The United States Department of Defense, also referred to as the Department of War, is an executive department of the United States federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the Uni
An aerial view of the Pentagon
President Truman signs the National Security Act Amendment of 1949
A December 2013 Department of Defense organizational chart
Joint Chiefs of Staff and Joint Staff organizational chart
The Pentagon
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The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerate
United States Department of Defense
…Forces—the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, and, for some purposes, the Coast Guard—and related functions and agencies. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the stated mission of the Department of Defense is "to provide the military forces needed…
A view of the Pentagon from above the Potomac River in 2018
A view of the Pentagon from the south in September 2007
The main Navy Building (foreground) and the Munitions Building were temporary structures built during World War I on the National Mall. The Department of War was headquartered in the Munitions Building for several years before moving into the Pentagon.
The Hall of Heroes on the Pentagon's main concourse