National Security Act

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US Department of Defence headquarters, the Pentagon

The National Security Act of 1947 was a major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the provisions of the Act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed James Forrestal as the first United States Secretary of Defence.[1] His power was initially limited and it was difficult for him to exercise the authority to make his office effective. This was later changed in the amendment to the act in 1949, creating what was to be the Department of Defence.[2]

The Act merged the United States Department of War (renamed as the Department of the Army) and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment (NME), headed by the Secretary of Defence. It also created the Department of the Air Force, which separated the Army Air Forces into its own service. Initially, each of the three service secretaries maintained quasi-cabinet status, but the act was amended on 10 August 1949, to ensure their subordination to the Secretary of Defence. At the same time, the NME was renamed as the Department of Defence. The purpose was to unify the Army, Navy, and Air Force into a federated structure.[3]

National Security Council

Aside from the military reorganisation, the act established the National Security Council (NSC), a central place of coordination for national security policy in the executive branch, and the Central Intelligence Agency, the US's first peacetime intelligence agency. The council's function was to advise the president on domestic, foreign, and military policies, and to ensure cooperation between the various military and intelligence agencies.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff was officially established under Title II, Section 211 of the original National Security Act of 1947 before Sections 209–214 of Title II were repealed by the law enacting Title 10[4] and Title 32,[5] United States Code (Act of August 10, 1956, 70A Stat. 676) to replace them.

The act and its changes, along with the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, were major components of the Truman administration's Cold War strategy.

The bill signing took place aboard Truman's VC-54C presidential aircraft Sacred Cow, the first aircraft used for the role of Air Force One.[6]

Gallery

President Truman signs the National Security Act Amendment of 1949 in the Oval Office Seal of National Military Establishment (1947–1949), which was later renamed the Department of Defence President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 onboard this VC-54C Presidential transport, the first aircraft used for the role of Air Force One

References

  1. ↑ "Letter from James Forrestal to Chan Gurney". Committee on Armed Services, Records of the U.S. Senate. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. March 4, 1947.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  2. ↑ Kinnard, Douglas. "The Secretary of Defense in Retrospect." The Secretary of Defense. Lexington: University of Kentucky, 1980. 192-93. Print.
  3. ↑ Cambone, Stephen A. "The National Security Act of 1947– 26 July 1947." A New Structure for National Security Policy Planning. Washington, D.C.: CSIS, 1998. 228-32. Print.
  4. ↑ "USC : Title 10 - ARMED FORCES | LII / Legal Information Institute". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved September 18, 2012.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  5. ↑ "USC : Title 32 - NATIONAL GUARD | LII / Legal Information Institute". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved September 18, 2012.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  6. ↑ "Fact Sheets: National Security Act of 1947"

External links

  • Text at the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Information at the Department of State
  • Bibliography of sources relating to the Act, including many links to online, public-domain sources
  • "National Security Act of 1947". Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, compiled 1789 - 2008. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. July 26, 1947.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
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