---
kind: "section"
citation: "10 U.S.C. § 198"
title: "10"
title_heading: "Armed Forces"
number: "198"
heading: "Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/198"
units:
  - "Subtitle A — General Military Law"
  - "Part I — Organization and General Military Powers"
  - "Chapter 8 — Defense Agencies and Department of Defense Field Activities"
  - "Subchapter I — Common Supply and Service Activities"
---

# §198. Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

- (a) **In General.—** There is in the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense an Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (in this section referred to as the “Office”). The [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) shall designate the Office as a [Department of Defense Field Activity](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-12) pursuant to [section 191](/usc/10/191.md), effective as of the date of the enactment of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283).
- (b) **Director.—** The Office shall be headed by the Director of the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, who shall be appointed by the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) of Defense from among civilian employees of the Federal Government or private individuals who have the following:
  - (1) Experience in the interagency in the Executive Branch.
  - (2) Experience in the administration and management of Federal grants [programs](/usc/10/2101.md?p=1).
- (c) **Duties.—** The Office shall—
  - (1) serve as the office in the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6) of Defense with primary responsibility for—
    - (A) providing assistance to [States](/usc/10/4951.md?p=4), counties, municipalities, regions, and other communities to foster cooperation with [military installations](/usc/10/2801.md?p=c-4) to enhance the [military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8) mission, achieve [facility](/usc/10/2700.md?p=2) and infrastructure savings and reduced operating costs, address encroachment and compatible land use issues, support [military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8) families, and increase [military](/usc/10/801.md?p=8), civilian, and industrial readiness and resiliency; and
    - (B) providing adjustment and diversification assistance to [State](/usc/10/4951.md?p=4) and [local governments](/usc/10/4951.md?p=4) under [section 2391(b) of this title](/usc/10/2391.md?p=b) to achieve the objectives described in [subparagraph (A)](#c-1-A);
  - (2) coordinate the provision of such assistance with other organizations and elements of the [Department](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-6);
  - (3) provide support to the Economic Adjustment Committee established under Executive Order No. 12788 (57 Fed. Reg. 2213; [10 U.S.C. 2391](/usc/10/2391.md) note) or any successor to such Committee; and
  - (4) carry out such other activities as the [Secretary](/usc/10/4951.md?p=3) considers appropriate.
- (d) **Annual Report to Congress.—** Not later than June 1 each year, the Director of the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation shall submit to the [congressional defense committees](/usc/10/101.md?p=a-16) a report on the activities of the Office during the preceding year, including the assistance provided pursuant to [subsection (c)(1)](#c-1) during such year.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 905(a)(1), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3798, § 146; renumbered § 198 and amended Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title IX, § 902(a)(1)–(3), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1868, 1869.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

The date of the enactment of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 116–283, which was approved Jan. 1, 2021.

### Amendments

2021—Pub. L. 117–81, § 902(a)(1), renumbered section 146 of this title as this section.

Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–81, § 902(a)(2), substituted “in the Department of Defense an” for “in the Office of the Secretary of Defense an office to be known as the” and inserted at end “The Secretary shall designate the Office as a Department of Defense Field Activity pursuant to section 191, effective as of the date of the enactment of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283).”

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–81, § 902(a)(3)(A), substituted “Secretary of Defense” for “Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 117–81, § 902(a)(3)(B), substituted “Secretary” for “Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment”.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Limitation on Involuntary Separation of Personnel

Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title IX, § 902(b), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1869, provided that: “No personnel of the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation under section 198 of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), may be involuntarily separated from service with that Office during the one-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2021], except for cause.”

### Administration of Programs

Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title IX, § 902(c), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1869, provided that: “Any program, project, or other activity administered by the Office of Economic Adjustment of the Department of Defense as of the date of the enactment of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283) [Jan. 1, 2021] shall be administered by the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation under section 198 of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)).”