DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Defense (DOD) is the executive department in the federal government that is responsible for providing the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of the United States. The major elements of the military forces under its control are the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, consisting of about 1.5 million men and women on active duty. They are backed, in case of emergency, by 1 million members of reserve units. In addition, the DOD employs approximately nine hundred thousand civilians.

Although every state has some defense activities, the central headquarters of the DOD is in
northern Virginia at the Pentagon, the “world’s largest office building.”

The National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C.A. § 401) created the National Military Establishment, which replaced the War Department and was later renamed the Department of Defence. It was established as an executive department of the government by the National Security Act Amendments of 1949, with the secretary of defense as its head (5 U.S.C.A. § 101). Since 1949, many legislative and administrative changes have occurred, evolving the department into the structure under which it currently operates.

Structure

The DOD includes the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military departments and the military services within those departments, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, the unified combatant commands, the DOD agencies, the DOD field activities, and such other offices, agencies, activities, and commands as may be established or designated by law or by the president or the secretary of defense.

Office of the Secretary
The secretary of defense is the principal adviser on defense policy to the president. The
secretary is responsible for the formulation of general defense policy and DOD policy and for the execution of approved policy. Under the direction of the president, the secretary exercises authority, direction, and control over the DOD.
The deputy secretary of defense has full power
and authority to act for the secretary of defense.
Three positions are designated as undersec-
retary of defense. The undersecretary of defense
for acquisition and technology chairs the
Defense Acquisition Board and advises the sec-
retary of defense on all matters relating to the
acquisition system, research and development,
test and evaluation, production, logistics, mili-
tary construction, procurement, and economic affairs.

The undersecretary of defense for policy
advises the secretary of defense on policy matters
relating to overall international security and
political-military affairs, including NORTH
ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION affairs, arms
limitations agreements, and international trade
and technology.
The undersecretary of defense for personnel
and readiness develops policies and administrative
processes to ensure that the military forces
have sufficient readiness to execute the National
Military Strategy; develops civilian and military
personnel policies including health and drug
policies, equal opportunity programs, and family
issues and support; and oversees matters concerning
the reserve components.
The comptroller and chief financial officer
of the DOD is the principal adviser and assistant
to the secretary of defense for budgetary and fiscal
matters, including financial management,
accounting policy, and systems and budget formulation
and execution.
The director of operational test and evaluation
serves as a staff assistant and adviser to the
secretary of defense, prescribing policies and
procedures for the conduct of operational test
and evaluation within the department, including
assessments of operational effectiveness and
of the suitability of major defense acquisition
programs.
The assistant secretary of defense for command,
control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) is the principal staff assistant and
adviser to the secretary of defense for C3I, information
management, counterintelligence, and
security countermeasures.
The assistant secretary of defense for legislative
affairs is responsible for maintaining a direct
liaison with Congress, coordinating departmental
actions relating to congressional consideration of
the legislative program of the department, coordinating
responses to requests for information
by members of Congress, and arranging for witnesses
from the DOD and the various military
departments at congressional hearings on defense
matters.
The general counsel is the chief legal officer
of the DOD and is responsible for the preparation
and processing of legislation, executive
orders, and proclamations, and reports and
comments thereon. The general counsel also
serves as director of the Defense Legal Services
Agency, providing legal advice and services for
the Office of the Secretary of Defense, its field
activities, and the defense agencies. The general
counsel also administers the Defense Industrial
Security Clearance Review Program and the
Standards of Conduct Ethics Program.
The inspector general serves as an independent
and objective official in the DOD. The
inspector general is responsible for conducting,
supervising, monitoring, and initiating audits,
investigations, and inspections relating to programs
and operations of the department. The
inspector general coordinates activities designed
to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness
in the administration of such programs and
operations, and to prevent and detect FRAUD
and abuse in them.
The assistant secretary of defense for public
affairs is responsible for the functional areas of
the DOD, which include public and internal
information, audiovisual activities, community
relations, and security clearance. The assistant
secretary also reviews information intended for
public release, and implements programs under
the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (5 U.S.C.A.
§ 552) and Federal Privacy Act (5 U.S.C.A.
§ 552a) within the DOD.
The assistant secretary of defense for intelligence
oversight conducts independent oversight
inspections of DOD intelligence and counterintelligence
operations to ensure compliance with
legal requirements, and reviews all allegations
that raise questions of legality or propriety involving
intelligence and counterintelligence activities.
The director of administration and management
serves as the principal staff assistant to the
secretary and deputy secretary of defense on
matters concerning department-wide organizational
and administrative management, and also
serves as the director of the Washington Headquarters
Service.

Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff consists of a chair and vice chair, the chief of staff of the U.S.Army, the chief of naval operations, the chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, and the commandant of the Marine Corps.
The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the president, the NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, and the secretary
of defense. While serving, the chair holds
the grade of general or admiral and outranks all other officers of the armed forces.
The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff helps
the president and the secretary of defense to
provide for the strategic direction and planning
of the armed forces, including resource allocation,
the assessment of the military strength of
potential adversaries, and the preparation of
both contingency plans and joint logistic and
mobility plans. In addition, the chair coordinates
military education and training, represents
the United States on the Military Staff Committee
of the UNITED NATIONS, and convenes and
presides over regular meetings of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
The Department of Defense in the
Response to Terrorism
Recent acts of TERRORISM have required the
Department of Defense to reconsider some of its
methods for protecting the United States from foreign threats. The SEPTEMBER 11TH ATTACKS
perpetrated by the terrorist organization al
Qaeda not only destroyed the World Trade Center
towers in New York City but also severely
damaged the Pentagon building in Virginia. In
the months following these attacks, the U.S. military
engaged in operations in Afghanistan,
which had harbored suspected al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden. Since the campaign against
Afghanistan, the secretary of defense under
President GEORGE W. BUSH, Donald Rumsfeld,
has become a central figure in the American
media.
The WAR ON TERRORISM, dubbed Operation
Enduring Freedom by President Bush, has
required the Department of Defense to work
closely with other nations. The department has
assisted in rebuilding Afghanistan after the former
regime, known as the Taliban, was toppled.
Since that time, the department has focused
much of its attention on nations that have been
suspected of assisting and harboring terrorist
organizations—especially Iraq. In 2002 and
2003, the United States maintained a campaign
calling for the disarmament of Iraq, a campaign
that led to the second armed conflict between
the two countries in twelve years when the
United States attacked Iraq on March 19, 2003.
The Department of Defense also restructured
other operations and developed new
defense strategies in light of new threats against
the United States. In 2002, the department
redrafted the Unified Command Plan as part the
largest restructuring of the military since
WORLD WAR II. The revised structure places
more emphasis on terrorism and other threats,
with considerable focus on the development of
technologies to assist in fighting these threats.
Homeland security has also been a primary
focus for the department. In 2002, more than
10,000 members of the NATIONAL GUARD
provided security at the nation’s airports and
borders.
Field Activities
The American Forces Information Service,
established in 1977 under the supervision of the
assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, is
responsible for the department’s internal information
program and visual information policy.
The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service
and Broadcast Center and the American Forces
Press and Publications Service (which includes
among its many products the Current News
Early Bird) function under the director of the
American Forces Information Service. Current
News Early Bird is a Pentagon-produced newspaper
that contains clippings and analysis of
defense-related articles from newspapers
around the country. The American Forces Information
Service provides policy guidance and
oversight for departmental periodicals and
pamphlets, the Stars and Stripes newspapers,
military command newspapers, and the Defense
Information School, among other projects.
The Department of Defense Civilian Personnel
Management Service was established on
August 30, 1993, and functions under the
authority, direction, and control of the undersecretary
of defense for personnel and readiness.
It provides services in civilian personnel policy,
support, functional information management,
and civilian personnel administration to DOD
components and their activities.
The Department of Defense Education
Activity (DODEA) was established in 1992, and
also functions under the authority, direction,
and control of the undersecretary of defense for
personnel and readiness. It consists of three subordinate
entities: the DOD dependents schools,
the DOD section 6 schools, and the Continuing
Adult and Post-Secondary Education Office.
The DODEA formulates, develops, and implements
policies, technical guidance plans, and
standards for the effective management of
defense activities and programs both stateside
and overseas.
The Office of Civilian Health and Medical
Program of the Uniformed Services (OCHAMPUS)
was established as a field activity in 1974.
The office administers a civilian health and
medical care program for retired service members
and the spouses and dependent children of
active duty, retired, disabled, and deceased service
members, and also administers a program
for payment of emergency medical and dental
services provided to active duty service members
by civilian medical personnel.
The Defense Medical Programs Activity
develops and maintains the department’s Unified
Medical Program to provide resources for
all medical activities, including planning, programming,
and budgeting construction projects
for medical facilities. It also provides information
systems and related communications and
automated systems in support of the activities of
the DOD Military Health Services System
(MHSS), the Defense Enrollment Eligibility and Reporting System, the Tri-Service Medical
Information System, the Reportable Disease
Database, and other department-wide automated
MHSS information systems.
The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in
Action Office was established on July 16, 1993,
under the authority, direction, and control of
the assistant secretary of defense for international
security affairs. It provides centralized
management of prisoner of war–missing in
action (POW-MIA) affairs with the DOD. The
office provides DOD personnel to negotiate
with officials of foreign governments to achieve
the fullest possible accounting of missing U.S.
military personnel and also assembles and
administrates information and databases on
U.S. military and civilian personnel who are, or
were, prisoners of war or missing in action. The
office declassifies DOD documents and maintains
open channels of communication between
the department and Congress, POW-MIA families,
and veterans’ organizations.
The Defense Technology Security Administration
was established on May 10, 1985 and
functions under the control, direction, and
authority of the undersecretary of defense for
policy. This office is responsible for reviewing
the international transfer of defense technology,
goods, services, and munitions, consistent with
U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives.
The Office of Economic Adjustment is
responsible for planning and managing the
DOD’s economic adjustment programs and for
assisting federal, state, and local officials in
cooperative efforts to alleviate any serious social
and economic side effects resulting from major
departmental realignments or other actions.
The office supports the secretary of defense in
his or her capacity as chair of the Economic
Adjustment Committee, an interagency group
established to coordinate federal economic
adjustment activities.
The Washington Headquarters Service is
headed by the director of administration and
management. It provides administrative and
operational support to certain DOD activities in
the Washington, D.C., area. This support
includes budgeting and accounting, personnel
management, office services, security, travel aid,
information and data systems, and other services
as required.
Web site: http://www.defenselink.mil/.

FURTHER READINGS
DefenseLINK – Official Web Site of the US Department of
Defense. Available online at
(accessed November 20, 2003).
U.S. Government ManualWebsite. Available online at (accessed November 10, 2003).

CROSS-REFERENCES
Armed Services; Arms Control and Disarmament; Military
Law.