United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to
national security and the
military. Note that the
United States Coast Guard is not part of the DOD; although it is a military force, it is normally under the authority of the
United States Department of Homeland Security.
The DOD is the major tenant of
The Pentagon, and it is divided into three major subsectionsthe
U.S. Army, the
U.S. Navy, and the
U.S. Air Force.
Encyclopedia
The
United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to
national security and the
military. Note that the
United States Coast Guard is not part of the DOD; although it is a military force, it is normally under the authority of the
United States Department of Homeland Security.
The DOD is the major tenant of
The Pentagon, and it is divided into three major subsections—the
U.S. Army, the
U.S. Navy, and the
U.S. Air Force. Among the many DOD agencies are the
Ballistic Missile Defense Organization , the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency , the
Defense Intelligence Agency , the
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency , and the
National Security Agency . The department also operates several joint service schools, including the National War College.
History
Proposals to coordinate the activities of the military services were initially considered by
Congress in 1944. Specific plans were put forth in 1945 by the
Army, the
Navy and the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a special message to Congress on December 19, 1945, President
Harry Truman proposed creation of a unified Department of National Defense. A proposal reached Congress in April 1946, but was held up by the Naval Affairs Committee held hearings in July 1946 due to objections to the concentration of power in a single department. Truman eventually sent new legislation to Congress in February 1947, where it was debated and amended for several months.
On July 26, 1947, Truman signed the
National Security Act of 1947, which set up the
National Military Establishment to begin operations on September 18, 1947, the day after the
Senate confirmed
James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. The Establishment had the unfortunate abbreviation 'NME' , and was renamed the "Department of Defense" on August 10, 1949; in addition, the Secretary of Defense was given greater authority over the three military branches . Prior to the creation of the National Military Establishment / Department of Defense, the Armed Forces of the United States were separated into different cabinet-level departments without much central authority.
The Department of Defense is based in
The Pentagon in
Arlington County,
Virginia outside
Washington, D.C., across the
Potomac River. It was created by combining the
War Department with the
Navy Department , and the newly created
Department of the Air Force. The department was formed in order to reduce interservice rivalry which was believed to have reduced military effectiveness during
World War II.
It includes the
Army,
Navy,
Air Force,
Marines, as well as non-combat agencies such as the
National Security Agency and the
Defense Intelligence Agency.
In wartime, the Department of Defense also has authority over the
Coast Guard; in peacetime, that agency is under the control of the
Department of Homeland Security. Prior to the creation of DHS, the Coast Guard was under the control of the
Department of Transportation. The Coast Guard has not been formally militarized since World War II, although it has participated in various military and law enforcement operations over the years.
The DoD's annual budget is roughly $425 billion, which does not include tens of billions more in supplemental expenditures allotted by Congress throughout the year.
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 regional commanders within one of several commands who command all military forces within their area of operation. The
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the several
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.
On February 22, 2002, the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General has reported that DOD has not and will not account for $1.1 trillion of "undocumentable adjustments." In addition, there have been several high-profile Government Accountability Office investigations of the Department of Defense.
The GAO is also intersted in ways DOD can partner with other government agencies to save money and create efficiencies. One way was through use of the
Veteran's Administration's Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy program. The CMOP fills continuation of therapy or refill prescriptions only. Initial prescriptions are written for veterans at one of the Veteran Administration’s health care facilities. When a refill is needed, the heath care facilities process the prescriptions. The CMOP then uploads this information from multiple facilities in its region. Once filled, the US Postal Service delivers the prescriptions. The health care facility or clinic is notified of the prescription’s completion electronically. As of 2000, the annual workload was near 50 million prescriptions. Processing and filling prescriptions took two days; three more days were required for mail delivery.
Because of congressional interest in exploring if CMOP could provide cost savings for Department of Defense beneficiaries picking up outpatient refill prescriptions from military treatment facilities, the DOD and VA conducted a pilot program in FY 2003. In its 2005 report, GAO-05-555, the
Government Accountability Office found that the DOD could generate savings because CMOP's size allows it to negotiate volume discounts.
The CMOP program is now serving the entire country from a number of locations including
West Los Angeles, California,
Bedford, Massachusetts,
Dallas, Texas, Hines, Illinois,
Charleston, South Carolina,
Leavenworth, Kansas and
Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Organization
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
- Office of Net Assessment
- Office of Inspector General
- Defense Criminal Investigative Service
...
...
- Pentagon Force Protection Agency
- Department of Defense Field Activities
- American Forces Information Service
- Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
- Department of Defense Education Activity
- Department of Defense Dependents Schools
- DoD Human Resources Activity
- Office of Economic Adjustment
- Tricare Management Activity
- Washington Headquarters Services
In 2003, the
National Communications System was moved to the
United States Department of Homeland Security.
See also
Related legislation
- 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
External links
