The United States secretary of defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president of the United States, who is the commander-in-chief. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a defense minister in many other countries. The president appoints the secretary of defense with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of the U.S. people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America". Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil works. USACE has 37,000 civilian and military personnel, making it one of the world's largest public engineering, design, and construction management agencies. The USACE workforce is approximately 97% civilian, 3% active duty military. The civilian workforce is mainly located in the United States, Europe and in select Middle East office locations. Civilians do not function as active duty military and are not required to be in active war and combat zones; however, volunteer opportunities do exist for civilians to do so.
Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. Over 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres in Arlington County, Virginia.
The United States Public Health Service is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant Secretary for Health oversees the PHS. The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) is the federal uniformed service of the PHS, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.
During the American Civil War, the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the collective Union of the states, was often referred to as the Union army, the federal army, or the northern army. It proved essential to the restoration and preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic.
The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is organized, and it is led by the secretary of the Army, who has statutory authority under 10 United States Code § 7013 to conduct its affairs and to prescribe regulations for its government, subject to the limits of the law, and the directions of the secretary of defense and the president.
A military staff or general staff is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military unit in their command and control role through planning, analysis, and information gathering, as well as by relaying, coordinating, and supervising the execution of their plans and orders, especially in case of multiple simultaneous and rapidly changing complex operations. They are organised into functional groups such as administration, logistics, operations, intelligence, training, etc. They provide multi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer, subordinate military units and other stakeholders. A centralised general staff results in tighter top-down control but requires larger staff at headquarters (HQ) and reduces accuracy of orientation of field operations, whereas a decentralised general staff results in enhanced situational focus, personal initiative, speed of localised action, OODA loop, and improved accuracy of orientation.
The United States Department of Justice National Security Division (NSD) handles national security functions of the department. Created by the 2005 USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization, the division consolidated all of the department's national security and intelligence functions into a single division. The division is headed by the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
The Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, or USC(IS), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the export of sensitive goods and technologies. The Under Secretary leads the Bureau of Industry and Security within the Commerce Department.
The Flood Control Act of 1928 authorized the United States Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct projects for the control of floods on the Mississippi River and its tributaries as well as the Sacramento River in California. It was sponsored by Senator Wesley L. Jones (R) of Washington and Representative Frank R. Reid (R) of Illinois, in response to the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is an operating agency of the U.S. Public Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on preventing, preparing for, and responding to the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters. Its functions include preparedness planning and response; building federal emergency medical operational capabilities; countermeasures research, advance development, and procurement; and grants to strengthen the capabilities of hospitals and health care systems in public health emergencies and medical disasters. The office provides federal support, including medical professionals through ASPR’s National Disaster Medical System, to augment state and local capabilities during an emergency or disaster.
The structure of the United States Army is complex, and can be interpreted in several different ways: active/reserve, operational/administrative, and branches/functional areas.
The Office of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT) pronounced A-salt) is known as OASA(ALT). OASA(ALT) serves, when delegated, as the Army Acquisition Executive, the Senior Procurement Executive, the Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, and as the senior research and development official for the Department of the Army. The OASA(ALT) also has the principal responsibility for all Department of the Army matters related to logistics.
The United States under secretary of the Army is the second-highest-ranking civilian official of the United States Department of the Army, serving directly under the United States Secretary of the Army. The Secretary and Under Secretary, together with two military officers, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army and the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, constitute the senior leaders of the United States Army.
Jo-Ellen Darcy is an American government official, most recently serving as the assistant secretary of the army from August 11, 2009, to January 20, 2017.
Michael Blumenfeld is an American executive who served as United States Assistant Secretary of the Army from 1979 to 1981.
The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment is a civilian office within the United States Department of the Army.
The U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC) is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. USAASC is headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va.
The Military Engineer Services (MES) is an inter-service organisation with military and civilian components of its officers and subordinate staff. MES is one of the oldest and largest government defence infrastructure-development agencies in India. Construction work is done with contracts, but maintenance is conducted by departmentally-employed labour (DEL) and contracts. MES is primarily employed in engineering and construction for the Indian Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Ordnance Factory Board, and the DRDO. It is also involved in complex projects, including hospitals, airfields, buildings, workshops, roads, runways, hangars, dockyards, airport terminals, sewage treatment plants, solar plants wharves, and other marine structures. MES has been entrusted with the construction of the Indian National War Memorial.
