The Program Decision Memorandum (PDM) is issued by the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DEPSECDEF) after Senior Leader Review Group (SLRG) (DRB) deliberations of the Program Objective Memorandum (POM) and summarizes a program decision. It outlines and approves changes to the POM submissions. The PDM is issued during October and November to service POMs. It also resolves Change Proposals that have been accepted by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) during the Off-Year PPBE Cycle. A typical PDM would include decisions relative to the budget year or the following four program years.
Definition: The Program Decision Memorandum (PDM) is the official DoD decision document that is signed by the SECDEF or DEPSECDEF to reflect all decisions made during the Programming Phase of the DOD Program Planning Budget and Execution (PPBE) Process.
Who Develops the Program Decision Memorandum (PDM)
The Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (DCAPE) is the primary OSD staff office involved in the Program Review and for drafting the PDM; the USD (Comptroller) is the primary OSD staff office involved in the Budget Review and for drafting PBDs.
What is the Program Objective Memorandum (POM)
The Program Objective Memorandum (POM) is a request that shows how a military department or program plans to allocate resources in response to and in line with the Defense Planning Guidance (DPG). The POM shows planned needs for the next 5 yearss and is the end result of the DoD’s programming phase of the budget process.
Budget Preparation Schedule
- February: Future Year Defense Program (FYDP) Updated
- April: DoD Send Defense Planning Guidance (DPG) to Services
- August: Services submit POM and Budget Estimate Submission (BES) to OSD, CAPE and OMB for POM Review (FYDP Updated)
- October – December: Joint OMB-OSD review leading to Resource Management Decision (RMD)
- December: DoD Budget Request sent to OMB
- 1st Monday of February: President’s Budget due to Congress
Updated: 7/13/2017
Rank: G2.4