DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Defense  Department.An  executive  department  of  the  federal  government,  responsible  for

coordinating  and  overseeing  military  affairs and  the  agencies responsible for  national  security.  •

The Department was established as the National Military Establishment in 1947, by combining the

War and  the  Navy  Departments.  Its  name  was  changed  to  Department  of  Defense  in  1949.  The

Department’s components include the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the

Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is answerable to the President

as Commander-in-Chief. — Also termed Department of Defense (abbr. DOD). [Blacks Law 8th]