The National Military Command Structure

In September 1977, President Carter requested that the Secretary of Defense initiate a searching organizational review of the National Military Command Structure (NMCS). He requested an unconstrained examination of alternatives for making it more effective and efficient in carrying out the national security mission. This Report presents and evaluates alternatives responsive to the President's instructions. What emerged from the discussions and studies was a consensus that, by and large, the system has been generally adequate to meet our national security needs in peacetime, crisis, and wartime. We did find, however, a general perception of some fundamental shortcomings which may make it incapable of dealing adequately with our future needs. The present National Military Command Structure was created by the National Security Act of 1947, as amended. It has evolved, through a series of amendments up to 1958, from a decentralized National Military Establishment of separate Military Departments to today's Department of Defense (DoD) headed by a Secretary of Defense with full authority and responsibility for its operation.