The
United States Department of Defense (
DOD or
DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to
national security and the
military. The organization and functions of the DOD are set forth in
Title 10 of the
United States Code.
The DOD is the major tenant of
The Pentagon building near
Washington, D.C., and has three major components the
Department of the Army, the
Department of the Navy, and the
Department of the Air Force. Among the many DOD agencies are the
Missile Defense Agency, the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the
Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), the
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the
National Security Agency (NSA). The department also operates several joint service schools, including the
National War College.
Organization
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense.
The Department includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, as well as non-combat agencies such as the
National Security Agency and the
Defense Intelligence Agency. The DoD's annual budget was roughly $786 billion in 2007. This figure does not include tens of billions more in supplemental expenditures allotted by Congress throughout the year, particularly for the
war in Iraq. It also does not include expenditures by the
Department of Energy on nuclear weapons design and testing.
Civilian control over matters other than operations is exercised through the three service departments, the
Department of the Army, the
Department of the Navy (which includes the
Marine Corps), and the
Department of the Air Force. Each is led by a service secretary, who are below
Cabinet rank.
In wartime, the Department of Defense has authority over the Coast Guard; in peacetime, that agency is under the control of the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Prior to the creation of DHS, the Coast Guard was under the control of the
Department of Transportation and earlier under the Department of the Treasury. According to the U.S. Code, the Coast Guard is at all times considered one of the five armed services of the United States. During times of declared war (or by Congressional direction), the Coast Guard operates as a part of the Navy; the service has not been under the auspices of Navy since World War II, but members have served in the undeclared wars and conflicts since then while the service remained in its peacetime department.
The Pentagon, in
Arlington County,
Virginia, across the
Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is the headquarters of the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense is protected by the
Pentagon Force Protection Agency which ensures law enforcement and security for The Pentagon and various other jurisdictions throughout the
National Capital Region (NCR).
Command structure
The
President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. military, though in that position he is a civilian and not a member of the military.
The command structure of the Department of Defense is defined by the
Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 (PL 99-433), signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 1 October 1986. The Act reworked the command structure of the United States military, introducing the most sweeping changes to the Department since it was established in the
National Security Act of 1947.
Under the act, the chain of command runs from the
President of the United States, through the Secretary of Defense, to the
combatant commanders (COCOM) who command all military forces within their area of responsibility. The
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service
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. Each service is responsible for organizing, training and equipping military units for the commanders of the various
Unified Combatant Commands.
Components
2005 DoD Structure.
- **Office of General Counsel
- ***Defense Legal Services Agency
- **Office of Inspector General
- **Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Internal Communications
- *Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
The
United States Naval Observatory falls under the Chief of Naval Operations. In 2003, the
National Communications System was moved to the
Department of Homeland Security, but only for executive purposes. The
National Communications System still centralizes its activities within the Department of Defense, since the human resources required by NCS (example: Military Departments) still reside within the Department of Defense, or for retention of practical maintenance.
Unified Combatant Commands
There are ten
Unified Combatant Commands; six regional and four functional. United States Africa Command became initially operational in October 2007.
| The Geographic Commands |
|---|
 | |
In 2007, a new
geographical command for Africa was authorized. This proposed significant changes to the areas of responsibility for other adjacent geographical commands as shown in the accompanying graphic.
Expenditures
Military spending as a percentage of
GDP.
The United States Department of Defense expenditures for
fiscal year 2009 are $651.2 billion. This does not take into account military spending outside of the Department of Defense, which when included increases the figure to between $859 billion and $1.16 trillion.
The United States and its closest allies are responsible for approximately two-thirds of global military spending (of which, in turn, the U.S. is responsible for the vast majority). Department of Defense spending accounts for 21% of the United States' federal budget, and approximately half of its federal
discretionary spending, which comprises all of the U.S. government's money not accounted for by pre-existing obligations.
However, in terms of per capita spending, the U.S. ranks third behind
Israel and
Singapore.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in 2003 the United States spent approximately 47% of the world's total military spending of US $956,000,000,000.
As a percentage of its GDP, the United States spent 4.06% on military in the year 2000, ranking it 28th in the world. This was higher than France's 2.6%, and lower than Saudi Arabia's 10%.
Also, since it is an all-volunteer force and since most jobs within it require high degrees of technical skill and personnel retention, the United States armed forces have dramatically higher personnel costs, both military and civilian, compared to the militaries of countries which use
conscription, many of which have far more
troops than the United States. However, only China has more standing troops than the United States.
Facilities and energy
DoD's Energy Conservation Investment Program (ECIP) improves the energy and water efficiency of existing Military Services' facilities. The program's projects help the Military Services save on energy usage and cost. . The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided $120 million for the ECIP.
Also the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has given money for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force,
Army Reserve,
Navy Reserve,
Marine Corps Reserve,
Air Force Reserve,
Army National Guard and
Air National Guard facilities to invest in
energy efficiency.
Energy use
The Department of Defense uses 4.6 billion gallons of fuel annually, or an average of 12.6 million gallons of fuel per day. A large Army division may use about 6,000 gallons per day. According to the 2005
CIA World Factbook, the DoD would rank 34th in the world in average daily oil use, coming in just behind Iraq and just ahead of Sweden.
In FY 2006, the DoD used almost 30,000 gigawatt hours (GWH) of electricity, at a cost of almost $2.2 billion. The DoD's electricity use would supply enough electricity to power more than 2.6 million average American homes. In electricity consumption, the DOD would rank 58th in the world, using slightly less than
Denmark and slightly more than
Syria (CIA World Factbook, 2006).
[Colonel Gregory J. Lengyel, USAF, The Brookings Institution, Department of Defense Energy Strategy, August 2007.]The DoD uses 93% of all US government fuel consumption (Air Force: 52%; Navy: 33%; Army: 7%. Other DoD: 1%).
The
Air Force is the largest user of fuel energy in the
federal government. The
Air Force uses 10% of the nation's aviation fuel (
JP-8 accounts for nearly 90% of Air Force fuels. This fuel usage breaks down as such: 82% jet fuel, 16% facility management and 2% ground vehicle/equipment. To meet renewable energy goals, it plans to certify its entire fleet on coal-to-liquid synthetic fuel blends by 2011. By 2016, it plans to fuel half of its domestic transportation by US-produced synthetic blends. The Airforce is currently the leading purchaser of renewable energy within the Federal government and has been a long time pioneer of renewable energy development and leadership.
The
US Army has recently prioritized renewable energy strategies in Iraq.
[Vogel, Steve. Pentagon Prioritizes Pursuit Of Alternative Fuel Sources, The Washington Post, 4/13/09] Strategies include the Tactical Garbage to Energy Refinery Program, which converts 1 ton of waste to 11 gallons of
JP-8 fuel, a
photovoltaic flexible, portable mat, insulating foam technology, hybrid-electric Manned Ground Vehicles (
MGV), and highly efficient portable cells.
The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gave more than $150 million to develop these technologies.
To boost its use of renewable energy and to increase its independence from a supply chain, the U.S. military has begun implementing the use of Skybuilt Power. Skybuilt Power is a company that designs highly portable power stations and devices that can be used in rugged, harsh environments to provide quick and efficient renewable energy. Skybuilt systems draw upon a combination of solar and wind power, fuel cells, batteries and diesel generators to create sustainable, transportable energy. The military can benefit from using these power systems through cutting their use of fossil fuels and saving many soldiers' lives. SkyBuilt’s systems can save up to 95% on fuel costs in the field. Skybuilt Power’s main products include the SkyStation, a complete power station that can be set up in rugged climates, the SkySkid, which can be transported easily via helicopter or forklift, the SkyTrailer, which directly provides energy to military grade trailers, and the SkyCase and SkyPAKs, which are man-portable renewable energy generators.
Especially important to the military are the SkyTrailers, which are used to power military grade trailers in transport. Many of the casualties of war are a result of attacks on fuel convoys. The SkyTrailer is designed to be usable within only an hour. Use of the Skybuilt Power systems can reduce the number of fuel convoys needed to power forward-operating military bases by cutting the military’s need for fossil fuels to power vehicles.
The Navy has tremendous variety within its maritime infrastructure. They are working on further developing wind and nuclear alternatives to traditional fuel engines. The Navy, like the Airforce is a leader in renewable development and was awarded the prestigious Platts Global Energy Award.
Current issues
On February 26, 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 "unsupported accounting entries". In addition, there have been several high-profile
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
investigations of the Department of Defense.
The GAO is also interested in ways DOD can partner with other government agencies to save money and create efficiencies. One way was through use of the
Veterans Administration's
Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) 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 health care facilities process the prescriptions. The CMOP then uploads this information from multiple facilities in its region. Once filled, the
United States Postal Service (USPS) 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.
The DOD and VA conducted a pilot program in FY 2003. In its 2005 report, GAO-05-555, the GAO 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.
The military's analysis of the missile strike on a dead U.S. spy satellite has revealed no sign of danger from debris, including no hazard from the satellite's fuel tank, a Pentagon spokesman said February 22, 2008. The launched missile successfully destroyed the fuel tank of an inoperable spy satellite, U.S. military officials said February 25, 2008.
In fall of 2006, the U.S. Defense Department accidentally shipped ballistic missile components instead of helicopter batteries to
Taiwan, it was reported on March 25, 2008. The parts were 1960s technology, designed for use with
Minuteman ballistic missiles. The missile components were first shipped from
F.E. Warren Air Force Base in
Wyoming to
Hill Air Force Base in
Utah in 2005.
On April 20, 2008,
The New York Times published an exposé accusing the U.S. Department of Defense of running a
propaganda "
message machine" to spread the administration's
talking points on
Iraq by briefing retired military commanders for
network television and
cable television appearances, where they were presented as independent analysts.
Military buildup
To meet the growing demands in the Middle East and around the world, Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates proposed to President Bush to increase the overall size of the military by approximately 92,000 troops over the course of five years. Specifically, the proposal calls for an Army troop cap of 545,000 to 550,000 active duty soldiers and a troop cap of 202,000 active duty Marines. The total active duty force of the United States after the buildup will be about 1,479,000.
There have also been calls to increase the sizes of the other branches of the military to match the increase in the Marines and Army.
Related legislation
See also
- The Berry Amendment, a U.S.C law that requires most goods used by the armed forces to be produced domestically.
