Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73not60

§163 Role of Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— General Military Law › Part I— ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL MILITARY POWERS › Chapter 6— COMBATANT COMMANDS › § 163

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

Under limits in section 152(c), the President may order that messages between the President or the Secretary of Defense and the leaders of the combatant commands go through the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The President may also give the Chairman duties to help with command functions. The Secretary of Defense may make the Chairman responsible for watching over combatant command activities, but that does not give the Chairman command power or change the commanders’ duties in section 164(b)(2). Under the Secretary’s control, the Chairman speaks for the combatant commanders about their operational needs. To do that, the Chairman gathers information from them, reviews and combines it, advises the Secretary of Defense about those needs, and shares the needs with other parts of the Department of Defense when appropriate.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §163

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Subject to the limitations in section 152(c) of this title, the President may—

(1)direct that communications between the President or the Secretary of Defense and the commanders of the unified and specified combatant commands be transmitted through the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and

(2)assign duties to the Chairman to assist the President and the Secretary of Defense in performing their command function.

(b)(1)The Secretary of Defense may assign to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff responsibility for overseeing the activities of the combatant commands. Such assignment by the Secretary to the Chairman does not confer any command authority on the Chairman and does not alter the responsibility of the commanders of the combatant commands prescribed in section 164(b)(2) of this title.

(2)Subject to the authority, direction, and control of the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff serves as the spokesman for the commanders of the combatant commands, especially on the operational requirements of their commands. In performing such function, the Chairman shall—

(A)confer with and obtain information from the commanders of the combatant commands with respect to the requirements of their commands;

(B)evaluate and integrate such information;

(C)advise and make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense with respect to the requirements of the combatant commands, individually and collectively; and

(D)communicate, as appropriate, the requirements of the combatant commands to other elements of the Department of Defense.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 163

Title 10 — Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60