Department of Defense
Department overview
Formed	August 10, 1949 (1949-08-10) (62 years ago)
Preceding Department	Department of War and Department of the Navy
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	The Pentagon, Arlington Co., Virginia 38°52′15.56″N 77°3′21.46″W / 38.8709889°N 77.0559611°W / 38.8709889; -77.0559611
Employees	718,000 civilian 1,418,542 Active Duty military, 1,100,000+ reserve: 3.23 million total [1] (2009)
Annual budget	US$530.1 billion (2010)[2] US$549.1 billion (2011)[3] US$553.0 billion (est. 2012)
Department executives	Leon Panetta, Secretary Ashton Carter, Deputy Secretary
Child agencies	Department of the Army Department of the Navy Department of the Air Force
Website
defense.gov

The Pentagon, headquarters of the United States Department of Defense.

The Department of Defense (also known as the Defense Department, USDOD, DOD, DoD or the Pentagon^[4]) is the Executive Department of the Government of the United States of America charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government concerned directly with national security and the United States armed forces. The Department is also the largest employer in the world^[5], with more than 2.13 million active duty Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and also civilian workers, and over 1.1 million National Guardsmen and members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Reserves. The grand total is just over 3.2 million servicemen and servicewomen, plus the civilians who support them.

The Department – headed by the Secretary of Defense – has three subordinate military departments: the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force. In addition, there are many Defense Agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the Missile Defense Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), all of which are under the command of the Secretary of Defense. DoD also operates several joint services schools, including the National Defense University (NDU) and the National War College (NWC).

The Department is allocated the highest level of budgetary resources among all Federal agencies, and this amounts to more than one-half of the annual Federal discretionary budget.

History[link]

President Harry Truman signs the National Security Act Amendment of 1949

The United States Congress created the War Department in 1789 and the Navy Department in 1798. The secretaries of each of these departments reported directly to the President as cabinet-level advisors.^[6]

In a special message to Congress on 19 December 1945, President Harry Truman proposed creation of a unified department of state defense, citing both wasteful military spending and inter-departmental conflicts. Deliberations in Congress went on for months focusing heavily on the role of the military in society and the threat of granting too much military power to the executive.^[7]

On July 26, 1947, Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which set up a unified military command known as the "National Military Establishment", as well as creating the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council, National Security Resources Board, United States Air Force (formerly the Army Air Forces) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The act placed the National Military Establishment under the control of a single Secretary of Defense.^[6][8][9] The National Military Establishment formally began operations on September 18, the day after the Senate confirmed James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense.^[8] The National Military Establishment was renamed the "Department of Defense" on August 10, 1949, in an amendment to the original 1947 law.^[10]

Organizational structure[link]

File:DoD Organization March 2012.pdf

The Secretary of Defense, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is by federal law (10 U.S.C. § 113) the head of the Department of Defense, "the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to Department of Defense", and has "authority, direction and control over the Department of Defense". Because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the President, the statutory authority of the Secretary of Defense is derived from their constitutional authorities. Since it is impractical for either Congress or the President to participate in every piece of Department of Defense affairs, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary's subordinate officials generally exercise military authority.

The Department of Defense is composed of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Joint Staff (JS), Office of the Inspector General (DODIG), the Combatant Commands, the Military Departments (Department of the Army (DA), Department of the Navy (DON) & Department of the Air Force (DAF)), the Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities, the National Guard Bureau (NGB), and such other offices, agencies, activities, organizations, and commands established or designated by law, or by the President or by the Secretary of Defense.

Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 describes the organizational relationships within the Department, and is the foundational issuance for delineating the major functions of the Department. The latest version, signed by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in December of 2010, is the first major re-write since 1987.^[11]

Office of the Secretary of Defense[link]

2008 OSD organizational chart

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is the Secretary and Deputy Secretary's (mainly) civilian staff.

OSD is the principal staff element of the Secretary of Defense in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource management, fiscal and program evaluation and oversight, and interface and exchange with other U.S. Government departments and agencies, foreign governments, and international organizations, through formal and informal processes. OSD also performs oversight and management of the Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities.

OSD also supervises the following Department of Defense agencies:

Defense Agencies[link]

Defense Agencies

National Security Agency   Defense Intelligence Agency   Defense Logistics Agency   Defense Security Cooperation Agency   National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency   Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Joint Chiefs of Staff[link]

Joint Chiefs of Staff/Joint Staff organizational chart.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters. The composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is defined by statute and consists of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VCJCS), Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC), and the Military Service Chiefs from the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marine Corps, all appointed by the President following Senate confirmation.^[12] Each of the individual Military Service Chiefs, outside of their Joint Chiefs of Staff obligations, works directly for the Secretary of the Military Department concerned, i.e. Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Following the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986 the Joint Chiefs of Staff do not have operational command authority, neither individually nor collectively, as the chain of command goes from the President to the Secretary of Defense, and from the Secretary of Defense to the Commanders of the Combatant Commands.^[17] Goldwater-Nichols also created the office of Vice Chairman, and the Chairman is now designated as the principal military adviser to the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and to the President.^[18]

The Joint Staff (JS) is a headquarters staff in the Pentagon, composed of personnel from all the four services, that assists the Chairman and the Vice Chairman in discharging their responsibilities and is managed by the Director of the Joint Staff (DJS) who is a Lieutenant General or Vice Admiral.^[19][20]

Military Departments[link]

Military Departments of the DOD

Department of the Army   Department of the Navy   Department of the Air Force

There are three Military Departments within the Department of Defense:

1. the Department of the Army, of which the United States Army is organized within.
2. the Department of the Navy, of which the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps are organized within.
3. the Department of the Air Force, of which the United States Air Force is organized within.

The Military Departments are each headed by their own Secretary (i.e., Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of the Air Force), appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. They have legal authority under Title 10 of the United States Code to conduct all the affairs of their respective departments within which the military services are organized.^[21] The Secretaries of the Military Departments are (by law) subordinate to the Secretary of Defense and (by SecDef delegation) to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

The Secretaries of the Military Departments, in turn, normally exercises authority over their forces by delegation through their respective Service Chiefs (i.e., Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Naval Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force) over forces not assigned to a Combatant Command.^[22]

The Secretaries of the Military Departments and the Service Chiefs do not possess operational command authority over U.S. troops (this power was stripped from them in the Defense Reorganization Act of 1958), and instead the Military Departments are tasked solely with "the training, provision of equipment, and administration of troops."^[22]

Unified Combatant Commands[link]

Map of the DoD's geographic commands

A Unified Combatant Command is a single force composed of personnel and equipment from at least two Military Departments, which has a broad and continuing mission.^[23][24]

The Military Departments are responsible for equipping and training the troops to fight, while the Unified Combatant Commands are responsible for actual operational command of military forces.^[24] Almost all operational U.S. forces are under the authority of a Unified Command.^[22] The Unified Commands are governed by a Unified Command Plan, a frequently updated document (produced by the DOD) which lays out the Command's mission, geographical/functional responsibilities, and force structure.^[24]

During military operations, the chain of command runs from the President to the Secretary of Defense to the combatant commanders of the Combatant Commands.^[22]

The United States currently has 9 Combatant Commands, organized either on a geographical basis (known as "Area of Responsibility", AOR) or on a global, functional basis^[25]:

• U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
• U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)
• U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)
• U.S. European Command (USEUCOM)
• U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM)
• U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM)
• U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)
• U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
• U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)

Expenditures[link]

Chart showing growth in U.S. DoD spending 2000–2011

Department of Defense spending in 2010 was 4.8% of GDP and accounted for approximately 45% of budgeted global military spending – more than the next 17 largest militaries combined.^[26][27]

The Department of Defense accounts for the majority of federal discretionary spending. In FY 2010 the DOD budgeted spending accounted for 21% of the U.S. Federal Budget, and 53% of federal discretionary spending, which represents funds not accounted for by pre-existing obligations.^[28][29]

In the 2010 United States federal budget, the DoD was allocated a base budget of $533.7 billion, with a further $75.5 billion adjustment in respect of 2009, and $130 billion for overseas contingencies.^[30] The subsequent 2010 DoD Financial Report shows DoD total budgetary resources for fiscal year 2010 were $1.2 trillion.^[31] Of these resources, $1.1 trillion were obligated and $994 billion were disbursed, with the remaining resources relating to multi-year modernization projects requiring additional time to procure.^[31] After over a decade of non-compliance, Congress has established a deadline of FY 2017 for the DoD to achieve audit readiness.^[32]

Energy use[link]

The Department of Defense was the largest single consumer of energy in the United States in 2006.^[33]

In FY 2006, the Department used almost 30,000 gigawatt hours (GWH) of electricity, at a cost of almost $2.2 billion. The DoD's electricity use would supply enough electricity to power more than 2.6 million average American homes. In electricity consumption, if it were a country, the DoD would rank 58th in the world, using slightly less than Denmark and slightly more than Syria (CIA World Factbook, 2006).^[34]

The DOD is responsible for 93% of all US government fuel consumption in 2007 (Department of the Air Force: 52%; Department of the Navy: 33%; Department of the Army: 7%; other DoD components: 1%).^[34] The Department of Defense uses 4,600,000,000 US gallons (1.7×10¹⁰ L) of fuel annually, an average of 12,600,000 US gallons (48,000,000 L) of fuel per day. A large Army division may use about 6,000 US gallons (23,000 L) per day. According to the 2005 CIA World Factbook, if it were a country, the DoD would rank 34th in the world in average daily oil use, coming in just behind Iraq and just ahead of Sweden.^[35] The Air Force is the largest user of fuel energy in the federal government. The Air Force uses 10% of the nation's aviation fuel. (JP-8 accounts for nearly 90% of its fuels.) This fuel usage breaks down as such: 82% jet fuel, 16% facility management and 2% ground vehicle/equipment.^[36]

Related legislation[link]

The organization and functions of the DoD are set forth in Title 10 of the United States Code.

Other significant legislation related to the Department of Defense includes:

• 1947: National Security Act of 1947
• 1958: Department of Defense Reorganization Act PL 85-899
• 1963: Department of Defense Appropriations Act PL 88-149
• 1963: Military Construction Authorization Act PL 88-174
• 1967: Supplemental Defense Appropriations Act PL 90-8
• 1984: Department of Defense Authorization Act PL 98-525
• 1986: Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 or Department of Defense Reorganization Act PL 99-433
• 1996: Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act PL 104-132

See also[link]

	Government of the United States portal
	Military history portal

• Defense contractor
• Defense industry
• List of United States military bases
• Military-industrial complex
• Nuclear Weapons
• Private military contractor
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Department of Justice

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: United States Department of Defense

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Pentagon

• United States Department of Defense Official website
• Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Budget and Financial Management Policy
• Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the Department of Defense
• Entire Collection of DoD Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Reading Room
• Budget info
• Death and Taxes: 2009 A visual guide and infographic of the 2009 United States federal budget including the Department of Defense with data provided by the Comptrollers office.
• DoD YouTube channel
• Proposed and finalized federal regulations from the United States Department of Defense
• DoD IA Policy Chart
• U.S. Reporting Agency
• U.S. Reporting Agency Groundsquad Homepage
• Defense Logistics Agency
• United States Department of Defense at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post

v t e The Department of Defense Headquarters: The Pentagon Secretary of Defense   OSD Deputy Secretary of Defense Deputy's Advisory Working Group Office of Net Assessment Special Access Program Oversight Committee Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Director, Defense Research and Engineering Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Missile Defense Agency Defense Contract Management Agency Defense Logistics Agency Defense Technical Information Center Defense Threat Reduction Agency Office of Economic Adjustment Defense Acquisition University Defense Acquisition Board Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Defense Security Cooperation Agency Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Defense Contract Audit Agency Defense Finance and Accounting Service Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Defense Commissary Agency Department of Defense Education Activity DoD Human Resources Activity Military Health System Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute Office of the Chancellor for Education and Professional Development Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Defense Intelligence Agency Defense Security Service Defense Information Systems Agency National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency National Reconnaissance Office National Security Agency Director of Administration and Management Pentagon Force Protection Agency Washington Headquarters Services   Military departments Department of the Army Secretary of the Army The Secretariat: Under Secretary of the Army Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Assistant Secretary (Financial Management and Comptroller) Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs General Counsel of the Army The Administrative Assistant The Army Staff: Chief of Staff of the Army Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Sergeant Major of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff G-8 Chief of Chaplains Judge Advocate General Provost Marshal General Surgeon General U.S. Army Field Organizations: See Structure of the United States Army Department of the Navy Secretary of the Navy The Secretariat: Under Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations and Environment) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions) General Counsel of the Navy Judge Advocate General Naval Criminal Investigative Service Naval Inspector General Office of the Chief of Naval Operations: Chief of Naval Operations Vice Chief of Naval Operations Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Director of Naval Reactors Chief of Chaplains Chief of Naval Personnel Surgeon General Headquarters Marine Corps: Commandant of the Marine Corps Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Chaplain U.S. Marine Corps Field Organizations: See Organization of the United States Marine Corps U.S. Navy Field Organizations: See Structure of the United States Navy Department of the Air Force Secretary of the Air Force The Secretariat: Under Secretary of the Air Force Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management & Comptroller) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Installations, Environment & Logistics) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) General Counsel of the Air Force Air Force Office of Special Investigations The Air Staff: Chief of Staff of the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Chief of Chaplains Chief of Safety Chief Scientist Surgeon General U.S. Air Force Field Organizations: Major Commands Direct Reporting Units Field Operating Agencies   Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Joint Requirements Oversight Council Director of the Joint Staff Joint Staff National Military Command Center Alternate National Military Command Center National Defense University   Combatant Commands Africa Command Central Command European Command Northern Command Pacific Command Southern Command Special Operations Command (Joint Special Operations Command) Strategic Command (Cyber Command) Transportation Command   National Guard Bureau Chief of the National Guard Bureau Air National Guard Army National Guard   Office of the Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service

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