DC&MA develops plans, policies, and leadership support initiatives to assure the Department can execute its core functions, even in the face of asymmetric military threats and severe natural hazards to defense installations and infrastructure. DC&MA also strengthens such oversight by helping the Secretary of Defense and other senior leaders integrate a broad range of threat- and component-specific programs, and by building effective partnerships with other Federal Departments and the private sector to build the resilience of external infrastructure essential to defense operations.