, alloys, and related end-items containing materials assessed.
In support of the NDS requirements process, DLA continuously monitors materials supply chain concerns of current importance to specific DoD defense systems and weapons platforms in particular. Survey responses are intended to identify materials (and their downstream forms) that currently support both new defense systems in development and full-rate production as well sustaining legacy defense systems that will remain in long-term operation.
