The Joint Chiefs of Staff

[Dealey Joe]

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States 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, the Marine Corps, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau,[1] all appointed by the President following Senate confirmation.[2] 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.[3][4][5][6]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.[7] 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.[8]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.Joint BoardAs the military of the United States grew in size following the American Civil War, joint military action between the Army and Navy became increasingly difficult. The joint Army and Navy cooperation were unsupportive at either the planning or operational level and were constrained over disagreements during the Spanish-American War in the Caribbean campaigns.[10] The Joint Army and Navy Board was established in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, comprising representatives from the military heads and chief planners of both the Navy's General Board and the Army's General Staff. The Joint Board acting as an "advisory committee" was created to plan joint operations and resolve problems of common rivalry between the two services.[10]Yet, the Joint Board accomplished little as its charter gave it no authority to enforce its decisions. The Joint Board also lacked the ability to originate its own opinions and was thus limited to commenting only on the problems submitted to it by the Secretaries of War and Navy. As a result, the Joint Board had little to no impact on the manner the United States conducted World War I.After World War I, in 1919 the two Secretaries agreed to reestablish and revitalize the Joint Board. The mission of the General staff was to develop plans for mobilization for the next war; the US was always designated "Blue" and potential enemies were assigned various other colors.[11]This time, the Joint Board’s membership would include the Chiefs of Staff, their deputies, and the Chief of War Plans Division for the Army and Director of Plans Division for the Navy. Under the Joint Board would be a staff called the Joint Planning Committee to serve the Board. Along with new membership, the Joint Board could initiate recommendations on its own initiative. However, the Joint Board still did not possess the legal authority to enforce its decisions.[edit]World War IIIn 1942, President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill established the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entrance into World War II with discussions during the Arcadia Conference with its charter approved by President Roosevelt 21 April 1942.[12] The CCS would serve as the supreme military body for strategic direction of the US-British Empire war effort. While the UK had the Chiefs of Staff Committee, the United States had no equivalent agency with which to provide the CCS with American services.Though the Joint Board did exist, its authority and services were of little use to the CCS. Although its 1935 publication, Joint Action of the Army and Navy, gave some guidance for the joint operations during World War II, the Joint Board held little influence in that war. Following the end of WWII, the Joint Board was officially disbanded in 1947. The Joint Chiefs of Staff was created, in part to present a common front to the British Chiefs of Staff, in early 1942 holding its first formal meeting on 9 February to coordinate U.S. military operations between War and Navy Departments.[12][13]To fill the need for a coordinated effort and to provide coordinated staff work, Admiral William D. Leahy proposed a concept of a "unified high command" in what would be called the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On 20 July 1942, Admiral Leahy became the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy ("Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States" being the military title of the U.S. President, per Article II, § 2, of the Constitution), and created a staff of the chiefs of staff of the services to serve under him.While serving as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Commandant of the Marine Corps, or Commandant of the Coast Guard, the salary is $20,263.50 a month, regardless of cumulative years of service computed under section 205 of title 37, United States Code.3.The first members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were:Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy USN Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy andSpecial Presidential Military AdvisorGeneral of the Army George C. Marshall USA Chief of Staff of the United States ArmyFleet Admiral Ernest J. King USN Chief of Naval Operations andCommander in Chief of the United States FleetGeneral of the Army* Henry H. Arnold USAAF Deputy Army Chief of Staff for Air andChief of the Army Air Forces*Arnold was later appointed to the grade of General of the Air Force. His rank while serving as Chief of the Army Air Forces was General of the Army.National Security Act of 1947US Joint Chiefs of Staff, November 1989With the end of World War II, the Joint Chiefs of Staff was officially established under the National Security Act of 1947. Per the National Security Act, the JCS consisted of a Chairman, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (which was established as a separate service by the same Act), and the Chief of Naval Operations. The Commandant of the Marine Corps was to be consulted on matters concerning the Corps, but was not a regular member; General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., Commandant in 1952–55, was the first to sit as an occasional member. The law was amended during the term of General Louis H. Wilson, Jr. (1975–79), making the Commandant a full-time JCS member in parity with the other three DoD services.The position of Vice Chairman was created by the Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986 to complement the CJCS, as well as to delegate some of the Chairman's responsibilities, particularly resource allocation through the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC).General Colin L. Powell (1989–93) was the first and, as of 2011, the only African American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Peter Pace (Vice Chairman 2001–05; Chairman, 2005–07) was the first Marine to serve in either position. No woman has ever served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.National Defense Authorization Act of 2012A provision in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act added the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Guard historians called it the "most significant development" for the National Guard since the Militia Act of 1903.After the 1986 reorganization of the military undertaken by the Goldwater-Nichols Act, the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not have operational command of U.S. military forces. Responsibility for conducting military operations goes from the President to the Secretary of Defense directly to the commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands and thus bypasses the Joint Chiefs of Staff completely.Today, their primary responsibility is to ensure the personnel readiness, policy, planning and training of their respective military services for the combatant commanders to utilize. The Joint Chiefs of Staff also act in a military advisory capacity for the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense. In addition, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff acts as the chief military advisor to the President and the Secretary of Defense. In this strictly advisory role, the Joint Chiefs constitute the second-highest deliberatory body for military policy, after the National Security Council, which includes the President and other officials besides the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.