Although the three service secretaries were reduced to sub-Cabinetlevel positions soon after the creation of the act, ceding most of their responsibilities and authority to the new secretary of defense, they remained in command of each of the military departments. division was between those who thought a complete reorganization should take place, to create a new, completely unified department, and those who thought the organization as it stood simply needed to be modified by creating another level of management at the top to better coordinate everything. When the act took its final form, the principle of civilian control of the military remained, although its implementation had changed. The National Security Act of 1947 created the National Military Establishment, laying the foundation of what was later named the Department of Defense. The act formalized the structure of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and made it the highest ranking military advisory group, comprising members of the Army, Navy (including the Marine Corps) and the newly created U.S. Air Force. In addition to the Air Force, the act created the National Security Council (NSC) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). With the CIA as its intelligence arm, the NSC was formed specifically as a civilian body to oversee the security of the United States in broad terms. The NSC took into account foreign, domestic, and military issues, and coordinated the military and civilian agencies of the government in national security matters. Perhaps more importantly, the act created the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The secretary of defense combined the offices of the secretary of war and secretary of the navy as principal defense policy advisers to the president, exercising authority over the entire Department of Defense. He also controlled and directed the national security policy of the nation. Under the authority of the president, the secretary of defense developed national defense policy, strategy, and the defense budget, and became the civilian leader who guided the military and represented it to Congress, the public, the media, and other nations. Although the three service secretaries were reduced to sub-Cabinet-level positions soon after the creation of the act, ceding most of their responsibilities and authority to the new Secretary of Defense, they remained in command of each of the military departments. Thus, they carried on the philosophy of civilian leadership of the armed forces, and remain responsible for organizing, training, supplying, and equipping forces for assignment to the Unified Combatant Commands, according to the Organization and Functions Guidebook of the Department of Defense (DOD). The DOD also includes four intelligence agencies: • Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) • National Security Agency (NSA) • National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) • National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
Other agencies under the DOD include: • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) • Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) • Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) • Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) • Defense Health Agency (DHA) • TRICARE Management Activity (TCMA) • Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) • Defense Legal Services Agency (DLSA) • Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) • Defense Media Activity (DMA) • Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) • Defense Security Service (DSS) • Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) • Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) • Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) • Missile Defense Agency (MDA) • Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) • National Guard Bureau (NGB) • Army National Guard (ARNG) • Air National Guard (ANG) • United States Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM) • Central Security Service (CSS) • National Assessment Group (NAG) The system has worked remarkably well, though it has seen a few changes over the years. The most significant was the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, which enhanced the powers of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and brought the long-held goal of jointness a giant step closer. The following year the Nunn-Cohen Amendment formed U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) as a separate command, which proved prescient in the first years of the 21st century, when asymmetrical warfare against terrorist organizations and insurgencies needed just such a command. When the Pentagon was completed some 75 years ago, the nation was embarking in a world war in which an old order would die and America would become the preeminent power in the world. Today America is challenged by rising powers as well as the resurgence of old adversaries while a war against terrorist organizations and non-state actors is waged across multiple domains. Strength, fortitude, courage, and ingenuity overcame a host of problems and challenges to the nation in the first 75 years of the existence of the Pentagon. Let us hope they continue to do so through the 21st century and beyond.
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