Which branch is the leader of the military?

Answer 1

No branch of the Military Service is the leader of the military. Consider some of the following leadership elements:

• The President of the US (Executive Branch) is the elected Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
• The Secretary of Defense is a political appointee who deals with budgetary matters, organization, strategic defense planning and the big picture.
• The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff provides the Commander in Chief with the very best military advice available and this post has been held by members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marine Corps.
• The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA) and other government agencies provide a variety of inputs to support the military.
• The Army is the largest branch in terms of numbers.
• The Navy and the Air Force share first place in total available destructive power.
• The Navy and th Air Force equally share the need to transport a US presence to anywhere in the world and this is where a power and position as leader of the military starts to get fuzzy. After all if the military can't reach the point of conflict rapidly and with all the tools it needs, then it is an incomplete and ineffective force.
• The UK became an Empire and a world presence based on a projection of Naval power to distant shores and the ability to secure and hold that ground.
• The US Navy mimics this profile of force projection supported by a Corps of Marines capable of securing a sustainable beachhead anywhere, Seals for Special Operations and a Fleet that is capable of and able to put boots on the ground anywhere in the world within 48 hours.
• No service holds a pre-eminent position.
• Each Branch provides a single slice of the pie that makes up an effective and complete national defense system. At it's core is the strength and mass of the US Army and the focal point of the Army is the individual rifleman.