The President’s Cabinet: Defense can be offensive
This is the fifth in a series of articles on the President’s Cabinet. With the advent of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), it might be time to review the departments that support the President’s ongoing responsibilities to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare of our citizens.
In this article, I will cover the Cabinet position of the Secretary of Defense.
It’s simple — the Department of Defense (DoD) is responsible for national security and supervising U.S. military forces. But in the words of the legendary football coach and sportscaster Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend!” There is so much more to this American institution that currently employs 2.9 million dedicated souls.
It has a storied history. The DoD as we know it started in 1947 when it was established by the National Securities Act under President Truman. Three Cabinet-level entities (Army, Navy and Air Force) were combined and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), formed in 1942, was given statutory authority.
Attached to them is a Joint Staff of no more than 400 officers who support the JCS, along with several other elite organizations involved in the nation’s battle strategy, war plans, and ongoing operational procedures. The JCS is commanded by its Chairman — the nation’s highest ranking military official. The civilian Secretary of Defense oversees the entire organization. The military is apolitical and swears allegiance to the Constitution — not to the president.
Combat forces are organized under unified combat commands, which have various global assignments and responsibilities. All commands include soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines. There are more than 20 support agencies assigned to the DoD, two examples being the National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (secret satellites).
The original Department of War did not have a Navy, a Marine Corps, or a Coast Guard. Now it does, along with an Air Force and a Space Force. Included in its numbers are active, standby, and inactive reservists, and state national guards along with close to 900,000 civilians.
Three elite universities — West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy — are under its wings, along with a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). The Army Corps of Engineers performs civil functions to improve rivers and harbors for navigation along with flood control.
So, you can see how Corso’s quip applies. The DoD is an extensive and complex organization. And there is even more I cannot cover in 800 words.
Eighteen percent of the fighting forces are officers. Over 99% of our non-officers have a high school diploma or higher. Over 84% of the officers have a bachelor’s degree or higher; 6% of active-duty participants are women; minorities make up 31%. Close to 86% are stationed in the U.S. and U.S. territories. East Asia has about 6.8% and the rest are in Europe.
We have bases throughout the world, and the department is one of the globe’s leading landowners. It is the finest fighting force in the world. Peter Hegseth, former Army National Guard Major and Fox News Weekend host, is the current Secretary of Defense.
The original organization, known as the Department of War, was established in 1775, but George Washington created the cabinet position in 1789 and asked one of his former Revolutionary War generals, Henry Knox, to take the post. Like Washington, Knox was physically imposing, standing 6 foot, 3 inches, and weighing over 300 lbs.
But he was also a scholar, a great leader, and former Boston bookstore owner — a model for our future citizen soldiers. Knox proposed a regular standing army that originally numbered 700. Their original mission was to guard the western frontier. He also established additional general ranks and positions, like quartermaster and paymaster, to support the troops.
Through the years, the department has had many highly qualified and distinguished secretaries who have guided our military through countless wars and confrontations. They include James Monroe (later president), Ulysses S. Grant (former Union Army commander, and later, president), Robert Todd Lincoln (Abe’s son), George C. Marshall (the Marshall Plan), Dick Cheney (later vice president), and Lloyd Austin (first African American secretary). All swore loyalty to the Constitution — not to a president or a political party.
The headquarters for the DoD is in one of the world’s largest buildings, called the Pentagon. Located in northern Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., 27,000 people work there.
We live in a world full of ongoing wars and conflicts, along with enemies (perceived and actual) who are developing more sophisticated weaponry and nuclear capabilities as we speak. The United States needs to be ready and willing to protect itself. And there is no room for incompetence or failure in the ranks.
About this series
This is the fifth in a series of columns on the president’s cabinet by Bruce Simmons of Aurora, who worked in the private sector in Washington, D.C., for 25 years before leaving to become a high school humanities teacher. He is retired now and writes novels. Visit his website at bwsimmons.org.