Department of Defense Liaison of Command in the United States
Introduction to Department of Defense Liaison of Command
The Joint Chiefs of Staff consists of a chairman, chiefs of staff of the United States Army and the United States Air Force, the chief of naval operations (United States Navy), and the commandant of the United States Marine Corps; all the members are four-star officers. As a group they are responsible for preparing strategic and logistical plans of the armed forces. They also constitute the immediate military staff of the secretary of defense. In 1986 Congress passed a defense reorganization bill, making the chairman alone the principal military adviser to the president and creating the post of vice-chairman as second in command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Each of the military departments is separately organized under its own secretary but functions under the control of the Department of Defense. Thus, the chain of command descends directly from the president to the secretary of defense to the military departments, except for operational matters. The chain of command for combat or similar operations goes from the president to the secretary of defense and through the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the unified and specified commands, bypassing the military departments. The 1986 legislation increases the authority of commanders in the field over their units and emphasizes joint planning among the armed forces.
Unified commands are highly trained ground, air, and naval combat forces from two or more of the military departments operationally controlled by the president through the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Unified commands are assigned broad continuing missions that involve the security of the United States and its allies. Specified commands are usually composed of one service but also have missions of vital importance and warrant the operational control of the president. The nine unified commands currently are the Joint Forces Command, headquartered in Virginia; Pacific Command, in Hawaii; European Command, in Stuttgart, Germany; Southern Command, Central Command, and Special Operations Command, all based in Florida; Transportation Command, in Illinois; Strategic Command, in Nebraska; and Northern Command, in Colorado. A tenth unified command, the Africa Command, was to be created by September 2008. Its headquarters was yet to be determined. The two specified commands are the Air Combat Command and the Forces Command.
The Northern Command was created in October 2002 in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Its purpose is to provide command and control of the DOD’s homeland defense efforts and to work with civil authorities in coordinating defense support. Several other commands were reorganized and renamed following September 11. President George W. Bush announced the creation of the Africa Command in February 2007. Previously, responsibilities for Africa had been divided between the Central Command, the European Command, and the Pacific Command. The Africa Command was to be functioning by September 2008. Its creation was recognition of the growing strategic importance of Africa and concern over the activities of radical Islamic groups that could threaten important resource areas, such as oil-producing nations, or strategic areas, such as the Horn of Africa, which borders the vital waterways of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
Guide to Department of Defense Liaison of Command
In this Section
Federal Departments, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense (including Department of Defense Purpose, Department of Defense Organization, Department of Defense Liaison of Command and Department of Defense Supporting Agencies), Department of Education, Department of Energy
(including Department of Energy Purpose, Department of Energy Organization and Department of Energy Research and Development), Department of Health and Human Services (including Department of Health and Human Services History and Department of Health and Human Services Agencies and Services), Department of Homeland Security (including Department of Homeland Security Organization and Functions, Department of Homeland Security Origins and Department of Homeland Security Supporting Agencies), Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice (including Department of Justice Functions, Department of Justice Structure and Department of Justice Associated Agencies), Department of Labor, Department of National Defence, Department of State (including Department of State Administration and Department of State Bureaus), Department of the Air Force, Department of the Army, Department of the Interior (including Department of the Interior Functions and Department of the Interior Principal Agencies), Department of the Navy, Department of the Treasury, Department of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs (including the Department of Veterans Affairs Service Categories, Department of Veterans Affairs Benefits Available and GI Bill of Rights) and Department of War.
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