National Security Act Of 1947 Essay

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Under Truman’s administration the National Security Act of 1947 was developed. This was the restructuring of the United States Government military and intelligence agencies. Most of the provisions were enacted on September 18th 1947. This act merged Department of the Army and Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment that would be headed by the Secretary of Defense. It also separated the Army Air Force into its own service. These three branches all had their own “chief” but was later changed to be subordinates to the Secretary of Defense in the amendment made in August of 1949. The National military was eventually named the Department of Defense which sole purpose was to unity the Army, Navy and Air force into one …show more content…
The NSC staff coordinated a structure for monitoring policies. The flow of the system was described as a “policy hill”. It started at the bottom with the concerns and recommendation made by agencies such as the State and Defense and would be sent up the ladder for debate by the head of the agencies. These drafts would then go up the hill to the Planning board who refined and made additional recommendations passing it on to the full NSC board for consideration. After complete and thorough review from the Planning board which included representatives from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA, it is sent up to the NSC itself which is chaired by the President. The Council consisted of the five statutory members: the President, Vice President, Secretaries of State and Defense, and Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization. Depending on the subject under discussion, as many other senior Cabinet members and advisers attended and participated, including the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Director of Central