10 U.S.C. § 137 — Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security

(a) This section creates the position of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. The President appoints this person from civilian life, and the Senate must approve the choice. A former military officer can't take the job until at least seven years after leaving active duty as a commissioned officer in a regular armed-force component. (b) The Under Secretary works under the Secretary of Defense's authority, direction, and control, and must: (1) Direct and supervise the policy, program planning, execution, and resource use for Defense Department activities that are part of the Military Intelligence Program; (2) Carry out the Defense Department's role in the National Intelligence Program, as described in section 105 of the National Security Act of 1947, whenever the Secretary of Defense delegates that job to the Under Secretary; (3) Direct and supervise policy, program planning, execution, and resource use for personnel security, physical security, industrial security, and protecting classified and controlled unclassified information across the Department; and (4) Do any other intelligence-related duties the Secretary of Defense assigns. (c) Protecting privacy and civil liberties, in line with federal law and Defense Department rules and directives, must be a top priority for the Under Secretary. (d) In line of precedence within the Department of Defense, the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security ranks right after the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.