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Rack MR – Requirements Development

Aisle M — Modernization

Library:  Main Page — Professional Development (A) — Defense Enterprise (E) — Force Structure (F) — Modernization (M) — Personnel (P) — Readiness (R) — Special Enterprises (S) — Resource Management (X) — References (Z)

Modernization (M):  Acquisition Frameworks (MA) — Capabilities Development (MC) — Defense Industrial Base (MD) — Program Management (MP) — Requirements Development (MR) — Science & Technology (MS) — Research, Development, Test, & Evaluation (MT) — Major Weapons Systems (MW)

Disclaimer: The inclusion of resources here is for informational, historical, and research purposes only and is provided as a service for US Army War College faculty, students, and graduates to support their educational and professional requirements. These may include outdated or superseded materials. The inclusion of these materials does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.

The Military Services, Defense Agencies, and the Joint community assess, validate and prioritize new requirements using JCIDS, a capabilities-based process created in 2002 at the direction of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Secretary Rumsfeld sent a directive to Gen Peter Pace, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VCJCS) and the Chairman of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) to “get the requirements system fixed.” The note went on to say,

As Chairman of the JROC, please think through what we all need to do, individually or collectively, to get the requirements system fixed. It is pretty clear it is broken, and it is so powerful and inexorable that it invariably continues to require things that ought not to be required, and does not require things that need to be required. Please screw your head into that, and let’s have four or five of us meet and talk about it. Thanks.

—SecDef Donald Rumsfeld, ​​​​​​​Memo to VCJCS Gen Peter Pace, 18 March 2002

The JROC is the primary decision-making body used by CJCS to assist making assessments and providing advice on strategic requirements. The VCJCS chairs the JROC and the membership includes the vice chiefs of the military services with participation by the Combatant Commands as well as civilian advisers within the DoD. The JROC’s membership, broad responsibilities, and methods of sharing information with Congressional Defense Committees are specified in U.S. Code Title 10, and are captured in the JROC and JCIDS Charter, CJCSI 5123.01I (30 October 2021).

​​​​​​​– Trent Hunton

Shelf MR.00 — General

This shelf provides resources associated with the requirements development process, including the roles and conduct of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, or JROC. Although capabilities (rack MC) and requirements development have become more integrated procedurally, the underlying theoretical frameworks are different and therefore kept on different racks.

Faculty Publications:
Laws, Policies, Memos, and Regulations (sorted by regulation number):
Strategies and Reports:
Commentaries (inclusion does not represent endorsement):

Title image credit:  U.S. Army photo, 401st Army Field Support Brigade, public domain.

Modernization (M):  Acquisition Frameworks (MA) — Capabilities Development (MC) — Defense Industrial Base (MD) — Program Management (MP) — Requirements Development (MR) — Science & Technology (MS) — Research, Development, Test, & Evaluation (MT) — Major Weapons Systems (MW)

Library:  Main Page — Professional Development (A) — Defense Enterprise (E) — Force Structure (F) — Modernization (M) — Personnel (P) — Readiness (R) — Special Enterprises (S) — Resource Management (X) — References (Z)