Joint Chiefs of Staff
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The Joint Chiefs of Staff is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, t
The Joint Chiefs of Staff in January 2026
United States Secretary of Defense Harold Brown and United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Charles W. Duncan Jr with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General George S. Brown and the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon in 1977
Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting (c. 1943). From left to right are: Gen. Henry H. Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Forces; Adm. William D. Leahy, Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy; Adm. Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations; and Gen. George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1959. From left to right: Gen. Lyman L. Lemnitzer, USA; Adm. Arleigh A. Burke, USN; Gen. Nathan F. Twining, USAF (chairman); Gen. Thomas Dresser White, USAF; and Gen. Randolph M. Pate, USMC
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military personnel in the United States Armed Force
JCS chairman General George Scratchley Brown with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 15, 1976.
General Omar Bradley is sworn in as the 1st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson on August 16, 1949.
Admiral Michael Mullen is sworn in as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by his predecessor, General Peter Pace on October 1, 2007.