Legal Status
Defense Department
The Department of Defense is responsible for providing the military forces needed to deter war and protect the security of our country. The major elements of these forces are the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, consisting of about 1.3 million men and women on active duty. They are backed, in case of emergency, by the 825,000 members of the Reserve and National Guard. In addition, there are about 600,000 civilian employees in the Defense Department. Under the President, who is also Commander in Chief, the Secretary of Defense exercises authority, direction, and control over the Department, which includes the separately organized military departments of Army, Navy, and Air Force, the Joint Chiefs of Staff providing military advice, the combatant commands, and defense agencies and field activities established for specific purposes. The National Security Act Amendments of 1949 redesignated the National Military Establishment as the Department of Defense and established it as an executive department (10 U.S.C. 111), headed by the Secretary of Defense.
- Agency URL:
- http://www.defense.gov/
- Sub-agencies:
- Air Force Department
- Army Department
- Defense Acquisition Regulations System
- Defense Contract Audit Agency
- Defense Criminal Investigative Service
- Defense Information Systems Agency
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- Defense Investigative Service
- Defense Logistics Agency
- Defense Mapping Agency
- Defense Special Weapons Agency
- Engineers Corps
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- National Security Agency/Central Security Service
- Navy Department
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
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Federal Acquisition Regulation; Privacy Training
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require that contractors, whose employees have access to a system of records or handle personally identifiable information, complete privacy training.
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Use of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reservoir Projects for Domestic, Municipal & Industrial Water Supply
The Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposes to update and clarify its policies governing the use of its reservoir projects for domestic, municipal and industrial water supply pursuant to Section 6 of the Flood Control Act of 1944 and the Water Supply Act of 1958 (WSA). Specifically, the Corps proposes to define key...
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National Security Education Program (NSEP) and NSEP Service Agreement
This final rule implements the responsibilities of the Secretary of Defense for administering the National Security Education Program (NSEP) and explains the responsibilities of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) for policy and funding oversight for NSEP. It discusses requirements for administering and...
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DoD Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP)
This final rule establishes policy, assigns responsibilities, and provides procedures to be used by DoD personnel for the operation and management of the DoD ELAP. The DoD ELAP provides a unified DoD program through which commercial environmental laboratories can voluntarily demonstrate competency and document conformance to the international...
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Withholding of Unclassified Technical Data and Technology From Public Disclosure
This rulemaking establishes policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for the dissemination and withholding of certain unclassified technical data and technology subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). It applies to DoD components, their contractors and...
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Federal Acquisition Regulation: Sustainable Acquisition
DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement Executive Order, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade, and the biobased product acquisition provisions of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (also known as the 2014 Farm Bill).
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Defense Science Board; Notice of Federal Advisory Committee Meetings
The 2017 Defense Science Board (DSB) Summer Study Task Force on Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st Century's Multi-Polar, Multi-Threat Strategic Environment (``the Nuclear Deterrence Summer Study Task Force'') will meet in closed session on Tuesday, January 24, 2017, from 8:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Virginia Tech...
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Charter Amendment of Department of Defense Federal Advisory Committees
The Department of Defense (DoD) is publishing this notice to announce that it is amending the charter for the Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery.
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Notice of Availability of Government-Owned Inventions; Available for Licensing
The inventions listed below are assigned to the United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy and are available for domestic and foreign licensing by the Department of the Navy. The following patents are available for licensing: Patent No. 9,536,620 (Navy Case No. 200321): METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING THE RADIATION...
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Termination of Department of Defense Federal Advisory Committees
The Department of Defense (DoD) is publishing this notice to announce that it is terminating the Advisory Council on Dependents' Education.
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Meeting of the Ocean Research Advisory Panel
The Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) will hold a regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting will be open to the public.
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Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
The Department of Defense has submitted to OMB for clearance, the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
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Federal Acquisition Regulation; Prohibition on Reimbursement for Congressional Investigations and Inquiries
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 857 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. `Buck' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. This section provides additional requirements relative to the allowability of costs incurred by a contractor in connection...
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Federal Acquisition Regulation; Contracts Under the Small Business Administration 8(a) Program
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement regulatory clarifications made by the Small Business Administration regarding the 8(a) program.
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Federal Acquisition Regulation; Acquisition Threshold for Special Emergency Procurement Authority
DoD, GSA, and NASA are issuing a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 to raise the simplified acquisition threshold for special emergency procurement authority.