The Department Of Defense

The Department of Defense, was created to oversee activities related to the security of the United States, it's possessions, and it's interests, both domestic and around the world. It is a department of the federal government that is entrusted with the task of making sure that any challenges to the country's' security will be met in a proper manner. In other words, the first objective is to try to deter any such threats by negotiating in a peaceful manner and then using force, if necessary, as a last resort.

Also known as the DOD, the Department of Defense sets forth it's policies and goals by planning and prioritizing it's resources to meet any threat to our national security. This is done by making sure that all branches of the military are properly funded, trained and equipped, and that any adversary knows and understands the consequences of taking hostile actions against the United States or it's allies.

Created in 1947 under the National Security Act as a way to reduce rivalry amongst the different branches of service, the DOD incorporated the Department of War which was founded in 1789 and the Department of the Navy which was founded in 1798, under one governmental jurisdiction.

The Department of the Air Force, which had been a part of the War Department at the time, was also made a part of the Department of Defense.

The National Security Act of 1947 set up the National Military Establishment (NME) with James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. On August 10, 1949, the name was changed to The Department of Defense and the Secretary of Defense was given greater authority over the Army, Navy, and the Air Force which until then, had been separated into different departments in the government with little central authority.

Today, under the auspices of the Department of Defense is the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, as well as the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Marine Corps.

Along with over a million active duty men and women, the DOD employs hundreds of thousand of civilian workers and another million or more service personnel in the National Guard and Reserve forces.

The Air Force

The Navy

The Marines

The Coast Guard

The Army

The National Guard

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