| Department of Defense | |
|---|---|
| Department overview | |
| Formed | August 10, 1949 |
| Preceding Department | Department of War |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | The Pentagon, Arlington Co., Virginia |
| Employees | 700,000 civilian 1,418,542 military 1,100,000 reserve [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 |
| Website | |
| defense.gov | |
The United States Department of Defense (Defense Department, USDOD, DOD or DoD[4]) is the U.S. federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the United States armed forces.
The DoD—headed by the United States Secretary of Defense -- has three subordinate military departments: the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Additionally, there are many DoD agencies such as the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the National Security Agency (NSA) which all answer to the Secretary. The department also operates several joint service schools, including the National War College.
The DOD is allocated the highest level of budgetary resources amongst all federal departments, consuming more than half of the annual discretionary budget.
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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.[5]
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.[6]
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 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.[5][7][8] 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.[7] The National Military Establishment was renamed the "Department of Defense" on August 10, 1949, in an amendment to the original 1947 law.[9]
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution designates the President as "Commander in Chief" of the Army, Navy and state militias. The President decides upon military policy based on the discussions in the National Security Council and other policy-making forums (e.g. the Council on Foreign Relations).
The President then delegates responsibility for executing these policy directives to the Secretary of Defense, who is in charge of the Department of Defense.
The Department of Defense is traditionally divided into four main branches: the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Military Departments, and the Unified Combatant Commands. The Office of the Secretary of Defense works with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Unified Combatant Commands to enforce the will of the executive branch through the Military Departments.[10][11]
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is the Secretary and Deputy Secretary's civilian staff.
The Secretaries of the Military Departments (i.e. Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Air Force) are subordinate to the Secretary of Defense. They have the 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.[12]
OSD also contains the following Department of Defense agencies:
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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), and the Military Service Chiefs from the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marine Corps, all appointed by the President following Senate confirmation.[13] 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.[14][15][16][17]
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.[18] 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.[19]
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.[20][21]
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There are three Military Departments within the Department of Defense:
The Military Departments are each headed by a civilian Secretary. The Secretaries of the Military Departments, in turn, exercise authority 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 Military Departments do not possess operational authority over U.S. troops (this power was stripped from them in the Defense Reorganization Act of 1958), and instead are tasked solely with "the training, provision of equipment, and administration of troops."[22]
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]:
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]
The Department of Defense is the largest single consumer of energy in the United States.[33]
In FY 2006, the DoD 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 (Air Force: 52%; Navy: 33%; Army: 7%. Other DoD: 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]
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:
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