The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of St
Gen Christopher J. Mahoney
Gen Robert T. Herres, VJCS portrait
ADM David E Jeremiah
Adm. William A. Owens VJCS
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
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
…The vice chairman assists the chairman in exercising their duties. In the absence of the chairman, the vice chairman presides over the meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and performs all other duties prescribed under 10 U.S.C. § 153 and may also perform other duties that the president, the chairman, or the secretary of…
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