The Department of the Army is a military department within theUnited States Department of Defense. The department is headed by the secretary of the army, who by statute must be a civilian, appointed by the president with the confirmation by theUnited States Senate. The secretary of the Army is responsible for and has the authority to conduct all the affairs of the Department of the Army, subject to the authority, direction and control of the secretary of defense. The Department of the Army is divided between its headquarters at the seat of government and the field organizations of the Army.
By direction of the secretary of defense, the secretary of the Army assigns Army forces, apart from those units performing duties enumerated in 10 United States Code § 7013[1] (i.e., organize, train & equip) or unless otherwise directed to the operational command of thecommanders of the Combatant Commands. Only the secretary of defense (and the president) has the authority to approve transfer of forces to and from Combatant Commands by 10 United States Code § 162.[2]
Chart summarizing the organization of the Department of the Army's Headquarters as of 2010.
Headquarters, Department of the Army is the corporate office of the department which exercises directive and supervisory functions and consists of two separate staffs: theOffice of the Secretary of the Army (10 United States Code § 7014[3]), the mainly civilian staff; and theArmy Staff (10 United States Code § 7031,[4] & 10 United States Code § 7032[5]), the mainly military staff. The Office of the Secretary and the Army Staff are organized along similar lines, with civilians and military officers both overseeing similar program areas.[a]
The Office of the Secretary is led by the secretary of the Army, assisted by theunder secretary of the Army and theadministrative assistant to the secretary of the Army, who is thesenior civilian career official of the department. The Office of the Secretary of the Army, also known as theArmy Secretariat, is divided into multiple branches with functional responsibilities, the six most important of which are headed by one of the five assistant secretaries of the Army or the general counsel of the Army, each of whom are civilians appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
The Army Staff is led by thechief of staff of the Army, a four-star general who is the highest-ranking officer in the Army and the Army member of theJoint Chiefs of Staff. The chief of staff is assisted in managing the Army Staff by thevice chief of staff of the United States Army, a four-star general and second highest-ranking officer in the Army. The Army Staff is divided into several directorates, each headed by athree-star general; a deputy chief of staff (DCS G–1 (personnel), G–2 (intelligence), G–3 (operations), G–4 (logistics),[9] G-5 (planning), G-6 (network), G-7 (training), G-8 (finance), and G-9 (installations) respectively).[10][9] The DCS G-3/5/7 is a single office for operations, plans, and training.
A key official within the Army Staff is the director of the Army Staff, who is a three-star general. The director is responsible for integrating and synchronizing the work of the Office of the Secretary and the Army Staff so that they meet the goals and priorities of the secretary of the Army. Other key figures within the Army Staff are thesergeant major of the Army, theArmy Staff Senior Warrant Officer, theChief Warrant Officer of the Army, theUnited States Army judge advocate general, thechief of the Army Reserve, theUnited States Army provost marshal general, and theUnited States Army surgeon general. Thechief of the National Guard Bureau was previously considered part of the Army Staff, but has been elevated to four-star rank and membership in the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the director of the Army National Guard and the director of the Air National Guard (both three-star positions) report to the chief, National Guard Bureau for strategy and policy, but receive funding and Service-specific guidance from their respective services, as they have different legal authorities.[11]
^Army Strategy Note (ASN) proponent: G-3/5/7 (LTG James E. Rainey)(1 April 2022) INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGY SD 12 STRATEGY NOTE 2022-04, should be read in conjunction withHow the Army Runs
Headquarters, United States Department of the Army (HQDA):
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