The Goldwater Nichols Act of 1986: Impact and Implications for the Marine Corps

Abstract

On the surface, it appears that the Goldwater-Nichols Act merely increased the role and responsibilities of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while decreasing the responsibilities of the Service Secretaries and the Service Chiefs. Using a chronological research case study format, this paper conducts a historical analysis of defense reform from the National Defense Act of 1947 to the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. The study concludes that the Goldwater-Nichols Act established an overarching framework within the Department of Defense that successfully transformed the military into an organization capable of planning and conducting complex joint military operations. More importantly, as a result of the Goldwater-Nichols Act, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Vice Chairman, the Combatant Commanders, the Service Chiefs, and the Service Vice Chiefs all play a vital role in military and strategic planning and coordination. Over the past decade, this unique system has proven effective and reliable. Recent military successes have created a climate of relative satisfaction among the civil, political, and military leadership of the country. Accordingly, the probability of additional legislation seeking substantive reforms over the next decade is minimal. For such legislation to become law, agreement between civilian and military leaders must be achieved, and an atmosphere conducive to change must exist. Review mechanisms such as the "Quadrennial Defense Review" and the "National Defense Panel" may take the place of dramatic legislative action as vehicles for future change. The author concludes that the Goldwater-Nichols Act has been favorable for the Marine Corps and has allowed the Marine Corps to make a larger contribution to the American defense establishment. As a result, senior Marine officers have progressed to the upper echelons of Combatant Commands and the Joint Staffs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA529074

Entities

People

  • Asad Khan

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Congress
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Law
  • Military Acquisition
  • Military Education
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Students
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Strategic Security Studies