Joint Chiefs of Staff
The United States Department of Defense body of senior uniformed leaders that advises the president and civilian defense officials on military matters.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the United States military's senior uniformed advisory body. It operates within the Department of Defense and advises the president, the secretary of defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council on military strategy, force structure, readiness, planning, policy, and the employment of the armed forces. The JCS is not a military service, a combatant command, or an operational headquarters. Its members retain responsibilities within their own services, while the Joint Staff provides the headquarters and analytical support needed to help the chairman and vice chairman perform their statutory duties. The modern institution grew out of the coordination problems exposed by the Spanish-American War and the First World War. The Army and Navy created a Joint Board in 1903 to improve cooperation, but the board had limited authority and could not compel either service to follow its recommendations. During the Second World War, the United States needed a more effective mechanism for coordinating national military operations and for working with the British Chiefs of Staff Committee. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill established the Combined Chiefs of Staff in 1942, while the United States developed the Joint Chiefs of Staff as its principal senior military coordinating body. Admiral William D. Leahy became chief of staff to the commander in chief, a wartime position that preceded the later statutory chairmanship. The National Security Act of 1947 formally established the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the postwar national-security structure. The initial statutory membership included the chairman, the Army chief of staff, the chief of naval operations, and the chief of staff of the newly independent Air Force. The Marine Corps commandant initially participated mainly on matters affecting the Marine Corps, but later legislation made the commandant a full member. The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 created the vice chairman and significantly clarified the division between military advice and operational command. The act placed the chairman as the principal military adviser to the president and secretary of defense, while preserving the operational chain of command from the president through the secretary of defense to the unified combatant commanders. The membership has subsequently expanded. The commandant of the Marine Corps became a full member in 1979. The chief of the National Guard Bureau joined the JCS through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. The chief of space operations became a statutory member after the creation of the United States Space Force and the related statutory changes took effect in 2020. The Coast Guard commandant is not a statutory JCS member because the Coast Guard normally operates under the Department of Homeland Security, although the commandant may attend meetings by invitation and the Coast Guard can be transferred to the Department of the Navy during war or a national emergency. The JCS's work includes strategic assessment, joint military planning, professional military education, force-development advice, requirements review, readiness assessment, and advice on the capabilities needed by combatant commanders. The chairman leads the meetings and coordinates the collective work of the chiefs, but does not command the military services or the combatant commands. Each service chief remains responsible for advising the secretary of the relevant military department and for organizing, training, and equipping that service. The Joint Staff, composed of personnel from across the services, supports the chairman and vice chairman and is managed by the director of the Joint Staff. The institution has also been significant in the history of military representation. Colin Powell became the first African American chairman in 1989. Charles Q. Brown Jr. became the secon…
History
The institutional roots of the Joint Chiefs of Staff lie in the difficulty of coordinating the expanding United States Army and Navy. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt established the Joint Army and Navy Board, bringing together representatives of the services' senior planning bodies. The board could discuss common problems and make recommendations, but it lacked authority to initiate work independently or enforce its conclusions. Its limitations became particularly visible during the First World War, when interservice disagreements and fragmented planning restricted its influence. The Joint Board was reorganized after the war. In 1919, the Army and Navy secretaries agreed to give it a broader membership and a supporting Joint Planning Committee. The revised body could develop recommendations on its own initiative and prepare mobilization plans. Nevertheless, it remained an advisory institution without the legal power to direct the services. The board's work helped develop the planning culture later used by the United States, but it did not become an effective unified command structure. The Second World War produced the decisive institutional change. At the 1942 Arcadia Conference, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the Combined Chiefs of Staff to coordinate the Anglo-American war effort. The British delegation already had a Chiefs of Staff Committee, while the United States needed a comparable senior coordinating mechanism. Admiral William D. Leahy proposed a unified high command arrangement, and the first formal meeting of the American Joint Chiefs took place on February 9, 1942. By July, Leahy had become chief of staff to the commander in chief, operating as the senior coordinator for the service chiefs. The wartime Joint Chiefs worked with the Combined Chiefs and helped coordinate strategic direction, force allocation, and planning across the Army, Navy, and Army Air Forces. The Joint Board continued to exist during part of the war but had little influence compared with the wartime Joint Chiefs. It was ultimately disbanded in 1947. That same year, the National Security Act formally established the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the postwar defense system. The original statutory arrangement included the chairman, the Army chief of staff, the chief of naval operations, and the chief of staff of the newly independent Air Force. The Marine Corps commandant initially had a more limited participation right, but the law was later amended so that the commandant became a full member with parity among the service chiefs. The Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 substantially redefined the JCS. It created the vice chairman and made the chairman the principal military adviser to the president and secretary of defense. Most importantly, it reinforced the distinction between military advice and operational command. The chairman and the Joint Chiefs advise, assess, plan, and coordinate, but do not command troops. The operational chain runs from the president to the secretary of defense and then to the commanders of the unified combatant commands. This arrangement was intended to reduce interservice rivalry, improve joint readiness, and give combatant commanders a clearer relationship with civilian leadership. Later legislation expanded the body's representation. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 added the chief of the National Guard Bureau, reflecting the Guard's growing role in domestic response, overseas deployments, and total-force planning. The creation of the Space Force led to another expansion: the chief of space operations became a statutory JCS member after the relevant provisions took effect in 2020. The Coast Guard remains outside the statutory membership because it normally belongs to the Department of Homeland Security, although its commandant may participate by invitation and the service can be transferred to the Navy during war or a national emergency. The Joint Staff in the Pentagon supports the chairman and vice chairman. It includes military and civilian personnel drawn from across the services and performs analysis, coordination, planning, requirements review, and policy support. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council, chaired by the vice chairman, examines major capability requirements and helps connect service modernization proposals with joint-force needs. The JCS therefore influences defense policy without functioning as a procurement agency or an operational headquarters. The institution has also reflected changing patterns of representation in senior American military leadership. Colin Powell became the first African American chairman in 1989. Charles Q. Brown Jr. became the second African American chairman in 2023 after becoming the first African American officer to lead one of the military services as Air Force chief of staff. Lisa Franchetti became the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs when she became chief of naval operations in 2023. The reported removal of Brown and Franchetti in 2025 drew attention because it represented an unusual simultaneous change involving two JCS members. Despite changes in membership and administration, the central constitutional and statutory function of the Joint Chiefs remains the provision of senior military advice to civilian authorities.
- 2023
Charles Q. Brown Jr. becomes chairman
[7]Brown became the 21st chairman and the second African American officer to hold the position.
- 2023
First woman joins the Joint Chiefs
[8]Lisa Franchetti became the first woman to serve as a JCS member.
- 2020
Space Force representation added
[5]The chief of space operations became a statutory member following the creation of the Space Force.
- 2012
National Guard Bureau chief added
[1]Congress added the chief of the National Guard Bureau as a statutory member.
- 2005
Senior enlisted adviser position begins
[6]Command Sergeant Major William Gainey became the first senior enlisted adviser to the chairman.
- 1986
Goldwater-Nichols reorganization
[3]The act created the vice chairman, strengthened the chairman's advisory role, and clarified the operational chain of command.
- 1947
Joint Chiefs formally established by statute
[2]The National Security Act placed the Joint Chiefs within the postwar United States defense and national-security framework.
- 1942
Wartime Joint Chiefs begin formal work
[1]The first formal meeting of the American Joint Chiefs took place during the Second World War, alongside the Anglo-American Combined Chiefs of Staff structure.
- 1903
Joint Army and Navy Board established
[1]The United States created an early interservice advisory board to address coordination problems between the Army and Navy.
Products and positioning
The senior uniformed advisory and coordinating institution in the United States defense establishment, positioned between the military services and civilian national-security leadership without holding operational command authority.
Defense planning and assessment
Joint Staff analysis
The Joint Staff produces analysis for the chairman and vice chairman on strategic conditions, military capabilities, readiness, force structure, and operational requirements. These outputs support advice to civilian leaders and help frame issues for interservice and interagency consideration.
Military planning · 1942
Joint military planning
The JCS coordinates national-level military planning and provides advice concerning contingency plans, strategic priorities, joint force employment, and the capabilities required by the unified combatant commands. It does not execute operations or issue orders to combatant forces.
Capability requirements · 1986
Joint Requirements Oversight Council
The council, chaired by the vice chairman, reviews major military capability requirements and helps assess whether proposed systems and force-development initiatives address joint operational needs rather than only the interests of one service.
Brand decisions
2020
Add the chief of space operationsProduct launchBackground
The United States established the Space Force as a separate military service.
Action taken
Statutory changes made the chief of space operations a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Aftermath
Space capabilities gained direct representation in the senior joint military advisory process.
2012
Add the chief of the National Guard BureauOtherBackground
The National Guard's role in domestic missions and overseas operations had expanded substantially.
Action taken
Congress made the chief of the National Guard Bureau a statutory member of the Joint Chiefs.
Aftermath
The Guard received direct representation in the senior military advisory forum.
1986
Implement Goldwater-Nichols joint-command reformsStrategyBackground
Persistent interservice coordination problems and concerns about fragmented military command led Congress to reorganize defense responsibilities.
Action taken
The law created the vice chairman, elevated the chairman's advisory role, and routed operational command around the Joint Chiefs to combatant commanders.
Aftermath
The JCS became more clearly an advisory and joint-integration body, while operational authority remained with the secretary of defense and combatant commanders.
1947
Create a statutory Joint Chiefs of StaffStrategyBackground
The postwar United States needed a permanent mechanism for senior military coordination after the temporary wartime arrangements of the Second World War.
Action taken
The National Security Act formally established the Joint Chiefs within the new national-security structure.
Aftermath
The JCS became a permanent advisory body in the Department of Defense rather than an improvised wartime committee.
Recent events
- 2025
Secretary of Defense dismisses Chairman Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti[1]
Leadership change · Other
The dismissals were reported as an unprecedented simultaneous removal of two members of the Joint Chiefs since the body's statutory creation in 1947.
- 2023
Charles Q. Brown Jr. becomes chairman[7]
Leadership change
Charles Q. Brown Jr. took office as the 21st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and became the second African American officer to hold the post.
- 2023
Lisa Franchetti becomes the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs[9]
Leadership change
Lisa Franchetti became chief of naval operations and the first woman to serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- 2020
Chief of Space Operations becomes a statutory Joint Chiefs member[5]
Regulation · Leadership change
Following the establishment of the Space Force, the chief of space operations became a statutory member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- 2012
Chief of the National Guard Bureau joins the Joint Chiefs[1]
Regulation · Leadership change
A provision of the National Defense Authorization Act added the chief of the National Guard Bureau as a statutory JCS member.
- 1989
Colin Powell becomes the first African American chairman[10]
Leadership change
Colin Powell became the first African American officer to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- 1986
Goldwater-Nichols Act creates the vice chairman and separates advice from operational command[3]
Regulation
Defense reorganization legislation created the vice chairman and strengthened the chairman's advisory role while routing operational command through the secretary of defense to combatant commanders.
- 1947
Joint Chiefs of Staff formally established under the National Security Act[1]
Other
The National Security Act created the postwar statutory Joint Chiefs of Staff as part of the new national-security and defense structure.
Sources10 sources
- 1Joint Chiefs of Staffen.wikipedia.org
- 2National Security Act of 1947en.wikipedia.org
- 3Goldwater-Nichols Acten.wikipedia.org
- 4Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffen.wikipedia.org
- 5United States Space Forceen.wikipedia.org
- 6Senior enlisted adviser position beginsen.wikipedia.org
- 7Charles Q. Brown Jr. becomes chairmanen.wikipedia.org
- 8First woman joins the Joint Chiefsen.wikipedia.org
- 9丽莎·弗兰凯蒂成为首位在参谋长联席会议任职的女性en.wikipedia.org
- 10科林·鲍威尔成为第一位非裔美国人主席en.wikipedia.org
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