The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that 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 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.
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.
William E. "Kip" Ward is a retired United States Army three-star general who served as the inaugural Commander of United States Africa Command from October 1, 2007 to March 8, 2011. During his long career in public service, he has taught international affairs and relations at West Point, US Military Academy; served as Commander of Stabilization Force, Operation Joint Forge, Sarajevo, Bosnia; was appointed the Secretary of State's Security Coordinator to the Israel - Palestinian Authority; Deputy Commander, Headquarters US European Command, Stuttgart, Germany; and many other progressively responsible assignments. He later retired and served as President and chief operating officer of the logistics, IT, and engineering business, Vectrus.
Curtis Michael "Mike" Scaparrotti is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as the commander of United States European Command. He concurrently served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Scaparrotti previously served as the director of the Joint Staff. Prior to his tour with the Joint Staff, Scaparrotti served as commander, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command and deputy commander, U.S. Forces – Afghanistan, the commanding general of I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Victor Eugene "Gene" Renuart Jr. is a retired United States Air Force four-star general. His last military assignment was as the commander of United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command from March 23, 2007, to May 19, 2010. Prior to that, he served as director of strategic plans and policy, the Joint Staff. Renuart retired from the Air Force on July 1, 2010, after over 39 years of service.
Steven Lloyd Kwast is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant general. He last served as commander of Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. In that role, he was responsible for the recruiting, training and education of Air Force personnel. The command includes Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered air forces and Air University. The command operates more than 1,400 trainer, fighter and mobility aircraft, 23 wings, 10 bases and five geographically separated groups. It trains more than 293,000 students per year with approximately 60,000 active-duty, Reserve, Guard, civilian and contractor personnel.
General Raymond Edward Johns Jr. is a retired United States Air Force officer who served as Commander, Air Mobility Command.
Kenneth Franklin McKenzie Jr. is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 14th commander of the United States Central Command from March 28, 2019 to April 1, 2022. He served as Director of the Joint Staff from July 5, 2017 after having previously served for two years as Director of Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5) on the Joint Staff.
William J. Walker is a retired United States Army major general and former Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the 38th House Sergeant at Arms and the first African-American to hold the office. He last served as the 23rd Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard. This responsibility includes command of the District of Columbia Army and Air National Guard units. Walker previously served in the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Special Agent and was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in January 2003, with his final assignment being Deputy Assistant Administrator in Charge of the Office of Strategic Warning Intelligence. Walker is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow.
Scott Alan Howell is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force, who most recently served as the 15th commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He previously served as the vice commander United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in Washington, D.C., where he planned, coordinated, and executed USSOCOM initiatives with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, military services, and other government agencies.
David Wayne Allvin is a United States Air Force four-star general who currently serves as the 40th vice chief of staff of the Air Force. He previously served as the director for strategy, plans, and policy, J-5, on the Joint Staff, and is a senior member, United States Delegation to the United Nations Military Staff Committee, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He provided strategic direction, policy guidance and planning focus to develop and execute the National Military Strategy. As the director for strategy, plans, and policy, he enables the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide military advice to the president, the secretary of defense, and the National Security Council. He has assumed the office of vice chief of staff on November 16, 2020.
Lance Keith Landrum is an active duty United States Air Force lieutenant general who serves as the 23rd Deputy Chair of the NATO Military Committee since October 11, 2021. He most recently served as a special assistant to the commander of the United States European Command and prior to that served as the Director of Operations (J3) for United States European Command from July 2020 to July 2021.
Lieutenant General William H. Etter is a retired United States Air Force officer who last served as commander of 1st Air Force and commander of Continental North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, from March 2013 to August 2016.
This is a list of all commanders, deputy commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and chiefs of staff of the United States Northern Command.
Rodney D. Lewis is a United States Air Force major general who serves as deputy director for force protection of the Joint Staff and the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization. He most recently served as the Director of Strategy, Posture, and Assessments of the United States Air Force and, prior to that, was the Deputy Director for Operations of the Joint Staff.
Stephen J. Maranian is a United States Army major general who commands the 56th Artillery Command. Commissioned in 1988 as a Field Artillery officer, Maranian has served continuously on active duty, commanding from the platoon to the two-star level. He has served in combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than half of his career has been spent overseas as of 2023. Maranian holds two master's degrees and is a graduate of both the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College; he has also graduated from the NATO Defense College and the Defense Language Institute.
This is a list of all commanders, deputy commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and chiefs of staff of the United States European Command.
The United States military representative to the NATO Military Committee (USMILREP) is the senior uniformed representative of the United States Armed Forces on the NATO Military Committee. The appointee, an officer of the United States Armed Forces at the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral, represents the United States on the NATO Military Committee and is responsible for articulating and providing military advice to the Chair of the NATO Military Committee. The representative has a deputy who holds the one-star rank of brigadier general or rear admiral.
This is a list of all commanders, deputy commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and chiefs of staff of the United States Strategic Command.
