What Are the Duties of the Department of Defense?
That the Department of Defense (DoD) houses the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force is well-known, but a handful of other major agencies are also under its purview. This makes it the single largest arm of the U.S. federal government. The DoD has the single largest number of employees. In 2008, it's slice of the federal budget was 21 percent, even after excluding appropriations for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and veterans obligations. Only Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid rival it in expense, but no other part of the government approaches the DoD in terms of scope and influence.
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The Military
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Housed under the umbrella of the DoD are the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The U.S. Marine Corps is considered part of the U.S. Navy. It is therefore responsible for the administration and oversight of the principal branches of the U.S. armed forces. Responsibilities for the military are divided into three major areas. First, the Departments, with their combined military and civilian staffs, are responsible for arming and training their respective armed service. Second, the Joint Chiefs of Staff make plans and coordinate activities. Third, are the Unified Commands, which are field headquarters responsible for joint military operations. For example, both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the responsibility of the Commander in Chief, Central Command.
Misconception: The Coast Guard
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A common misconception is that the U.S. Coast Guard is not, as a matter of law, America's fifth armed service. It is not, however, part of the DoD. When the DoD was created in 1947, the Coast Guard was placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Treasury. From there, it moved to the Department of Transportation, and then to the Department of Homeland Security. There is, however, a legal provision that the Department of the Navy can receive control over the Coast Guard during time of war, with the authority of Congress.
Intelligence
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Cold War era spy satellite photo.
A lesser known function of the DoD's national security role is in the collection of intelligence, and in many ways the Department is more important than the CIA in intelligence matters. The DoD has its own analysis agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It also engages in the electronic collection of intelligence through the famous National Security Agency (NSA), and satellite administrators like the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office.
Research and Procurement
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The DoD maintains a substantial bureaucracy for running the plethora of research projects and procurement contracts required to maintain a potent national defense. Arguably the best known of these agencies is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which played a major role in developing the fundamental computer technologies of the Internet. It also includes the more mundane tasks performed by organizations like the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Contract Management Agency, and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
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References
- Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons
