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 United States 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.
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.
Personnel branches, in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), are groupings of related military occupations.
General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt was the 25th Chief of the Turkish General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, from 28 August 2006 to 28 August 2008.
Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu is a retired Turkish general who was the 23rd commander of the Turkish Armed Forces and on August 30, 1998, became Chief of the Turkish General Staff for a four-year term.
The Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces is the chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. He is appointed by the President of Turkey, who is the commander-in-chief. The position dates to the period of the Government of the Grand National Assembly and the Turkish War of Independence. The post has its own rank insignia, which is the OF-9 rank of the Chief of Staff's personal service branch surrounded by laurel wreaths. In practice, the position has always been held by a Turkish Land Forces officer.
Harold Mark McClelland was a United States Air Force (USAF) major general who is considered the father of Air Force communications. He founded and led the 19th Bombardment Group in the early 1930s, commanded Rockwell Field for a year then was groomed for higher leadership, becoming the inspector for the General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ) in 1937.
General Necdet Özel is a Turkish Army general, who served as the 28th Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. He also served as the commander of the Turkish Land Forces. General Necdet Özel is only the second in this position not to have NATO experience.
Ibrahim Abdul Ghafour El Orabi ; 20 May 1931– 18 September 2019) was an Egyptian Army Lieutenant General and the 13th and former Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces. He was a member of the Free Officers Movement, as defined by the Egyptian revolution of 1952. He served as the 7th Chief of Operations of the Armed Forces, the commander of the Second Field Army, commander of the 21st Armoured Division, Commander of the Arab Forces in Iraq, and as the commander of the Egyptian Armoured Corps, which was deployed in the North Yemen Civil War. As the chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Orabi was the second highest-ranking military officer in all of the Egyptian Armed Forces.
Major-General David Craig Aitchison is a Canadian military officer, who most recently served as the Deputy Commanding General for Operations with US Army Alaska. He is the former Director of Army Staff and Director of Infantry for the Canadian Forces, the former Commandant of the Infantry School, and the former Commander of the Combat Training Centre. MGen Aitchison holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick. a master's degree in Defence Studies from the Joint Command and Staff Program at the Canadian Forces College, as well as a master's degree in Military Art and Science from the United States Army School of Advanced Military Studies. Aitchison was promoted to Brigadier General, while serving as Chief of Staff for the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command - Operation INHERENT RESOLVE (CJFLCC-OIR). He was promoted major-general in June 2020 and took command of the Canadian Defense Academy in August 2020.
Hulusi Akar is a former four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a brigade commander in various NATO engagements including the International Security Assistance Force against the Taliban insurgency, Operation Deliberate Force during the Bosnian War, the Kosovo Force during the Kosovo War, as well as overseeing much of the Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War.
Ümit Dündar is a Turkish general who was temporarily Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces while Hulusi Akar was being held hostage by coup forces during the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.
Yaşar Güler is a Turkish general who currently serves as the Minister of National Defense. He previously served as the 30th Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces from 2018 to 2023.
General Nadeem Raza NI(M), HI(M) is a retired four-star army general of the Pakistan Army who got commissioned in 10 Sind Regiment in September 1985. He served 17th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Raza was previously the Corps Commander of the X Corps (Pakistan) and CGS and General Officer Commanding 9th infantry division, Wana and Commandant of the Pakistan Military Academy.
Hayri Bülent Alpkaya is Turkish retired four-star admiral who served as the 19th commander of the Turkish Naval Forces from 24 August 2001 to 28 August 2003. He has been commander of patrol boats and warships, including patrol craft, AB-27; destroyer escort, TCG Akhisar (PCE); and destroyer, TCG Istanbul (D340), collectively from 1969 to 1979.
Salih Zeki Çolak is a Turkish retired Army general who served as the 49th commander of the Turkish Land Forces from 17 August 2015 to 23 August 2017 and commander of the First Army by the Supreme Military Council in 2014, and chief of staff of the Land Forces.
Mustafa Rüştü Erdelhun was a Turkish general who served as the 10th chief of the Turkish General Staff in the Turkish Armed Forces from 23 August 1958 to 27 May 1960, and the 9th commander of the Turkish Land Forces from 1 August 1958 to 21 August 1958. He also served as commander of the 18th Corps and the Second Army.
Ahmet Nurettin Baransel was a Turkish general who served as the 7th chief of the Turkish General Staff from 28 May 1954 to 25 August 1955, 4th commander of the Turkish Land Forces from 25 June 1956 to 16 September 1957, 12th commander of the First Army from 4 November 1952 to 6 April 1954, and the 11th commander of the Third Army.
Anvar Afandiyev is an Azerbaijani military officer, serving as the lieutenant general in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. He is the Commander of the Azerbaijani Land Forces and a Deputy Minister of Defence of Azerbaijan. He had taken part in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
