Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

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The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer of the United States military, and the principal military advisor to the President of the United States. He leads the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), comprising the Chairman, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chiefs of Staff of the United States Army and United States Air Force, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have offices in The Pentagon.

Although the office of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is very important and highly prestigious, neither the Chairman nor the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a body have any command authority over combatant forces. The chain of command runs from the President to the Secretary of Defense directly to the commanders of the several combatant commands. However, the Chairman may transmit communications to the commanders of the combatant commands from the President and Secretary of Defense.

Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, USN, served as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy (July 20, 1942 - March 21 1949). Leahy's office was the precursor to the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

List of Chief of Staff to the CINC

	Name	Photo	Branch	Term began	Term ended
1.	William D. Leahy		USN	July 20, 1942	March 21 1949

List of Chairmen of the JCS

	Name	Photo	Branch	Term began	Term ended
1.	Omar N. Bradley		USA	August 16, 1949	August 15 1953
2.	Arthur W. Radford		USN	August 15 1953	August 15 1957
3.	Nathan F. Twining		USAF	August 15 1957	September 30, 1960
4.	Lyman L. Lemnitzer		USA	October 1, 1960	September 30, 1962
5.	Maxwell D. Taylor		USA	October 1, 1962	July 1, 1964
6.	Earle G. Wheeler		USA	July 3, 1964	July 2, 1970
7.	Thomas H. Moorer		USN	July 2, 1970	July 1, 1974
8.	George S. Brown		USAF	July 1, 1974	June 20, 1978
9.	David C. Jones		USAF	June 21, 1978	June 18, 1982
10.	John W. Vessey Jr.		USA	June 18, 1982	September 30, 1985
11.	William J. Crowe, Jr.		USN	October 1, 1985	September 30, 1989
12.	Colin L. Powell		USA	October 1, 1989	September 30, 1993
13.	David E. Jeremiah (acting)		USN	October 1, 1993	October 24, 1993
14.	John M. Shalikashvili		USA	October 25, 1993	September 30, 1997
15.	Henry H. Shelton		USA	October 1, 1997	September 30, 2001
16.	Richard B. Myers		USAF	October 1, 2001	September 30, 2005
17.	Peter Pace		USMC	October 1, 2005

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