The central organizational characteristic of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since its inception in 1942 has been the membership of the Chiefs of the military Services. The four Service Chiefs function both as the military leaders of their individual Services and as members of the JCS. The only JCS member without formal concurrent duties in his parent Service is the Chairman.

To guide the Service Chiefs in the performance of their dual responsibilities, Secretary of Defense Wilson promulgated a DoD Directive in 1954 which specified that "The Joint Staff work of each of the Chiefs of Staff shall take precedence over all other duties." (Department of Defense Directive 5158.1, "Method of Operation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Their Relationship With Other Staff Agencies of the Office of the Secretary of Defense," July 26, 1954) As a result, the Service Chiefs are supposed to free themselves for their JCS responsibilities by delegating much of the daily management of their Services to their Vice Chiefs.

The same 1954 Directive "broadened and strengthened" the functions of the Deputies to the Service Chiefs charged with responsibility for operations (the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans; the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy and Operations; the Marine Corps Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Policies and Operations; and the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations). These 3-star Operations Deputies play a crucial role in representing their Service Chiefs during the consideration and resolution of joint issues. For example, the Director of the Joint Staff chairs meetings of the Operations Deputies to consider less important issues or to screen major issues before they reach the Joint Chiefs themselves. The Operations Deputies also supervise the large Service Staffs which work closely with the Joint Staff to refine proposals for the JCS.

The following elements form the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

1. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Presiding over the JCS is the Chairman, the highest-ranking military officer in the armed forces. Despite his senior rank, he exercises little statutory authority independently of the other JCS members. Instead, he is specifically authorized by the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, to only preside over the JCS, to provide agendas for JCS meetings, to assist the JCS in conducting its business as promptly as practicable, to determine when issues under consideration shall be decided, and to inform the Secretary of Defense and the President of those issues upon which the JCS have not agreed.

The Chairman performs two of his most important duties on behalf of the JCS corporate body. First, Presidents have invited JCS Chairmen to participate as military advisors in meetings of the National Security Council. Second, the Chairman manages the Joint Staff "on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." In carrying out both of these duties, the Chairman is supposed to represent the corporate views of the JCS.

Within the Joint Staff is a small cell of officers which works directly for the JCS Chairman. A three-star flag or general officer serves as Assistant to the JCS Chairman. In that position, he usu

ally functions as the Chairman's "outside man" or as his representative to the organizations with which the JCS must work closely (i.e., the National Security Council, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Department of State.) Serving below the Assistant to the Chairman are five to seven officers who are designated as the Chairman's Staff Group. This small staff element is distinguished from the much larger Joint Staff in that it directly assists the Chairman in his participation in JCS deliberations.

2. The Joint Staff

The Joint Staff itself is organized along traditional military staff lines for the purpose of preparing plans and reports for consideration by the JCS. The National Security Act of 1947, as amended, limits the size of the Joint Staff to no more than 400 officers. Its major elements are briefly described below:

a. The Director of the Joint Staff (a three-star flag or general officer) serves as the "inside man" for the JCS and the JCS Chairman. He is responsible for supervising the Joint Staff and providing guidance to certain specialized activities of the OJCS.

b. The Manpower and Personnel Directorate (J-1) performs the following major functions:

(1) develops JCS positions on personnel issues;

(2) develops policies on joint and inter-service professional military education;

(3) provides policy guidance and staff supervision to the National Defense University;

(4) monitors U.S. manpower authorizations in joint and international activities that report to or through the JCS; and (5) plans and manages the selection and assignment of military personnel, except flag and general officers, for duty in the OJCS.

c. The Defense Intelligence Agency functions as the Intelligence Directorate (J-2).

d. The Operations Directorate (J-3) assists the JCS in carrying out its operational responsibilities as the military staff in the chain of command. J-3 performs the following major functions:

(1) reviews operations plans submitted by unified and specified commands and international treaty organizations to determine their feasibility;

(2) maintains information on the readiness status of forces assigned to unified and specified commands;

(3) manages the JCS military exercise program and coordinates for the OJCS all matters relating to exercises conducted by the unified and specified commands and the Services; and (4) supervises the National Military Command System.

e. The Logistics Directorate (J-4) performs the following major functions:

(1) reviews the logistic elements of joint operations plans; (2) monitors and evaluates mobility assets and programs; (3) coordinates with the Joint Deployment Agency and the transportation operating agencies (the Army's Military Traffic Management Command, the Navy's Military Sealift Command, and the Air Force's Military Airlift Command); and

(4) coordinates base development and pre-positioning programs for Southwest Asia.

f. The Plans and Policy Directorate (J-5) performs the following major functions:

(1) prepares strategic plans and studies;

(2) provides politico-military advice;

(3) monitors and supports JCS participation in international negotiations; and

(4) assists the JCS and the Chairman in addressing programmatic and budgetary matters.

g. The Command, Control, and Communications Systems Directorate (CS) develops policies, plans, and programs to ensure adequate C3 support to unified and specified commands for joint military operations.

3. OJCS Elements Outside the Joint Staff

Outside the Joint Staff but still within the umbrella Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are several staff elements that are considered to support the JCS less directly than the J-Directorates. This arbitrary distinction is primarily designed to circumvent the statutory ceiling on the size of the Joint Staff. An example of its artificial nature is the assignment of the Office of the JCS Chairman (which was described earlier) outside the Joint Staff.

In addition to a few offices that perform mostly administrative tasks, the OJCS beyond the Joint Staff includes the following significant staff elements:

a. The National Military Command System continuously monitors the worldwide military, political, and economic situation and assists the JCS in exercising operational direction over the combatant commands.

b. The Joint Analysis Directorate (formerly the Studies, Analysis, and Gaming Agency) prepares studies of military forces and plans, conducts joint war games and interagency politico-military simulations, and attempts to improve tools of analysis.

c. The Strategic Plans and Resource Analysis Agency, established in 1984, carries out the following functions:

(1) analyzes the warfighting requirements and resources of the unified and specified commands;

(2) assesses inputs to the Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS); and

(3) assists the JCS Chairman in his role as a member of the Defense Resources Board (DRB) and the Defense System Acquisition Review Council (DSARC).

4. OJCS Staffing Procedures

Although there is no statutory or administrative requirement for unanimity, the JCS and the Joint Staff rarely resolve issues without first reaching a consensus among the Services. Before most plans, studies, or recommendations for the Secretary of Defense or the President can represent the corporate position of the JCS, they must be refined and approved at several levels of the OJCS and the Services. This iterative system ensures that decisions on complex national security issues are not made without full consideration of

52-314 0-85--6