The Military: The Top Brass
The Chm and Vice Chm of the Joint Chiefs of Staff + the 11 Commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands
Department of Defense
Aerial view of the Pentagon, the HQ for the US Department of Defense. It is the world’s largest office building, with more than 26,000 military and civilian employees.
The military and uniformed forces of the United States, under the US Department of Defense, ‘has a complex organizational structure.’ The DOD is America’s largest government agency. The DOD budget is nearly $800 billion dollars in 2022.
Chain of Command of the US Military
In brief, the Secretary of Defense is vested with military command authority second only to the President.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff advises the President, Secretary of Defense, Homeland Security and National Security Council on military matters at home and globally.
The Unified Combatant Commanders have authority over missions and forces in six major global regions, plus Strategic Command, Transportation, Special Ops, Cyber Command and Space Command.
The major military service departments operate outside of ‘military operations’ – namely, Dept of the Army, Dept of the Navy (which includes the Marine Corps), and Dept of the Air Force (which includes the Space Force). Each is led by a Secretary below Cabinet rank, and reports to the Secretary of Defense.
Chairman & Vice Chairman of the JCS
The Joint Chiefs of Staff are headed by Chairman Mark Milley (CJCS) and Vice Chair Christopher Grady (VJCS) (0 women, 2 men).
Joint Chiefs of Staff
| Position | Photograph | Name | Service | Serving Since | Nominated by | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
|
General Mark A. Milley |
 |
1 October 2019 | Donald J. Trump | 
|
| Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff |
|
Admiral Christopher W. Grady |
 |
20 December 2021 | Joseph R. Biden | 
|
| Chief of Staff of the Army |
|
General James C. McConville |
|
9 August 2019 | Donald J. Trump | 
|
| Commandant of the Marine Corps |
|
General David H. Berger |
 |
11 July 2019 | Donald J. Trump | 
|
| Chief of Naval Operations |
|
Admiral Michael M. Gilday |
|
22 August 2019 | Donald J. Trump | 
|
| Chief of Staff of the Air Force |
|
General Charles Q. Brown Jr. |
 |
6 August 202 | Donald J. Trump | 
|
| Chief of Space Operations |
|
General John W. Raymond |
 |
3 August 2020 | Donald J. Trump | 
|
| Chief of the National Guard Burea |
|
General Daniel R. Hokanson |
|
3 August 2020 | Donald J. Trump | 
|
| Non-member attendee | ||||||
| Commandant of the Coast Guard |
|
Admiral Linda L. Fagan |
 |
1 June 2022 | Joseph R. Biden | 
|
Unified Combatant Commanders
(Commanders of Unified Commands)
President Joe Biden walks with Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, left, and Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson before speaking at an event to mark International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021, in the East Wing of the White House.
The Commanders of the Unified Commands (11 Commanders total) include two women appointed by President Joe Biden: General Laura Richardson (US Army), who heads the U.S. Southern Command, and General Jacqueline Van Ovost (US Air Force), who heads the U.S. Transportation Command.
The other nine Commanders are men who are Generals in the Army and Air Force and Admirals in the Navy.
Map showing six land-based geographical commands plus four functional combatant commands. Not shown: Space Command (Total=11 Commands)
Top Military Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Secretaries of US Army, US Navy and US Air Force – Women branching up, but still rare in top military posts.
The Army has had 25 Secretaries since the National Defense Act of 1947 folded the Secretary of War into the Department of Defense. On May 28, 2021 Christine Wormuth was sworn in as the 25th (and current) Secretary of the Army becoming the first woman to serve in the role.
The Navy has had 78 Secretaries in its history. Susan Livingstone served as Acting US Secretary of the Navy for 8 days in 2003, after a successful term as Undersecretary for two years, becoming the first and only woman to serve in the role.
The Air Force has had 26 Secretaries in its history. Five have been women, with MIT aerospace Professor Sheila E. Widnall being the first woman in the role from 1993-1997 under President Bill Clinton.
Active-Duty Four-Star Officers
Four Star Officers salute the flag-draped casket of former Pres. Ronald Reagan at Andrews Air Force Base, June 11, 2004. (US Army photo by Sgt. Ryan Clayton Creel)
Across the uniformed services of the United States, there are 43 active-duty four-star officers in total. These four-star generals and admirals are in the top leadership roles of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, and the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard and Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. These 43 leaders include 39 men and 4 women.
9% of Four-Star Generals and Admirals in the US Military Services are women.
Pending appointments include five men and one woman (Vice Adm Lisa Franchetti was confirmed by the Senate in May 2022 for appointment as Vice Chief of Naval Operations. Franchetti is expected to assume office in September 2022.)
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Vice Admiral Lisa M. Franchetti, U.S. 6th Fleet Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Europe
Pipeline for Military Leadership – Female Leadership has doubled since 2000
According to the February 2018 report “Women in the Military: Where They Stand,” compiled by the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), the total number of female admirals and generals on active duty in the five services numbered 63 women. This is a notable increase from the 30 total women in these top ranks in 2000.
Air Force leads while Marines lag – no service branch above 25% female officers
Across all branches of the US military, there are 44,000 women in the officer corps, approximately 18.8% of the total leadership.
According to Statista, in 2020, the Army has the greatest number of female officers, while the Air Force has the largest percentage of female officers. In 2020, there were over 76,000 male officers in the U.S. Army, compared to nearly 17,000 female officers, who account for 18.2% of the total. The Air Force has nearly 50,000 male officers and just over 14,000 female officers, at 22.3%. 20% of all Naval officers are women. The Marine Corps lags behind the other major branches with nearly 20,000 male officers and under 2,000 female officers – at just 8.6%.
| Branch of Service | Total # of Officers | Men | Women | % Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | 93,280 | 76,293 | 16,987 | 18.2% |
| Air Force | 64,245 | 49,920 | 14,325 | 22.3% |
| Navy | 55,659 | 44,583 | 11,076 | 20% |
| Marine Corps | 21,450 | 19,603 | 1,847 | 8.6% |
| Marine Corps | 234,634 | 190,399 | 44,235 | 18.8% |