Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986

E1025

United States federal law defense reform law

The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 is a landmark U.S. law that overhauled the military command structure to strengthen joint operations, clarify the chain of command, and enhance the authority of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Aliases (2)

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States federal law → defense reform law →
affects	Joint Chiefs of Staff → Unified Combatant Commands → Department of Defense → surface form: "United States Department of Defense"
clarifies	chain of command from President to Secretary of Defense to combatant commanders →
codifiedIn	Title 10 of the United States Code →
considered	landmark in U.S. defense reform →
coSponsor	William Flynt Nichols →
country	United States of America → surface form: "United States"
creates	position of Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff →
enactedBy	99th United States Congress →
enhances	role of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as principal military adviser →
establishes	requirement for joint duty assignments for officer promotion →
governs	joint officer career progression → relationships among military services in joint operations →
impact	greater integration of service components in combat operations → increased emphasis on joint training and education →
introducedInChamber	United States Senate →
jurisdiction	United States Armed Forces → surface form: "United States armed forces"
limits	operational role of the service chiefs →
motivatedBy	lessons from the 1983 invasion of Grenada → operational problems in the 1980 Iran hostage rescue attempt → perceived failures of inter-service coordination in the Vietnam War →
namedAfter	Barry Goldwater → William Flynt Nichols →
primaryPurpose	clarify military chain of command → enhance authority of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff → improve military advice to the President and Secretary of Defense → strengthen joint military operations →
publicLawNumber	Public Law 99-433 →
reforms	joint officer personnel management → military command structure → organization of the Office of the Secretary of Defense → roles and responsibilities of the Joint Chiefs of Staff →
requires	development of joint doctrine → greater interoperability among U.S. military services →
shortName	Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 → surface form: "Goldwater–Nichols Act"
signedBy	Ronald Reagan →
signingDate	1986-10-01 →
sponsor	Barry Goldwater →
status	in force →
statutesAtLargeCitation	100 Stat. 992 →
strengthens	authority of unified combatant commanders → operational control of combatant commanders over assigned forces →
subjectMatter	civil–military relations → defense organization → military command and control →

Referenced by (22)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

William Flynt Nichols → coSponsored → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

this entity surface form: "Goldwater–Nichols Act"

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff → createdBy → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

99th United States Congress → enacted → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff → legalBasis → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

National Defense Strategy of the United States → legalBasis → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

National Military Strategy → legalBasis → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

National Security Strategy of the United States → legalBasis → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

NSS → legalBasis → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

subject surface form: "National Security Strategy of the United States"

SOCOM → legalBasis → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

subject surface form: "United States Special Operations Command"

U.S. Special Operations Command → legislatedBy → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

subject surface form: "United States Special Operations Command"

99th United States Congress → majorDefenseReformInstrument → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

this entity surface form: "Goldwater–Nichols Act"

NSS → mandatedBy → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

subject surface form: "National Security Strategy of the United States"

William Flynt Nichols → notableWork → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

Public Law 99-433 → officialName → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

Nunn–Cohen Amendment → partOf → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

this entity surface form: "Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act implementation era"

Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1958 → relatedTo → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

National Security Act of 1947 → relatedTo → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

Nunn–Cohen Amendment → relatedTo → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

this entity surface form: "Goldwater–Nichols Act"

Joint Chiefs of Staff → reorganizedBy → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

Unified Combatant Commands → reorganizedBy → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 → shortName → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

this entity surface form: "Goldwater–Nichols Act"

Public Law 99-433 → shortName → Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 →

this entity surface form: "Goldwater–Nichols Act"