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 United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary investigative law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate major criminal activities involving the Navy and Marine Corps. However, its broad mandate includes national security, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, cyberwarfare, and the protection of U.S. naval assets worldwide. NCIS is the successor organization to the former Naval Investigative Service (NIS), which was established by the Office of Naval Intelligence after the Second World War. One-half of NCIS personnel are civilian, with the other half being US government investigators — 1811 series special agents. NCIS agents are armed federal law enforcement investigators, who frequently coordinate with other U.S. government agencies and have a presence in more than 41 countries and on U.S. Navy vessels. NCIS special agents are supported by analysts and other experts skilled in disciplines such as forensics, surveillance, surveillance countermeasures, computer investigations, physical security, and polygraph examinations.
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 Air Staff is one of the Department of the Air Force's two statutorily designated headquarters staffs: the other staff is the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, also known as the Secretariat. The Air Staff is established by the United States Code Title 10 chapter 905. The Air Staff is headed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General David Allvin. The Air Staff is primarily composed of uniformed United States Air Force officials who assist the Chief of Staff in carrying out his dual-hatted role: as the principal military advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force, and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The under secretary of defense for intelligence and security or USD(I&S) is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that acts as the principal civilian advisor and deputy to the secretary of defense (SecDef) and deputy secretary of defense (DepSecDef) on matters relating to military intelligence and security. The under secretary is appointed as a civilian by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve at the pleasure of the president.
The under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, or USD (P&R) is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) within the United States Department of Defense responsible for advising the secretary and deputy secretary of defense on recruitment, career development, pay and benefits, and oversight of the state of military readiness. The under secretary is appointed from civilian life by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve at the pleasure of the President.
The Oklahoma Military Department is an agency of the state of Oklahoma that serves as the administrative agency for all matters concerning the Oklahoma National Guard. Under the authority and direction of the Governor of Oklahoma as commander-in-chief, the agency is responsible for planning, establishing, and enforcing rules and procedures governing the administration, supply, and training of the Oklahoma National Guard, when not in the active service of the United States, and the Oklahoma State Guard. The Oklahoma Unorganized Militia, those citizens of the United States between 17-70 in Oklahoma, only exists in statute, and is not a "state military force," according to Oklahoma Code. The Department also maintains all state-owned, licensed or leased facilities, including Camp Gruber.
The Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) is a field operating agency of Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel.
The Air Force Safety Center is a field operating agency with headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, United States.
The U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center (USACRC) is a United States Army organization. The Army Safety Team provides safety and risk management expertise to the Army, DoD, and other agencies; develops, maintains and evaluates Army Safety policy and programs; and communicates relevant risk management information to Army Leaders for the preservation of our Soldiers, Civilians, Families and vital resources. It is located at Fort Novosel, Alabama, alongside the Army's major flight training unit.
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 Adjutant General School and the Soldier Support Institute (SSI) are located at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The school was formerly located at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, until its closure. These provide training and development of doctrine and organization for Army personnel and administrative operations. Along with the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) was created from the Continental Army Command (CONARC) located at Fort Monroe, VA on 1 July 1973. Today, TRADOC is the overseer of training of the Army forces, the development of operational doctrine, and the development and procurement of new weapons systems. The reconstructed Adjutant General Corp Regiment (AG) was created in 1987. The U.S. Army administration and finance specialists are trained at the Adjutant General School located at Fort Jackson. Today's AG Corps serves as human resource (HR) managers for the Army.
The Adjutant General's Corps, formerly the Adjutant General's Department, is a branch of the United States Army first established in 1775. This branch provides personnel service support by manning the force, providing human resources services, coordinating personnel support, Army band operations, and recruiting and retention. The objective of the Adjutant General Corps is to "maximize operational effectiveness of the total force by anticipating, manning, and sustaining military operations. HR support operations accomplish this by building, generating, and sustaining the force providing combatant commanders the required forces for missions and supporting leaders and Soldiers at all levels."
The Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC), located at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, is a 1,900-person primary subordinate unit, assigned to the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center which is one of six centers aligned under Air Force Materiel Command for the United States Air Force. The center is responsible for providing responsive, flexible full-spectrum installation engineering services. Conducting operations at more than 75 locations worldwide, the center's missions include facility investment planning, design and construction, operations support, real property management, energy support, environmental compliance and restoration, and audit assertions, acquisition and program management.
Major General William Estel Potts was a career officer in the United States Army and served as the 22nd Chief of Ordnance for the United States Army Ordnance Corps.
The People's Commissariat of Defence of the Soviet Union was the highest military department of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946.
Patricia Mulcahy is a member of the Senior Executive Service and a retired United States Army colonel who served as the deputy chief of space Operations for personnel of the United States Space Force. Prior to that she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Force Management Integration.
Troy Edward Dunn is a retired United States Air Force major general who served as special assistant and senior military advisor with duties at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness from 2023 to 2024. He previously served as commander of the Air Force Personnel Center from 2022 to 2023.
A deputy chief of space operations is a senior leadership position in the United States Space Force. There are four deputy chiefs of space operations in the Space Force, staffed either by a lieutenant general or a senior executive service personnel. They are the service's equivalent to the Army's and Air Force's deputy chiefs of staff, the Marine Corps' deputy commandants, and the Navy's deputy chiefs of naval operations. They are part of the Office of the Chief of Space Operations and hold office at the Pentagon.
