The national security depends on our defense
installations and facilities being in the right place, at the right time, with
the right qualities and capacities to protect our national resources. Those resources
have never been more important as America fights terrorists who plan and carry
out attacks on our facilities and our people. Our military servicemembers
and civilians operate in every time zone and in every climate. More than 450,000
employees are overseas, both afloat and ashore. The Defense Department manages
an inventory of installations and facilities to keep Americans safe. The Department’s
physical plant is huge by any standard, consisting of more than several hundred
thousand individual buildings and structures located at more than 5,000 different
locations or sites. When all sites are added together, the Department of Defense
utilizes over 30 million acres of land. These sites range from the very
small in size such as unoccupied sites supporting a single navigational aid that
sit on less than one-half acre, to the Army's vast White Sands Missile Range in
New Mexico with over 3.6 million acres, or the Navy’s large complex of installations
at Norfolk, Virginia with more than 78,000 employees. In Comparison ... In terms
of people and operations, we’re busier than just about all of the nation’s
largest private sector companies. The Department of Defense has a budget
of four hundred nineteen point three billion dollars and more than three million
employees; Wal-Mart has a budget of about two hundred twenty-seven billion dollars
and employs about one-point-three million people; Exxon-Mobil has a budget of
two hundred billion dollars and employs almost ninety-eight thousand; the GM company
budget equals one hundred eighty-one billion dollars, it has a workforce of three-hundred
sixty-five thousand people; and Ford has a budget of one-hundred sixty billion
dollars, and employs three-hundred fifty-four thousand, four hundred people.
TOP
The Department of Defense mission is accomplished
seeking out our nation’s best and brightest. Ninety-five percent of our
employees have high school diplomas versus seventy-nine percent of the national
work force; five-point-six percent of our troops have masters degrees versus four-point-nine
percent of the national work force.
TOP
Even with top notch recruits we would not be successful
if we didn’t provide leadership, professional development, and technical
training throughout their careers; we constantly build and reinforce core values
that everyone wearing a uniform must live by: duty, integrity, ethics, honor,
courage, and loyalty. Our core values are leadership, professionalism, and
technical know-how. The Chief Executive Officer: Our
chief executive officer is the President of the United States. Along with
the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council, the President determines
the security needs of the nation, and then take courses of action to ensure that
they are met. The President, in the constitutional role as commander-in-chief
of the armed forces, is the senior military authority in the nation and as such
is ultimately responsible for the protection of the United States from all enemies,
foreign and domestic. As part of the Constitution’s system of checks
and balances, our budget must be approved by the U.S. Congress, which acts as
our board of directors. We accomplish this by working with various committees
of both houses, primarily those dealing with funding, military operations, and
intelligence. Their decisions affect our well being and range from setting
civilian pay raises to funding major troop deployments. The
Stockholders: If the President is our CEO, and the Congress is our Board
of Directors, then our stockholders are the American people. Our stockholders
know us pretty well. Almost everyone has had a family member or friend who
either works for us now, or used to. We exist to protect these citizen stockholders,
for without their support we would be out of business. TOP Directions for military operations emanate from
the National Command Authority, a term used to collectively describe the President
and the Secretary of Defense. The President, as commander-in-chief of the
armed forces, is the ultimate authority. The Office of the Secretary of Defense
carries out the Secretary’s policies by tasking the military departments,
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the unified commands. •
The military departments train and equip the military forces. •
The Chairman plans and coordinates military deployments and operations. •
The unified commands conduct the military operations. Office
of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense helps
the Secretary plan, advise, and carry out the nation’s security policies
as directed by both the Secretary of Defense and the President. Four key
advisers work with the Secretary of Defense in critical areas of policy, finance,
force readiness, and purchasing. Basically, they manage ideas, money, people,
and material. TOP Policy
Our coordinator for ideas, formulates national security and defense policy
and integrates policies and plans to achieve security objectives. Finance
Our chief financial officer, oversees our budgetary and fiscal matters,
conducts program analysis and evaluation, and oversees programs to improve general
management. Force Readiness Our force readiness
director, or “people” person, oversees personnel management; the National
Guard and Reserve; health affairs; training; and personnel requirements and management,
to include equal opportunity, morale, welfare, and quality of life issues. Purchasing
The Purchasing Director oversees all matters relating to buying, researching,
testing, producing, and moving material goods, advises on the use of new technology,
protects the environment, and controls the Department’s use of atomic energy. TOP We train and equip the armed forces through our three
military departments: the Army, Navy and Air Force. The Marine Corps, mainly
an amphibious force, is part of the Department of the Navy. The primary
job of the military departments is to train and equip their personnel to perform
warfighting, peacekeeping and humanitarian/disaster assistance tasks. Army
The Army defends the land mass of the United States, its territories, commonwealths,
and possessions; it operates in more than 50 countries. Navy The Navy maintains,
trains, and equips combat-ready maritime forces capable of winning wars, deterring
aggression, and maintaining freedom of the seas. The U.S. Navy is America’s
forward deployed force and is a major deterrent to aggression around the world.
Our aircraft carriers, stationed in hotspots that include the Far East, the Persian
Gulf, and the Mediterranean Sea, provide a quick response to crises worldwide.
TOP Air
Force The Air Force provides a rapid, flexible, and when necessary,
a lethal air and space capability that can deliver forces anywhere in the world
in less than forty-eight hours; it routinely participates in peacekeeping, humanitarian,
and aeromedical evacuation missions, and actively patrols the skies above Iraq
Bosnia. Air Force crews annually fly missions into all but five nations of the
world. TOP Marine
Corps The U.S. Marine Corps maintains ready expeditionary forces,
sea-based and integrated air-ground units for contingency and combat operations,
and the means to stabilize or contain international disturbance. Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard provides law and maritime safety enforcement,
marine and environmental protection, and military naval support. Prior to
the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard was part of the
Department of Transportation during peacetime and part of the Navy's force in
times of war. However, since the attacks, it has become part of the Department
of Homeland Security. The U.S. Coast Guard provides unique, critical maritime
support, patrolling our shores, performing emergency rescue operations, containing
and cleaning up oil spills, and keeping billions of dollars worth of illegal drugs
from flooding American communities. Guard & Reserve The National
Guard and Reserve forces provide wartime military support. They are essential
to humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, and are integral to the Homeland
Security portion of our mission. Our National Guard and Reserve forces are
taking on new and more important roles, at home and abroad, as we transform our
national military strategy. Their personal ties to local communities are
the perfect fit for these emerging missions. &
TOP Office
of the Chairman, JCS An all-service, or “joint” service
office supports the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in his capacity as the
principal military advisor to the President, the National Security Council, and
the Secretary of Defense. Its “board of directors” consists
of the Chairman, his deputy, the Vice Chairman, and the four-star heads of the
four military services. The Chairman plans and coordinates military operations
involving U.S. forces and as such is responsible for the operation of the National
Military Command Center, commonly referred to as the “war room,” from
where all U.S. military operations are directed. He meets regularly with
the four Service chiefs to resolve issues and coordinate joint service activities. TOP Unified
Commanders The unified commanders are the direct link from the military
forces to the President and the Secretary of Defense. •
Five commanders have geographical responsibilities. •
Four commanders have worldwide responsibilities. The Secretary of Defense
exercises his authority over how the military is trained and equipped through
the Service secretaries; but uses a totally different method to exercise his authority
to deploy troops and exercise military power. This latter authority is directed,
with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the nine unified
commands. TOP Northern
Command Northern Command oversees the defense of the continental United
States, coordinates security and military relationships with Canada and Mexico,
and direct military assistance to U.S. civil authorities. For detailed information
about U.S. Northern Command please visit: http://www.northcom.mil. European
Command The European Command covers more than 13 million square
miles and includes 93 countries and territories, to include Iceland, Greenland,
the Azores, more than half of the Atlantic ocean, the Caspian sea, and Russia.
This territory extends from the North Cape of Norway, through the waters of the
Baltic and Mediterranean seas, most of Europe, and parts of the Middle East to
the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. For detailed information about U.S. European
Command please visit: http://www.eucom.mil. TOP Central
Command Central Command oversees the balance of the Mid-East, parts
of Africa and west Asia, and part of the Indian Ocean. For detailed information
about U.S. Central Command please visit: http://www.centcom.mil. Southern
Command Southern Command guards U.S. interests in the southern hemisphere,
including Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. For detailed information
about U.S. Southern Command please visit: http://www.southcom.mil. Pacific
Command Pacific Command covers 50 percent of the Earth's surface including
Southwest Asia, Australia, and shares with U.S. Northern Command responsibility
for Alaska. For detailed information about U.S. Pacific Command please visit:
http://www.pacom.mil. Africa
Command Africa Command started operations in October 2007. Its
mission entails coordinating the kind of support that will enable African governments
and existing regional organizations to have greater capacity to provide security
and respond in times of need. For detailed information about U.S. Africa Command,
please visit: http://www.africom.mil. TOP Joint
Forces Command Joint Forces Command is the "transformation laboratory"
for the U.S. military, in this capacity it searches for promising alternative
solutions for future operations through joint concept development and experimentation;
defines enhancements to joint warfighting requirements; develops joint warfighting
capabilities through joint training and solutions; and delivers joint forces and
capabilities to warfighting commanders. For detailed information about U.S. Joint
Forces Command please visit: http://www.jfcom.mil. Strategic
Command The Strategic and Space Commands merged in 2002 and is now known
as the Strategic Command which is responsible for controlling space; deterring
attacks on the United States and its allies, launching and operating the satellites
systems that support our forces worldwide and should deterrence fail, direcing
the use of our strategic forces. For detailed information about U.S. Strategic
Command please visit: http://www.stratcom.mil. TOP
Special Operations Command Special Operations
Command provides counter-paramilitary, counter-narcotics, guerilla, psychological
warfare, civil education, and insurgency capabilities in support of U.S. national
and international interests. Special Operations Command is responsible for special
military support. For detailed information about U.S. Special Operations Command
please visit: http://www.socom.mil/. Transportation
Command The Transportation Command provide air, land, and sea transportation
for the Department of Defense in times of peace and war. It moves people and property
around the world. For detailed information about U.S. Transportation Command please
visit: http://www.transcom.mil/. TOP The Department of Defense contributes
to homeland security through its military missions overseas, homeland defense,
and support to civil authorities. Ongoing military operations abroad have reduced
the terrorist threat against the United States. Homeland defense is the
protection of US sovereignty, territory, domestic population, and critical defense
infrastructure against external threats and aggression, or other threats as directed
by the President. The Department of Defense is responsible for homeland defense. Homeland
Defense includes missions such as domestic air defense, maritime intercept operations,
land-based defense of critical infrastructure and assets, and, when directed by
the President or the Secretary of Defense, the protection of US and its territory
from attack. The Department recognizes that threats planned or inspired by "external"
actors may materialize internally. The reference to "external threats"
does not limit where or how attacks could be planned and executed. The Department
is prepared to conduct homeland defense missions whenever the President, exercising
his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief, authorizes military actions. Defense
support of civil authorities, often referred to as civil support, is DoD support,
including Federal military forces, the Department's career civilian and contractor
personnel, and DoD agency and component assets, for domestic emergencies and for
designated law enforcement and other activities. The Department of Defense provides
defense support of civil authorities when directed to do so by the President or
Secretary of Defense. TOP Headquarters of the Department
of Defense, the Pentagon is one of the world's largest office buildings. It is
twice the size of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and has three times the floor
space of the Empire State Building in New York. Built during the early
years of World War II, it is still thought of as one of the most efficient office
buildings in the world. Despite 17.5 miles of corridors it takes only seven minutes
to walk between any two points in the building. There are five historic
elements of the Pentagon that are cited for special attention: •
The five outer facades of the Pentagon. •
The Center Courtyard and surrounding facades. •
The terrace fronting the Mall Entrance. •
The terrace fronting the River Entrance. •
The Pentagon’s distinctive five-sided shape. On October 5, 1992, the
Pentagon had been designated as a National Historical Landmark. This designation
also automatically placed the Pentagon in the National Register of Historic Places.
The 63-year-old structure is undergoing a $1 billion, multiyear renovation.
The project started in the early 1990s and involves a complete overhaul of the
interior of the Defense Department headquarters. The Pentagon renovation
project is divided into five wedges. Wedge 1 was almost complete when a terrorist-hijacked
commercial airliner slammed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The plane struck
that section, so it had to be rebuilt while construction continued on Wedge 2,
which was completed in December 2005. All five Wedges are expected to be complete
by December 2010. TOP It’s not tanks, planes or ships,
it’s... People We will never compromise on the quality of our most
important resource: the people who have chosen to serve you and serve the nation. They
are your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives. People
of whom we are very proud. These are the best of America. TOP •
To provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security
of the United States. •
Everything we do supports that primary mission. •
Nothing less is acceptable to us, or to the American people. The
Department of Defense Thank you for spending time with us. Are there
any questions? TOP |