Department of Defense redirects here. For the defense departments in governments of other countries, see defence ministry.
The United States Department of Defense (DOD or DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military. The organization and functions of the DOD are set forth in Title 10 of the United States Code.
The DOD is the major tenant of The Pentagon, and has three major components — the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force. Among the many DOD agencies are 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). The department also operates several joint service schools, including the National War College.
History
The Pentagon, in Arlington County, Virginia across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is the headquarters of the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense is protected by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency which ensures law enforcement and security for The Pentagon and various other jurisdictions throughout the National Capital Region (NCR). The Department includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, as well as non-combat agencies such as the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency. The DoD's annual budget was roughly $425 billion in 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.. This figure does not include tens of billions more in supplemental expenditures allotted by Congress throughout the year, particularly for the war in Iraq. It also does not include expenditures by the Department of Energy on nuclear weapons design and testing.
In wartime, the Department of Defense has authority over the Coast Guard; in peacetime, that agency is under the control of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Prior to the creation of DHS, the Coast Guard was under the control of the Department of Transportation and earlier under the Department of the Treasury. According to the U.S. Code, the Coast Guard is at all times considered one of the five armed services of the United States. During times of declared war (or by Congressional direction), the Coast Guard operates as a part of the Navy; the service has not been under the auspices of Navy since World War II, but members have served in the undeclared wars and conflicts since then while the service remained in its peacetime department.
Organization
The command structure of the Department of Defense is defined by the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. Under the act, the chain of command runs from the President of the United States, through the Secretary of Defense, to the combatant commanders (COCOM) who command all military forces within their area of responsibility. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service Chiefs of Staff are responsible for readiness of the U.S. military and serve as the President's military advisers, but are not in the chain of command. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States.
Command Structure
United States Secretary of Defense
The United States Naval Observatory falls under the Chief of Naval Operations. In 2003, the National Communications System was moved to the Department of Homeland Security, but only for executive purposes. The National Communications System still centralizes its activities within the Department of Defense, since the human resources required by NCS (example: Military Departments) still reside within the Department of Defense, or for retention of practical maintenance.
United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
Office of Net Assessment
Pentagon Force Protection Agency
Office of General Counsel
- Defense Legal Services Agency
Office of Inspector General
- Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
- Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Security Service
Defense Information Systems Agency
Counterintelligence Field Activity
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Reconnaissance Office
National Security Agency
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
- Defense Security Cooperation Agency
Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Missile Defense Agency
Defense Contract Management Agency
Defense Logistics Agency
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Office of Economic Adjustment
Defense Acquisition University
Business Transformation Agency
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
- Defense Commissary Agency
Defense Human Resources Activity
Department of Defense Education Activity
Department of Defense Dependents Schools
Tricare Management Activity
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 Comptroller
- Defense Contract Audit Agency
Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
- Washington Headquarters Services
Military Departments
- United States Secretary of the Army
- Department of the Army including the U.S. Army
United States Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps
- Department of the Navy and Marine Corps including the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps
United States Secretary of the Air Force
- Department of the Air Force including the U.S. Air Force
Joint Chiefs of Staff Components
There are nine, soon to be ten Unified Combatant Commands; five (soon to be six) regional and four functional. United States Africa Command will become initially operational in October 2007.
Until 2007, five geographical commands were given responsibilities for United States military operations in various areas of the world as shown on the following map.
Beginning in 2007, a new geographical command for Africa was authorized. This proposed significant changes to the areas of responsibility for other adjacent geographical commands as shown in the accompanying graphic.
Unified Combatant Commands
- Department of the Air Force including the U.S. Air Force
- Department of the Navy and Marine Corps including the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps
- Department of the Army including the U.S. Army
- United States Secretary of the Army
- Washington Headquarters Services
- Defense Contract Audit Agency
- Defense Commissary Agency
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Defense Security Cooperation Agency
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- Defense Criminal Investigative Service
- Defense Legal Services Agency
- Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
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