defensewide

Defense-wide refers to items that apply across the entire Department of Defense rather than to a single military service or component. It describes authorities, resources, programs, or offices that span the services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force) and are managed at higher levels, typically by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) or other DoD-wide organizations. The concept is used to distinguish cross-cutting initiatives from service-specific activities.

In practice, defense-wide designations are used for budgets, acquisition programs, manpower, information technology, procurement, and security programs that are national in scope and not attributable to one service. For budgeting, defense-wide accounts fund initiatives that serve the entire department, including joint or enterprise-wide efforts, professional development, and shared infrastructure. For governance, defense-wide offices or programs are led by DoD components such as the OSD, Joint Staff, or defense agencies, and report to senior defense leadership.

Similarly, DoD process uses defense-wide planning to align resources with national defense priorities, supporting joint operations and interoperability. The term is also used in other countries’ defense ministries to denote cross-cutting or department-wide matters, though specifics vary by country.

Limitations: Because they cut across services, defense-wide programs can face challenges in prioritization, oversight, and resource competition.