The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consist of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States, along with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council on military matters. The composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is defined by statute and consists of a chairman (CJCS), a vice chairman (VJCS), the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Each of the individual service chiefs, outside their JCS obligations, works directly under the secretaries of their respective military departments, e.g. the secretary of the Army, the secretary of the Navy, and the secretary of the Air Force.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces and the principal military advisor to the president, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the secretary of defense. 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 several branches of the United States Armed Forces are represented by flags. Within the U.S. military, various flags fly on various occasions, and on various ships, bases, camps, and military academies.
The United States Navy Chaplain Corps is the body of military chaplains of the United States Navy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is "to promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the members of the Department of the Navy," which includes the Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Additionally, the Chaplain Corps provides chaplains to the United States Coast Guard.
In the United States military, a general is the most senior general-grade officer; it is the highest achievable commissioned officer rank that may be attained in the United States Armed Forces, with exception of the Navy and Coast Guard, which have the equivalent rank of admiral instead. The official and formal insignia of "general" is defined by its four stars.
The structure of the United States Navy consists of four main bodies: the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the operating forces, and the Shore Establishment.
The Chaplain Corps of the United States Air Force (USAF) is composed of both clergy—commissioned officers who have been endorsed and ordained by a religious organization—and enlisted Religious Affairs. As military chaplains, their main purpose is to support the free exercise of religion by members of the military service, their dependents, and other authorized personnel. They also provide advice on spiritual, ethical, moral, and religious-accommodation issues to the leadership of the United States Department of Defense.
The Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy (CHC) is the highest-ranking military chaplain in the United States Navy and head of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. As part of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Department of the Navy, the CHC is dual-hatted as the Director of Religious Ministries (N097) under OPNAV. In these capacities, the CHC is the principal advisor to the secretary of the Navy, the chief of naval operations and, where appropriate, the commandant of the Marine Corps and commandant of the Coast Guard "on all matters pertaining to religion within the Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard." For administrative and personnel matters, the CHC reports to the chief of naval personnel.
The Chaplain of the United States Marine Corps (CHMC) is a position always filled by the officers serving as Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy as a "dual hatted" billet since 2000. The CHMC oversees religious ministry in the Marine Corps which one Commandant of the Marine Corps defined as "a vital function which enhances the personal, family, and community readiness of our Marines, sailors, and their families. Chaplaincy supports the foundational principle of free exercise of religion and helps to enrich the spiritual, moral and ethical fabric of the military."
Chief of Chaplains may refer to:
The Armed Forces Chaplains Board (AFCB) is an organizational entity within the United States Department of Defense established to provide advice and recommendations to OSD officials on policies and issues related to the free exercise of religion and on all matters concerning religion, spiritual readiness, morality, ethics, morale, and military chaplains. It is made up of the three Chiefs of Chaplains and three active-duty Deputy Chiefs of Chaplains of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
The Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force is the second senior-most chaplain in the United States Air Force Chaplain Corps, holding the rank of brigadier general, and acting as principal deputy to the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force.
The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has a complex organizational structure. It includes the Army, Navy, the Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, the Unified combatant commands, U.S. elements of multinational commands, as well as non-combat agencies such as the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. The DoD's annual budget was roughly US$496.1 billion in 2015. This figure is the base amount and does not include the $64.3 billion spent on "War/Non-War Supplementals". Including those items brings the total to $560.6 billion for 2015.
United States military chaplains hold positions in the armed forces of the United States and are charged with conducting religious services and providing counseling for their adherents. As of 2011, there are about 2,900 chaplains in the Army, among the active duty, reserve, and National Guard components.
The International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference is an organization of the principal leaders of the national groups of military chaplains. Begun as a conference of the heads of chaplaincies of countries in the NATO alliance, it has expanded its participation.
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
