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US DOD Organization
General
The Department of Defense (DOD) is the executive branch of the United States government created by Congress in 1949. The DOD directs and controls the armed forces and assists the President in the direction of the nation’s security.
The major subdivisions of the DOD are three military departments, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), defense agencies, and DOD field activities. The staff of the DOD is primarily civilian. It advises and assists the Secretary in top-level management. Also at this level, the military, economic, and political elements associated with military preparedness are balanced to determine size and structure of the armed forces.
The military departments are responsible for recruiting, training and equipping their forces, but operational control of those forces is assigned to one of the Unified Combatant Commands.
Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)
To assist the SECDEF in carrying out his multiple responsibilities, the Secretary has a Deputy Secretary, four Under Secretaries of Defense (USD), nine Assistant Secretaries of Defense (ASD), three Assistants to the Secretaries of Defense (ATSD), nine Deputy Under Secretaries (DUSD), three Principal Deputy Under Secretaries (PDUSD), the General Counsel (GC), the Inspector General (IG) and five Directors. Collectively, this group and their staffs are referred to as the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). OSD is comprised of about 2000 people, 1500 of whom are civilians and 500 of whom are military personnel.
The Deputy Secretary of Defense is the alter ego of the Secretary. He is responsible for coordination and supervision of the Department as directed by the Secretary. Normally the SECDEF delegates a great deal of his authority to the Deputy. The number two man can issue directives to all the subunits of governmental agencies, and to international bodies in the name of the Secretary.
JCS
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) are composed of six military officers: Chairman of the JCS (CJCS), Vice Chairman JCS, CSUSA, CSUSAF, CNO, Commandant of the USMC. The Chairman of the JCS is a member of one of the armed services but during his tenure on the JCS has no service responsibilities. All of the joint chiefs are appointed by the President subject to Senate confirmation. The service chiefs are appointed for a fixed nonrenewable term of four years. The Chairman is appointed for a two-year term, and, except in wartime, can only be reappointed once.
The JCS are assisted in the exercise of their functions by the Joint Staff (JS) and the other groups which support the JCS but are not part of the JS. The Joint Staff is headed by a Director and divided into eight departments: J-1 (Manpower & Personnel), J-2 (Intelligence), J-3 (Operations), J-4 (Logistics), J-5 (Strategic Plans and Policy), J-6 (C4), J-7 (Operational Plans & Interoperability), J-8 (Force Structure, Resources & Assessment). The Director of the Joint Staff is a three-star general or admiral appointed for a two-year term by the Chairman with the approval of the Secretary of Defense and the other members of the JCS.
Defense Agencies
At the present time there are 15 organizations or groups within DOD which have the status of defense agencies. These organizations perform functions which are common to or cut across departmental lines. There are no specific restrictions on the number or functions of these organizations. The SECDEF has the power to disestablish or disband such agencies.
The purpose of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is to maintain technological superiority for the US in the field of military hardware. After DARPA has explored a concept and determined it to be feasible, control of the project is turned over to the department or agency most directly concerned.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) manages all of the defense intelligence programs and provides intelligence support to the SECDEF and the JCS. DIA relies upon the resources of the armed services for intelligence collection and supervises the development of intelligence by the services to meet their own particular needs.
The role of the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is to perform all the required contract auditing for the DOD and to provide accounting and financial advisory service regarding defense contracts to the DOD components which have responsibility for procurement and contract administration.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) was established to provide greater emphasis to the management and control of such aid programs as military assistance and foreign military sales (FMS).
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) provides supply and service support for items common to all services; this includes procurement of materiel, operation of a wholesale distribution system, and surplus-disposal programs.
The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is the DOD component that works directly with defense suppliers to help ensure that DOD, Federal, and allied government supplies and services are delivered on time, at projected cost, and meet all performance requirements.
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) was established to provide responsive, professional finance and accounting services for the people who defend America.
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is a combat support agency responsible for planning, developing, fielding, operating, and supporting command, control, communications, and information (C3I) systems that serve the needs of the President, Vice President, the SECDEF, the JCS, the Unified Combatant Commanders, and the other DOD Components under all conditions of peace and war.
The Defense Legal Services Agency (DLSA) is a DOD agency that provides legal advice and services for the Defense Agencies, DOD Field Activities, and other assigned organizations.
The Defense Security Service (DSS) makes its contribution to the National Security Community by conducting personnel security investigations and providing industrial security products and services, as well as offering comprehensive security education and training to DOD and other government entities.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) safeguards America’s interests from weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosives) by controlling and reducing the threat and providing quality tools and services for the warfighter.
The mission of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is to develop, test and prepare for deployment a missile defense system.
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) provides timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of national security.
The National Security Agency (NSA) is the nation’s cryptologic organization. It coordinates, directs, and performs highly specialized activities to protect U.S. information systems and produce foreign intelligence information. NSA is also one of the most important centers of foreign language analysis and research within the Government.
DOD Field Activities
Currently there are seven organizations or groups within the Defense Department under the name of DOD field activities. These organizations perform functions which are common to the US Armed Forces. Heads of the field activities are subordinate to the ASD’s, DUSD and Director Administration and Management.