Command Authority

Question 1

policies and directives have been made by who and assigned to who?

Answer 1

policies and directives have been made by civilians assigned to the military and to the executive and legislative branches of the government

Question 2

For all forces not assigned to the Combatant
Commanders, the chain of command runs from

Answer 2

the U.S. President, through the Secretary of
Defense, to the Secretaries of the military departments

Question 3

When forces are assigned to the Combatant
Commanders, administrative control over those forces still typically flows through

Answer 3

Their respective service branch

Question 4

Public Law 99-433, Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, 1 October 1986, permits the U.S. President to

Answer 4

authorize communications through the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, placing the Chairman in the communications chain of command.