Duties of the Defense Department chief information officer won't be transferred to Cyber Command, says an undated DOD memo posted online July 5. The memo is signed by Robert Gates, who left the secretary of defense position July 1.

According to the memo, Gates in December 2010 "tentatively agreed to a conceptual approach" under which significant responsibility for the operation of DoD networks would have transferred away from the DoD CIO and Defense Information Systems Agency to Cyber Command.

But, "significant policy, operational and practical concerns" prevent that course, meaning that the DoD should return to its original plan to pare down responsibilities of the DoD CIO. The DoD CIO is also the assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration; the current CIO/ASD(NII) is Teri Takai.

Gates' memo directs that acquisition oversight of major automated information systems and responsibility for netcenricity and command and control systems be transferred by Sept. 30 to the undersecretary of acquisition, technology and logistics. The current USD(AT&L), more commonly known as the "acquisition czar" (or some close variation), is Ashton Carter.

The memo also calls for a clearer delineation of responsibilities between the CIO, DISA and Cyber Command.

For more:
- download the memo, "Office of the Assistant Secretary for Networks Integration and Information Disestablishment" (.pdf)

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