Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

For other uses, see Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with White House Chief of Staff.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Seal of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Flag of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Incumbent General Charles Q. Brown Jr., USAF since 1 October 2023
Joint Chiefs of Staff Department of Defense
Type	Highest-ranking military officer
Abbreviation	CJCS
Member of	Joint Chiefs of Staff National Security Council
Reports to	President Secretary of Defense
Residence	Quarters 6, Fort Myer [1]
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia
Nominator	Secretary of Defense
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	4 years, not renewable
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C.   § 152 10 U.S.C.   § 153
Precursor	Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy
Formation	19 August 1949
First holder	General of the Army Omar Bradley
Deputy	Vice Chairman Director (Joint Staff) Senior Enlisted Advisor (Enlisted Matters)
Website	www.jcs.mil

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 ^[2] and the principal military advisor to the president, the National Security Council, ^[3] the Homeland Security Council, ^[3] and the secretary of defense. ^{[3] [4]} 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. ^[5]

The chairman convenes the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Joint Chiefs, an advisory body within the Department of Defense comprising the chairman, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of staff of the Army, the commandant of the Marine Corps, the chief of naval operations, the chief of staff of the Air Force, the chief of space operations, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau. ^[3] The post of a statutory and permanent Joint Chiefs of Staff chair was created by the 1949 amendments to the National Security Act of 1947. The 1986 Goldwater–Nichols Act elevated the chairman from the first among equals to becoming the "principal military advisor" to the president and the secretary of defense.

The Joint Staff, managed by the director of the Joint Staff and consisting of military personnel from all the services, assists the chairman in fulfilling his duties to the president and secretary of defense, and functions as a conduit and collector of information between the chairman and the combatant commanders. The National Military Command Center (NMCC) is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate (J-3).

Although the office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is considered very important and highly prestigious, neither the chairman, the vice chairman, nor the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a body has any command authority over combatant forces. The Goldwater–Nichols Act places the operational chain of command from the president to the secretary of defense directly to the commanders of the unified combatant commands. ^[6] However the service chiefs do have authority over personnel assignments and oversight over resources and personnel allocated to the combatant commands within their respective services (derived from the service secretaries).

The chairman may also transmit communications to the combatant commanders from the president and secretary of defense ^[7] as well as allocate additional funding to the combatant commanders if necessary. ^[8] The chairman also performs all other functions prescribed under 10 U.S.C.   § 153 or allocates those duties and responsibilities to other officers in the joint staff.

The current chairman is General Charles Q. Brown Jr., who assumed office on 1 October 2023, having been ceremonially sworn in on 29 September. ^[9]

Organization and assistants

JCS chairman General George S. Brown with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 15, 1976.

The principal deputy to the chairman is the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VCJCS), another four-star general or admiral, who among many duties chairs the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC).

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is assisted by the Joint Staff, led by the director of the Joint Staff, a three-star general or admiral. The Joint Staff is an organization composed of approximately equal numbers of officers contributed by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force who have been assigned to assist the chairman with the unified strategic direction, operation, and integration of the combatant land, naval, air, and space forces. The National Military Command Center (NMCC) is part of the Joint Staff operations directorate (J-3).

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is also advised on enlisted personnel matters by the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman, who serves as a communication conduit between the chairman and the senior enlisted advisors (command sergeants major, command master chief petty officers, and command chief master sergeants) of the combatant commands.

Precursor

Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, served as the chief of staff to the commander in chief of the Army and Navy from 20 July 1942 to 21 March 1949. He presided over meetings of what was called the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ^[10] and Leahy's office was the precursor to the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Appointment and rank

Outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers swears in the incoming chairman, General Peter Pace as President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld look on at the change of command ceremony at Fort Myer, Virginia on September 30, 2005.

The chairman is nominated by the president for appointment from any of the regular components of the armed forces, and must be confirmed via majority vote by the Senate. ^[2] The chairman and vice chairman may not be members of the same armed force service branch. ^[11] However, the president may waive that restriction for a limited period of time in order to provide for the orderly transition of officers appointed to serve in those positions. ^[11] The chairman serves a single four-year term of office ^{[2] [12]} at the pleasure of the president, ^[2] with reappointment to additional terms only possible during times of war or national emergency. ^[2]

Historically, the chairman served two two-year terms, until the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 amended the chairman's term of office to a single four-year term. ^[12] By statute, the chairman is appointed as a four-star general or admiral while holding office ^[2] and assumes office on 1 October of odd-numbered years. ^[2]

General George S. Brown is sworn in as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by Department of Defense General Counsel Martin Hoffman in the Pentagon on July 1, 1974.

Although the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Omar Bradley, was eventually awarded a fifth star, the CJCS does not receive one by right, and Bradley's award was so that his subordinate, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, would not outrank him. ^{[13] [14]} In the 1990s, there were proposals in Department of Defense academic circles to bestow on the chairman a five-star rank. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

Previously during the presidency of Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff position was rotated in accordance with the incumbent chairman's armed force service branch. In this rotation, the incoming chairman would be from a different service branch. For example, in 1957, following the retirement of Admiral Arthur Radford as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Eisenhower nominated Air Force general Nathan Twining as Radford's successor. When General Twining retired, Eisenhower nominated Army general Lyman Lemnitzer to succeed Twining as chairman ^[18]

In October 1962, when President Kennedy appointed Army general Maxwell Taylor as General Lemnitzer's successor, Kennedy eventually broke the traditional rotation for the position between the Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Army. Kennedy replaced a chairman who was from the Army with another general who was also from the Army. At that time, Kennedy should have appointed either Air Force chief of staff General Curtis LeMay, chief of naval operations Admiral George Anderson Jr., or commandant of the Marine Corps General David Shoup to succeed General Lemnitzer as the fifth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since that, the traditional rotation was abolished. ^{[19] [20] [18]}

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was an Army general for three consecutive terms from 1960 to 1970: General Lemnitzer served as chairman from 1960 until 1962. Lemnitzer was replaced by Army general Maxwell Taylor, who served from 1962 until 1964. Taylor was replaced by Army general Earle Wheeler, who served from 1964 until 1970. ^{[20] [21]} The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was also an Army general for three consecutive terms from 1989 to 2001: Army general Colin Powell served as chairman from 1989 until 1993 and was succeeded by Army general John Shalikashvilli, who served from 1993 until 1997. When General Shalikashvilli retired in 1997, he was also succeeded by Army general Hugh Shelton, who served from 1997 until 2001. ^[22]

According to the Monthly Rates of Basic Pay for commissioned officers, effective January 1, 2023, basic pay is limited to the rate of basic pay for level II of the Executive Schedule in effect during calendar year 2023, which is $17,675.10 per month for officers at pay grades O-7 through O-10. ^[23] This includes officers serving as chairman or vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, chief of staff of the Army, chief of naval operations, chief of staff of the Air Force, commandant of the Marine Corps, chief of space operations, commandant of the Coast Guard, chief of the National Guard Bureau, or the commanders of the unified combatant commands. ^[23]

List of chairmen

Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief (historical predecessor office)

No.	Portrait	Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Service branch	Secretaries of Defense	President
1		Leahy, William D. Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy (1875–1959)	20 July 1942	21 March 1949	6 years, 244 days	U.S. Navy	Henry L. Stimson Robert P. Patterson Kenneth C. Royall (of War) Frank Knox (of Navy) James V. Forrestal (1st DOD)	Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

No.	Portrait	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Service branch	Secretaries of Defense	President
1		Bradley, Omar General of the Army Omar Bradley (1893–1981)	19 August 1949	15 August 1953	3 years, 361 days	U.S. Army	Louis A. Johnson George C. Marshall Robert A. Lovett	Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower
2		Radford, Arthur W. Admiral Arthur W. Radford (1896–1973)	15 August 1953	15 August 1957	4 years, 0 days	U.S. Navy	Charles Erwin Wilson	Dwight D. Eisenhower
3		Twining, Nathan F. General Nathan F. Twining (1897–1982)	15 August 1957	30 September 1960	3 years, 46 days	U.S. Air Force	Charles Erwin Wilson Neil H. McElroy Thomas S. Gates	Dwight D. Eisenhower
4		Lemnitzer, LymanGeneral Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988)	1 October 1960	30 September 1962	2 years, 0 days	U.S. Army	Thomas S. Gates Robert McNamara	Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy
5		Taylor, MaxwellGeneral Maxwell D. Taylor (1901–1987)	1 October 1962	1 July 1964	1 year, 275 days	U.S. Army	Robert McNamara	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
6		Wheeler, EarleGeneral Earle Wheeler (1908–1975)	3 July 1964	2 July 1970	5 years, 364 days	U.S. Army	Robert McNamara Clark Clifford Melvin Laird	Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon
7		Moorer, ThomasAdmiral Thomas H. Moorer (1912–2004)	2 July 1970	1 July 1974	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Navy	Melvin Laird Elliot Richardson James R. Schlesinger	Richard Nixon
8		Brown, GeorgeGeneral George S. Brown (1918–1978)	1 July 1974	20 June 1978	3 years, 354 days	U.S. Air Force	James R. Schlesinger Donald Rumsfeld Harold Brown	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter
9		Jones, DavidGeneral David C. Jones (1921–2013)	21 June 1978	18 June 1982	3 years, 362 days	U.S. Air Force	Harold Brown Caspar Weinberger	Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan
10		Vessey Jr., John WilliamGeneral John William Vessey Jr. (1922–2016)	18 June 1982	30 September 1985	3 years, 104 days	U.S. Army	Caspar Weinberger	Ronald Reagan
11		Crowe, WilliamAdmiral William J. Crowe (1925–2007)	1 October 1985	30 September 1989	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Navy	Caspar Weinberger Frank Carlucci Dick Cheney	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush
12		Powell, ColinGeneral Colin Powell (1937–2021)	1 October 1989	30 September 1993	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Army	Dick Cheney Les Aspin	George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton
−		Jeremiah, DavidAdmiral David E. Jeremiah (1934–2013) Acting	1 October 1993	24 October 1993	23 days	U.S. Navy	Les Aspin	Bill Clinton
13		Shalikashvili, JohnGeneral John Shalikashvili (1936–2011)	25 October 1993	30 September 1997	3 years, 341 days	U.S. Army	Les Aspin William J. Perry William Cohen	Bill Clinton
14		Shelton, HughGeneral Hugh Shelton (born 1942)	1 October 1997	30 September 2001	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Army	William Cohen Donald Rumsfeld	Bill Clinton George W. Bush
15		Myers, RichardGeneral Richard Myers (born 1942)	1 October 2001	30 September 2005	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Air Force	Donald Rumsfeld	George W. Bush
16		Pace, PeterGeneral Peter Pace (born 1945)	1 October 2005	30 September 2007	1 year, 364 days	U.S. Marine Corps	Donald Rumsfeld Robert Gates	George W. Bush
17		Mullen, MichaelAdmiral Michael Mullen (born 1946)	1 October 2007	30 September 2011	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Navy	Robert Gates Leon Panetta	George W. Bush Barack Obama
18		Dempsey, MartinGeneral Martin Dempsey (born 1952)	1 October 2011	30 September 2015	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Army	Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel Ash Carter	Barack Obama
19		Dunford, JosephGeneral Joseph Dunford (born 1955)	1 October 2015	30 September 2019	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Marine Corps	Ash Carter Jim Mattis Mark Esper	Barack Obama Donald Trump
20		Milley, MarkGeneral Mark Milley (born 1958)	1 October 2019	30 September 2023	3 years, 364 days	U.S. Army	Mark Esper Lloyd Austin	Donald Trump Joe Biden
21		Brown, CharlesGeneral Charles Q. Brown Jr. (born 1962)	1 October 2023	Incumbent	203 days	U.S. Air Force	Lloyd Austin	Joe Biden

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by branches of service within the Department of Defense

• Army: 10
• Air Force: 5
• Navy: 4 ^[24]
• Marine Corps: 2
• Space Force: 0

Timeline

See also

• Chief of Defence
  • Chief of the Defence Force
  • Chief of the Defence Staff
  • Chief of the General Staff
• National Command Authority (United States)
• National Military Strategy (United States)
• Single Integrated Operational Plan
• Unified Command Plan

References

Citations

1. "Quarters Six, The Official Residence of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff" (PDF). Retrieved 17 May 2021.
2. 10 U.S.C.   § 152 Chairman: appointment; grade and rank
3. 10 U.S.C.   § 151 - Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions
4. "Joint Chiefs of Staff Official Web Site". Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2009. Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986
5. 10 U.S.C.   § 153 - Chairman: functions
6. 10 U.S.C.   § 162 - Combatant commands: assigned forces; chain of command
7. 10 U.S.C.   § 163 - Role of Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
8. 10 U.S.C.   § 166a - Combatant commands: funding through the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
9. "Webcast: Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in Honor of General Mark A. Milley and an Armed Forces Hail in Honor of General Charles Q. Brown Jr". DVIDS. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
10. "Washington Eats". Life. 5 October 1942. p. 95. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
11. 10 U.S.C.   § 154 - Vice Chairman
12. Public Law 114–328 - The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 increased the term length Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from two years to four years.
13. Abrams, Jim (22 March 1991). "Higher rank not in the stars for nation's top generals". Associated Press. Bradley received his fifth star in 1950 when he became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff so he would not be outranked by MacArthur.
14. Tillman, Barrett (2004). Brassey's D-Day encyclopedia: the Normandy invasion A-Z . Brassey's. p.  48. ISBN   978-1-57488-760-0 . Retrieved 22 February 2011. MacArthur, having been army chief of staff before World War II, was senior to everyone on the Joint Chiefs, and some observers felt that Bradley was given his fifth star in order to deal with the vainglorious field commander on an equal footing.
15. Organizing for National Security: The Role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Institute for Foreign Analysis. January 1986. p. 11. ISBN   9780895490742 . Retrieved 21 February 2011. There was some discussion of the proposal to grant the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs five-star rank, as a symbol of his status as the most senior officer in the armed forces.
16. Jones, Logan (February 2000). Toward the Valued Idea of Jointness: The Need for Unity of Command in U.S. Armed Forces (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center (Report). Naval War College. p. 2. ADA378445. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2011. Promoting the Chairman to the five-star rank and ceding to him operational and administrative control of all U.S. Armed Forces would enable him to provide a unifying vision...
17. Owsley, Robert Clark (June 1997). Goldwater-Nichols Almost Got It Right: A Fifth Star for the Chairman (PDF) (Report). Naval War College. p. 14. ADA328220. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2011. ...Chairman's title be changed to Commander of the Armed Forces and commensurate with the title and authority he be assigned the grade of five stars.
18. Rearden, Steven L. (30 July 2012). Council of War: A History of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1942-1991. Military Bookshop. ISBN   978-1780398877.
19. McMaster, Herbert Raymond (8 May 1998). Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam. Harper Perennial. p. 22. ISBN   978-0060929084.
20. Perry, Mark (1 March 1989). Four-Stars: The Inside Story of The Forty-Year Battle Between The Joint Chiefs of Staff and America's Civilian Leaders. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN   978-0395429235.
21. McMaster, Herbert Raymond (9 May 1998). Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam. Harper Perennial. ISBN   978-0060929084.
22. Perry, Mark (24 October 2017). The Pentagon's Wars: The Military's Undeclared War Against America's Presidents. Basic Books. ISBN   978-0465079711.
23. "Defense Finance and Accounting Service > MilitaryMembers > payentitlements > Pay Tables > Basic Pay > CO". www.dfas.mil. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
24. Excluding Leahy, who served in a precursor position, and Jeremiah, who served as acting Chairman.

General sources

• Department of Defense Directive 5100.1: Functions of the Department of Defense and Its Major Components (PDF). Department of Defense Directive. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Defense. 21 December 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2011.
• "Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 Functions of the Department of Defense and Its Major Components". Office of the Secretary Defense, Director of Administration and Management, Directorate for Organizational & Management Planning. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.

External links

• Official website