The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) 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 Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence.
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 order of precedence is an advisory document maintained by the Ceremonials Division of the Office of the Chief of Protocol of the United States which lists the ceremonial order, or relative preeminence, for domestic and foreign government officials at diplomatic, ceremonial, and social events within the United States and abroad. The list is used to mitigate miscommunication and embarrassment in diplomacy, and offer a distinct and concrete spectrum of preeminence for ceremonies. Often the document is used to advise diplomatic and ceremonial event planners on seating charts and order of introduction. Former presidents, vice presidents, first ladies, second ladies, and secretaries of state and retired Supreme Court justices are also included in the list.
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 director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior cabinet-level United States government official, required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and to direct and oversee the National Intelligence Program (NIP). All 18 IC agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA), report directly to the DNI.
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.
James Arthur Williams was a United States Army lieutenant general. Williams served as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in the 1980s. He was a 1987 inductee of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and was the chairman of the board of directors for the National Military Intelligence Association.
Harry Edward Soyster is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General.
The Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance was a subordinate command of the United States Strategic Command, one of the nine Unified Combatant Commands under the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and co-located with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It served as the center for planning, execution, and assessment of the United States military's global Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance operations from 2005-2016; a key enabler in achieving global situational awareness. In 2016 JFCC-ISR was realigned to the Joint Staff.
Lieutenant General Michael David Maples, USA served as the 16th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), appointed on November 4, 2005. He was promoted to lieutenant general on November 29. Maples also commanded the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JFCC-ISR) for the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). He transferred his Directorship of the Defense Intelligence Agency and his command of JFCC-ISR to LTG Ronald Burgess on March 18, 2009. Maples formally served as the vice director of management of the Joint 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.
Lieutenant General Ronald Lee Burgess Jr., United States Army is a retired United States Army lieutenant general. His last military assignment was as the 17th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JFCC-ISR). Prior to that, he was Director of the Intelligence Staff in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The United States Department of Defense is an executive branch department of the federal government of the United States charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the U.S. government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces. As of November 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense is the second largest employer in the world after India, with over 1.4 million active-duty service personnel, including soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen, and guardians. The Department of Defense also maintains over 778,000 National Guard and reservists, and over 747,000 civilians, bringing the total to over 2.91 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the Department of Defense's stated mission is "to provide the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".
The Ministry of Defence is a government ministry of Nigeria with the statutory responsibility of overseeing and supervising the Nigerian Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defence is headed by the Minister of Defence, a cabinet-level head who reports directly to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Its main mission is to provide administrative and support services, timely and effectively to enable the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Patrick M. Hughes is a retired United States Army officer who served as the 12th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Previously, he was Director of Intelligence for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1994 to 1996 and the Director of Intelligence at United States Central Command from 1992 to 1994. He was the Commanding General, United States Army Intelligence Agency, and the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, U.S. Army from 1990 until 1992. He joined the United States Department of Homeland Security in 2003 as the Assistant Secretary for Information Analysis (Intelligence), and departed from DHS and Government service in March 2005.
Vice Admiral Lowell Edwin Jacoby, USN was the 14th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Previously he was Director for Intelligence (J-2) Joint Staff in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1999 to 2002, and the Director of Naval Intelligence and Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence from 1997 to 1999. He was the Director for Intelligence, U.S. Pacific Command from 1994 to 1997 and Commander, Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific from 1992 to 1994. He was Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, U.S. Pacific Fleet from 1990 to 1992.
The Military Intelligence Board (MIB) serves as the senior-level board for coordination of intelligence assets in support of military operations globally within the United States Government. The board is chaired by the Defense Intelligence Agency, a component of the United States Department of Defense, and seeks consensus across commands, agencies, and services. It serves as a forum to discuss any intelligence issues related to the military.
Vincent Raymond Stewart was a Jamaican-born American lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Commander at United States Cyber Command. He previously served as the 20th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). LtGen Stewart, who held that post from January 23, 2015 through October 3, 2017, was the first African American, first Jamaican American and first Marine to hold the position of Director of the DIA. LtGen Stewart was the 2023 William Oliver Baker Award Recipient presented by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance.
Robert Paul Ashley Jr. is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army who served as the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army G-2. He received a commission through ROTC as a 1984 graduate of Appalachian State University. He retired from active duty on October 1, 2020. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Arcanum, a global strategic intelligence company. He is the son of a United States Air Force veteran of the Korean War who later lived in North Carolina and worked a sewing machine mechanic. Ashley is a commissioner on the Afghanistan War Commission.
