The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. The CNO is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in this capacity, a military adviser to the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, the secretary of defense, and the president.
The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer and the head of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense.
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 master chief petty officer of the Navy is a unique non-commissioned rank and position of office of the United States Navy, which is designated as a special paygrade above E-9. The holder of this position is the most senior enlisted member of the U.S. Navy, equivalent to the sergeant major of the Army, chief master sergeant of the Air Force, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard, and chief master sergeant of the Space Force. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted sailor in the Navy, unless an enlisted sailor is serving as the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman. The current MCPON is James Honea.
Admiral is a four-star commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below fleet admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service do not have an established grade above admiral. Admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps has never had an officer hold the grade of admiral. However, 37 U.S.C. § 201 of the U.S. Code established the grade for the NOAA Corps, in case a position is created that merits the four-star grade.
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 vice chief of staff of the Army (VCSA) is the principal deputy to the chief of staff of the Army, and is the second-highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Department of the Army.
The Judge Advocate General of the Navy (JAG) is the highest-ranking uniformed lawyer in the United States Department of the Navy. The Judge Advocate General is the principal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations on legal matters pertaining to the Navy. The Judge Advocate General also performs other duties prescribed to him under 10 U.S.C. § 8088 and those prescribed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Admiral Frederick Joseph Horne was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy. As the first Vice Chief of Naval Operations, he directed all Navy logistics during World War II.
William Francis Moran is a United States Navy admiral who served as the 39th Vice Chief of Naval Operations from May 31, 2016, to June 10, 2019. He previously served as the Chief of Naval Personnel and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education (N1) from August 2, 2013, to May 27, 2016.
Lisa Marie Franchetti is a United States Navy admiral who has been the 33rd chief of naval operations, and due to having that position, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, since November 2, 2023. She is the first woman to be chief of naval operations, and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
