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the Secretaries of the Military Departments and then to the Service Chiefs
Joint Chiefs of Staff
True
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is part of the Executive Branch of the United States government. Its parent agency is the US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
Although there is wide cooperation (occasionally not) between US law enforcement agencies, there is no nationwide chain-of-command which exercises control over them. Every department is an agency of the executive branch of government of whatever jurisdiction they are formed under. Internally, most departments follow a more-or-less semi-military internal chain of command with a Chief at the top, and then (in descending order) Assistant Chiefs, Deputy Chiefs, Majors, Captains, Lieutenants, Sergeants, Corporals, Officers. Some department designate the differences in ranks using other terminology (Superintendents instead of Chiefs - Senior Officers or Privates First Class, etc.) but basically the majority of law enforcement agencies follow this model.
Individually, chiefs, executives, officers. Collectively, Chief Executive Officers
Combatant commanders
The US national security authority for NATO is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has exclusive authority, direction, and control of the Joint Staff.
true
The chief of staff generally works behind the scenes to solve problems, mediate disputes, and deal with issues before they are brought to the chief executive. Often chiefs of staff act as a confidant and advisor to the chief executive, acting as a sounding board for ideas.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs who oversees the Armed Forces is Admiral Michael Mullen .However, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is an advisoryposition, not an authoritative one. That is, all the Chiefs of Staff do not sit in the direct military chain-of-command. They (and the civilians in the office of the Secretary of Defense) are responsible for the organizational operation of the US Military, not combat operations.After the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, the US Military chain-of-command looks like this:PresidentSecretary of DefenseCommander of each of the Unified CommandsThe Unified Commands are essentially large theaters of operations, where the commander (who may be from any military branch) oversees all US military action in that theater.So, to answer your question, the Leader of the various US military branches is the US President, as he is the final (ultimate) operational command authority.