The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

(JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

Chairman: appointment; grade and rank and the principal military advisor to the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

, - Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions the Homeland Security Council, and the

secretary of defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

. Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986 While the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff outranks all other commissioned officers, the chairman is prohibited by law from having operational command authority over the armed forces; however, the chairman assists the president and the secretary of defense in exercising their command functions. The chairman convenes the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Joint Chiefs, an advisory body within the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

comprising the chairman, the

vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS) is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, - Vice Chairman ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vice chairman ...

, the chief of staff of the Army, the

commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

, the

chief of naval operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

, the chief of staff of the Air Force, the chief of space operations, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau. The post of a statutory and permanent Joint Chiefs of Staff chair was created by the 1949 amendments to the

National Security Act of 1947 The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...

. The 1986

Goldwater–Nichols Act The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of October 4, 1986 , (signed by President Ronald Reagan), made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the ...

elevated the chairman from the first among equals to becoming the "principal military advisor" to the president and the secretary of defense. The Joint Staff, managed by the director of the Joint Staff and consisting of military personnel from all the services, assists the chairman in fulfilling his duties to the president and secretary of defense, and functions as a conduit and collector of information between the chairman and the combatant commanders. The

National Military Command Center The National Military Command Center (NMCC) is a Pentagon command and communications center for the National Command Authority (i.e., the President of the United States and the United States Secretary of Defense). Maintained by the Department ...

(NMCC) is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate (J-3). Although the office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is considered very important and highly prestigious, neither the chairman, the vice chairman, nor the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a body has any command authority over combatant forces. The

places the operational chain of command from the

to the

directly to the commanders of the

unified combatant command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, ...

s. However the service chiefs do have authority over personnel assignments and oversight over resources and personnel allocated to the combatant commands within their respective services (derived from the service secretaries). The chairman may also transmit communications to the combatant commanders from the president and secretary of defense as well as allocate additional funding to the combatant commanders if necessary. The chairman also performs all other functions prescribed under or allocates those duties and responsibilities to other officers in the joint staff.

Organization and assistants

The principal deputy to the chairman is the

(VCJCS), another four-star general or admiral, who among many duties chairs the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC). The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is assisted by the Joint Staff, led by the director of the Joint Staff, a three-star general or admiral. The Joint Staff is an organization composed of approximately equal numbers of officers contributed by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force who have been assigned to assist the chairman with the unified strategic direction, operation, and integration of the combatant land, naval, air, and space forces. The

(NMCC) is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate (J-3). The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is also advised on enlisted personnel matters by the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman, who serves as a communication conduit between the chairman and the senior enlisted advisors ( command sergeants major, command master chief petty officers, and command chief master sergeants) of the combatant commands.

Precursor

Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, served as the chief of staff to the commander in chief of the Army and Navy from 20 July 1942 to 21 March 1949. He presided over meetings of what was called the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Leahy's office was the precursor to the post of ''Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff'', created in 1949.

Appointment and rank

The chairman is nominated by the president for appointment from any of the regular components of the armed forces, and must be confirmed via majority vote by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. The chairman and vice chairman may not be members of the same armed force service branch. - Vice Chairman However, the president may waive that restriction for a limited period of time in order to provide for the orderly transition of officers appointed to serve in those positions. The chairman serves a single four-year term of officePublic Law 114–328
- The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 increased the term length Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from two years to four years. at the pleasure of the president, with reappointment to additional terms only possible during times of war or national emergency. Historically, the chairman served two two-year terms, until the

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (; NDAA 2017Pub.L. 114-328 is a United States federal law specifying the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense (DOD) for Fiscal Year 2017. History ''Nation ...

amended the chairman's term of office to a single four-year term. By statute, the chairman is appointed as a four-star

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

while holding office and assumes office on 1 October of odd-numbered years. General George S

Although the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Omar Bradley, was eventually awarded a fifth star, the CJCS does not receive one by right, and Bradley's award was so that his subordinate, General of the Army

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

, would not outrank him. In the 1990s, there were proposals in

academic circles to bestow on the office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff a five-star rank. Previously during the presidency of Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff position was rotated in accordance with the incumbent chairman's armed force service branch. In this rotation, the incoming chairman would be from a different service branch. For example, in 1957, following the retirement of Admiral Arthur W. Radford as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Eisenhower nominated United States Air Force general Nathan F. Twining as Radford's successor. When General Twining retired, Eisenhower nominated Army general Lyman Lemnitzer to succeed Twining as However, in October 1962, when President Kennedy appointed Army general Maxwell Taylor as General Lemnitzer's successor, Kennedy eventually broke the traditional rotation for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff position between the Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Army. Kennedy replaced a chairman who was from the Army with a general who was also from the Army. At that time, Kennedy should have appointed either Air Force chief of staff General

Curtis E. LeMay Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was an American Air Force general who implemented a controversial strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. He later served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air ...

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

Admiral

George Whelan Anderson Jr. George Whelan Anderson Jr. (December 15, 1906 – March 20, 1992) was an admiral in the United States Navy and a diplomat. Serving as the Chief of Naval Operations between 1961 and 1963, he was in charge of the US blockade of Cuba during the 1962 ...

, or

Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

General David M. Shoup to succeed General Lemnitzer as the fifth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since that, the traditional rotation was abolished. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was an Army general for three consecutive terms from 1960 to 1970: Army general Lyman Lemnitzer served as chairman from 1960 until 1962. Lemnitzer was replaced by Army general Maxwell Taylor, who served from 1962 until 1964. Taylor was replaced by Army general Earle Wheeler, who served from 1964 until 1970. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was also an Army general for three consecutive terms from 1989 to 2001: Army general Colin Powell served as chairman from 1989 until 1993 and was succeeded by Army general John Shalikashvilli, who served from 1993 until 1997. When General Shalikashvilli retired in 1997, he was also succeeded by Army general Hugh Shelton, who served from 1997 until 2001. With Army general Mark Milley assuming the position of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October 2019, exactly half of the chairmen—10 out of 20—have been Army generals. According to the Monthly Rates of Basic Pay (Commissioned Officer) - effective January 1, 2020 ctually 2022 basic pay is limited to the rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule in effect during calendar year 2022, which is $16,974.90 per month for officers at pay grades O-7 through O-10. This includes officers 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, Chief of Space Operations, Commandant of the Coast Guard, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, or Commander of a unified or specified combatant command.

List of chairmen

Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief (historical predecessor office)

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by branches of service within the Department of Defense

* Army: 10 * Navy: 4 * Air Force: 4 * Marine Corps: 2 * Space Force: ''none''

Timeline

Gallery

File:General Nathan F. Twining is sworn in as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.jpg, General Nathan F. Twining is sworn in as the third chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1957. File:Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Nathan F. Twining at NATO Conference.jpg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Nathan F. Twining at a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

conference in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. File:Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General George S. Brown at a meeting following the assassinations in Beirut, 1976 - NARA - 7064949.jpg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General

George S. Brown George Scratchley Brown (17 August 1918 – 5 December 1978) was a United States Air Force general who served as the eighth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, he served as the senior military adviser to the president of t ...

during a press conference at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

in 1975. File:Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General George S. Brown.jpg, alt=, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General

with

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

Donald H. Rumsfeld during testimony at Senate Armed Services Committee on January 15, 1976. File:Zbigniew Brzezinski, David Aaron and General David Jones - NARA - 182846.tif, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General

David C. Jones David Charles Jones (July 9, 1921 – August 10, 2013) was a United States Air Force general and the ninth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, Jones served as the highest-ranking uniformed officer of the United States Armed ...

with

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

Zbigniew Brzezinski and Deputy National Security Advisor David Aaron during a

meeting at the

on December 20, 1978. File:Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff General David C. Jones lead briefing at The Pentagon.jpg, General

, the ninth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presides over a JCS meeting with the commanders of unified and specified commands in the Gold Room, also known as "The Tank", on January 15, 1981. File:The Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1981.jpg,

The Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

in 1981. File:General of the Army Omar Bradley and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General David C. Jones.jpg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General David C. Jones with former chairman Omar Bradley on January 20, 1981. File:Defense.gov News Photo 001201-D-2842B-001.jpg, General Hugh Shelton hosting a conference in the Pentagon for former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on December 1, 2000.Standing from left to right are: Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret); Gen. John W. Vessey, USA (Ret); Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, USN (Ret); Gen. Shelton, USA; Gen. David C. Jones, USAF (Ret); Adm. William J. Crowe, Jr., USN (Ret); and Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, USA (Ret). File:Joint Chiefs of Staff (December 2001).jpg,

photographed in "The Tank," in

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

in 2001. File:Defense.gov News Photo 030814-D-9880W-093.jpg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General

Richard B. Myers Richard Bowman Myers (born March 1, 1942) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United Stat ...

delivers opening remarks during a town hall meeting at

. File:Defense.gov News Photo 050920-D-9880W-085.jpg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General

with

Donald Rumsfeld during a press conference at

on September 20, 2003. File:Defense.gov News Photo 050629-F-0193C-075.jpg, Chairman of the

General

Peter Pace Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman and the first Marine officer to be appointed ...

testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 29, 2005. File:2007 Coca-Cola 600 - Gen. Peter Pace, Lynne Pace applause - 070527-F-0193C-025.JPG, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General

and his wife, Lynne, applaud the military demonstrations at Lowe's Motor Speedway in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

on May 27, 2007. File:Defense.gov photo essay 090113-A-0193C-001.jpg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral

Michael Mullen Michael Glenn Mullen (born October 4, 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral, who served as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2007, to September 30, 2011. Mullen previously served as the Navy's 28th chief of ...

with former chairmen

and

in 2009. File:Defense.gov News Photo 090218-N-0696M-001.jpg, Chairman of the

Admiral

speaking at Minot Air Force Base,

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, ...

on February 18, 2009. File:Defense.gov News Photo 090618-N-0696M-046.jpg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral

with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. File:Milley Sworn In as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 190930-D-SW162-2233.jpg, General

Mark A. Milley Mark Alexander Milley (born June 20, 1958) is a United States Army general who serves as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He previously served as the 39th chief of staff of the Army from August 14, 2015 to August 9, 2019, and hel ...

is sworn in as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by General Joseph Dunford, the outgoing chairman, in a ceremony at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall, September 30, 2019.

References

Citations

General sources

* *

External links

* {{Navboxes , list = {{CJCS {{Current JCS members {{Current US Department of Defense Secretaries {{United States Armed Forces {{Chief of military by country * USA Joint Chiefs of Staff

Organization and assistants

Precursor

Appointment and rank

List of chairmen

Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief (historical predecessor office)

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by branches of service within the Department of Defense

Timeline

Gallery

See also

References

Citations

General sources

External links