Joint Chiefs of Staff

Introducing project “Military Insignia”, featuring top quality military heraldry designs. Here you will find designer apparel, accessories, custom postage and gifts decorated with insignia of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defence who advise the Secretary of Defence, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters. The composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is defined by statute and consists of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VCJCS), and the Military Service Chiefs from the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marine Corps, all appointed by the President following Senate confirmation. Each of the individual Military Service Chiefs, outside of their Joint Chiefs of Staff obligations, works directly for the Secretary of the Military Department concerned, i.e. Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force. Following the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986 the Joint Chiefs of Staff do not have operational command authority, neither individually nor collectively, as the chain of command goes from the President to the Secretary of Defence, and from the Secretary of Defence to the Commanders of the Combatant Commands. Goldwater-Nichols also created the office of Vice Chairman, and the Chairman is now designated as the principal military adviser to the Secretary of Defence, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and to the President. The Joint Staff (JS) is a headquarters staff in the Pentagon, composed of personnel from all the four services, that assists the Chairman and the Vice Chairman in discharging their responsibilities and is managed by the Director of the Joint Staff (DJS) who is a Lieutenant General or Vice Admiral. Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, presented here, consists of an oval silver metal wreath of laurel, symbolic of achievement, courage, and victory. The four unsheathed swords refer to the armed might of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps and their combined constant vigilance and readiness in the defence of the United States.