An official website of the United States Government

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov or .mil

A .gov or .mil website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov or .mil websites use HTTPS

A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov or .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

OSD-Fellows

OSD FELLOWS PROGRAM

Program Overview

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment Fellows Program is a year-long, on-site, hands-on leadership and management development program managed by ODASD(Logistics). The Fellowship year is a full-time commitment. The program is designed to enhance career development of mid-level logistics, maintenance, acquisition, data science/analysis, environmental, infrastructure, and energy professionals, military O-4/O-5 and civilian GS- 13/GS-14 (or equivalent), who have demonstrated significant potential for advancement and greater responsibility in their career field.

Throughout the Fellowship, OSD Sustainment Fellows will be integrated into one of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASO) offices within the Assistant Secretaries of Defense for Sustainment (ASD(S)) and Energy, Installations, and Environment (ASD(EI&E)) portfolios.

DASDs offices within ASD(S)

  • Materiel Readiness (MR)
  • Product Support (PS)
  • Logistics (LOG)

DASD offices within ASD(EI&E)

  • Housing (H)
  • Environmental Management and Restoration (E&ER)
  • Infrastructure Modernization and Resilience (IM&R)
  • Energy Resilience and Optimization (ER&O)

These offices span diverse functional areas including life cycle logistics and sustainment, maintenance, supply chain, operational contract support, transportation policy, vendor threat mitigation, private security contractors, legislative strategy, strategic communication, financial audit, property accountability, logistics information technology and data management. acquisition program management, climate resilience, energy resilience, basing, construction, facility management, and environmental planning.

During the year, Fellows are expected to fully immerse themselves in their work placement, which lies at the heart of the program. Fellows are expected to focus exclusively on their work in this program and sponsoring organizations are asked not to require the Fellows to continue work related to their home station. Leave can be taken if authorized, but Fellows are encouraged to take leave before or after the program year.

This assignment will provide participants with hands-on OSD-level experience and an opportunity to observe the nature and scope of actions taken in formulating Department policies. Participants will interact with senior level Department of Defense (DoD) and Service officials, other government agencies, and industry/associations. During this fellowship, Fellows are exposed to other unique developmental and educational experiences. This includes visits to locations like Capital Hill, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) headquarters, United States Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) headquarters, as well as other commercial and DoD logistics operations and activities

Program Objectives

The OSD Fellow’s Program has five primary objectives:

  1. Offer participants the opportunity to gain insight into how the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is influenced by Congress and how OSD works with the Other Federal Agencies, Military Departments, Defense Agencies, and Joint Staff to develop and implement logistics, transportation, maintenance, energy, acquisition, installation, and environmental communities’ policy.
  2. Improve the future management of DoD supply chain, transportation, energy, acquisition, installation, and environmental programs by broadening the background of career professionals within the DoD.
  3. Mentor the career development of mid-level managers involved in Defense Logistics, Installation, and Environmental.
  4. Challenge participants to demonstrate and further develop their management and functional potential.
  5. Allow sponsoring organizations to provide career-broadening opportunities for their own personnel.

Program Benefits

The OSD Fellow’s Program provides various benefits to the participating individuals, their organizations, and the Logistics Community as a whole. Click on each of the groups below to learn more about the positive impacts of the program on each group.

PARTICIPATING FELLOWS:

The participating Individuals can expect to find improved opportunities for career advancement and:

  • Gain valuable insight into policy development and the coordination process.
  • Increase breadth of knowledge and of the inner workings of the DoD maintenance, materiel readiness, logistics, transportation, maintenance, energy, acquisition, supply, transportation, installation, and environmental systems.
  • Meet and share knowledge and experiences with professionals across the DoD.
  • Improve management, communication, and collaboration skills.

FELLOWS’ SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS

Sponsoring organizations will gain more agile and skilled logistics professionals who can:

  • Bring new perspectives and ideas back to the organization.
  • Coordinate and resolve Defense logistics, maintenance, material readiness, supply, transportation installation, and environmental issues at a strategic level while taking into account the DoD’s unique and combined requirements.

LOGISTICS COMMUNTIY

The DoD logistics community will gain:

  • Future leaders who approach issues with a broader strategic perspective.
  • Improved overall logistics, maintenance, materiel readiness, supply, transportation, installation, and environmental management with fewer “stovepipe” decisions and more coordinated, holistic approaches to policies, programs, and procedures.

The Selection Process

Who Can Participate:

  • The OSD Fellow’s Program is available to highly motivated military O-4/O-5 and DoD civilian GS- 13/GS-14 (or equivalent).
  • A Secret clearance is required.
  • Participants should have experience in DoD maintenance, logistics, supply, transportation, maintenance, acquisition, data science/analysis, environmental, infrastructure, and energy and have demonstrated significant potential for advancement and greater responsibility in their career field.
  • Participants must be self-starters, willing to learn and experience other aspects of DoD logistics, installation, and environmental and be dedicated to immersing themselves into each assignment.

How to Apply:

Prepare nomination packet for submission through your sponsoring organization that includes:

  • Resume (5 pages maximum, including references)
  • Three most recent performance appraisals or military performance reports
  • Signed copy of the training agreement (hyperlink for training agreement)
  • Letter of endorsement by the nominating Agency/Service GO/FO/SES
  • Personal statement of interest justifying favorable consideration for the program (one page max)
  • Biography (one page max)
  • Nominating agency/service may have additional unique nomination requirements (Please check with your Training or Human Resources department for any additional requirements)

Selection Timeline:

Timeline
  • Solicitation of nominations – December
  • Nominations Due – February
  • Selections Made – April
  • Program Begins – July
  • Final determination of assignment is based on the participant’s experience and slot availability.

How participants are selected:

Nominations should be forwarded through the Service or Agency to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics via encrypted email to osd.fellows@mail.mil by the end of February.

Duty Location:

All duty locations are in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. Salaries, official travel, and per diem expenses for participants in the program will be paid by their parent Service or Agency, and if applicable will receive long-term TDY/TAD benefits in accordance with the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR).

WANT TO LEARN MORE?