View source for National Security Act of 1947

{{Short description|United States law restructuring its armed forces}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle = National Security Act of 1947
| othershorttitles = 
| longtitle = An Act to promote the national security by providing for a Secretary of Defense; for a National Military Establishment; for a Department of the Army, a Department of the Navy, a Department of the Air Force; and for the coordination of the activities of the National Military Establishment with other departments and agencies of the Government concerned with the national security.
| enacted by = 80th
| effective date = September 18, 1947
| public law url = 
| cite public law = {{USPL|80|253}}
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|61|495}}
| title amended = [[Title 50 of the United States Code|50 U.S.C.: War and National Defense]]
| sections created = {{Usc-title-chap|50|15}} § 401
| introducedin = [[United States Senate|Senate]]
| introducedbill = {{USBill|80|S.|758}}
| introducedby = [[John Chandler Gurney|Chan Gurney]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]–[[South Dakota|SD]])
| introduceddate = March 3, 1947
| signedpresident = [[Harry S. Truman]]
| signeddate = July 26, 1947
| passedbody1 = Senate
| passeddate1 = July 9, 1947
| committees = [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Armed Services Committee]]
| passedbody2 = House of Representatives
| passeddate2 = July 19, 1947
| SCOTUS cases = {{ubl|''[[Greene v. McElroy]]'', {{ussc|360|474|1959}}|''[[Central Intelligence Agency v. Sims]]'', {{ussc|471|159|1985}}|''[[Webster v. Doe]]'', {{ussc|486|592|1988}}}}
}}
The '''National Security Act of 1947''' ([[Act of Congress|Pub.L.]] [https://uslaw.link/citation/us-law/public/80/253 80-253], 61 [[United States Statutes at Large|Stat.]] [https://uslaw.link/citation/stat/61/495 495], enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]]'s [[military]] and [[Military intelligence|intelligence]] agencies following [[World War II]]. The majority of the provisions of the act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the [[United States Senate|Senate]] confirmed [[James Forrestal]] as the first [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/legislative/images/forrestal-letter.jpg |title=Letter from James Forrestal to Chan Gurney |date=March 4, 1947 |series=Committee on Armed Services, Records of the U.S. Senate |publisher=U.S. National Archives and Records Administration }}</ref><ref name=":9" />

The act merged the [[United States Department of the Army|Department of the Army]] (renamed from the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]]), the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]], and the newly established [[United States Department of the Air Force|Department of the Air Force]] (DAF) into the [[United States Department of Defense|National Military Establishment]] (NME).<ref name=":1" /> The act also created the position of the secretary of defense as the head of the NME.<ref name=":1" /> It established the [[United States Air Force]] under the DAF, which worked to separate the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]] into its own service.<ref name=":1" /> It also protected the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] as an independent service under the Department of the Navy.<ref name=":1" /> Aside from the unification of the three military departments, the act established the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], the latter of which is headed by the [[Director of Central Intelligence]].<ref name=":1" /> 

The legislation was a result of efforts by [[Harry S. Truman]] beginning in 1944.<ref name=":3">Congressional Quarterly, inc. (1948). Unification of the armed forces. In ''Congressional quarterly almanac'' (v. 3, pp. 457–463). Congressional Quarterly, inc.</ref> President Truman proposed the legislation to [[United States Congress|Congress]] on February 26, 1947.<ref name=":10" /> The bill was introduced in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] on February 28, 1947, and in the Senate on March 3, 1947.<ref name=":4" /> Senator [[John Chandler Gurney|Chan Gurney]] was the bill's [[Sponsor (legislative)|sponsor]].<ref name=":4" /> Senator Gurney, as [[Chairperson|chairman]] of the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Senate Committee on Armed Services]], led [[United States congressional hearing|committee hearings]] for the bill from mid-March to early May.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> The bill passed in the Senate on July 9, 1947, and in the House on July 19, 1947.<ref name=":7" /> The Senate agreed to a related House [[Resolution (law)|resolution]] (80 H.Con.Res. 70) on July 16, 1947.<ref name=":7" /> The bill received [[Bipartisanship|bipartisan]] support and was passed in both chambers by [[voice vote]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":7" /> The National Security Act of 1947 was signed into law by President Truman on July 26, 1947, while aboard his [[Douglas C-54 Skymaster|VC-54C]] presidential aircraft ''Sacred Cow''.<ref name=":12" />

== Background ==
From 1921 to 1945, Congress considered approximately 50 bills to reorganize the armed forces. Mostly due to opposition by both the Department of the Navy and the War Department, all but one failed to reach the floor of the House, and even this one was defeated by a vote of 153 to 135 in 1932.<ref name="OSDHistVol1">>{{cite book |last1=Rearden |first1=Steven |title=History of the Office of Secretary of Defense, Vol. 1: The Formative Years 1947-1950 |date=1984 |publisher=Historical Office, the Office of the Secretary of Defense |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0160768095 |url=https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/secretaryofdefense/OSDSeries_Vol1.pdf}}</ref> However, by the end of World War 2, several factors forced leaders to more seriously consider restructuring the military to improve unity.

=== Pearl Harbor ===
By 1945, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor had already been investigated several times, for example by the [[Roberts_Commissions|Roberts Commission]], and would continue to be investigated through almost the end of the century. One of the findings that emerged was the probable role of intelligence failures linked to interservice bickering between Pearl Harbor's Army and Navy commanders, General Walter Short and Admiral Husband Kimmel. Though not a court martial, the Roberts Commission explicitly accused the two of dereliction of duty for not conferring to coordinate in light of the warnings.<ref> “Admiral Kimmel, General Short Held Derelict in Duties,” ''The Miami Daily News,'' 25 January, 1942.</ref>

=== Joint Operations in World War 2 ===
During World War 2, interservice cooperation remained voluntary, requiring complex interchanges of liaisons for planning and operations. Additionally, the Army and Navy often competed for resources, for example industrial production and new recruits. Enabling operations under these conditions had required the creation of numerous joint agencies and interdepartmental committees.

World War 2 had also given the US military two case studies of joint operations between Europe and the Pacific. In the Pacific, the Army and Navy had experienced constant friction from command and logistics problems. In Europe, the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS)]], created based on the [[Chiefs_of_Staff_Committee|British Chiefs of Staff Committee]], had smoothed over these coordination problems and became President Roosevelt's principal military advisors.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

The JCS became a key source of advocacy for creating a single unified military department after the war. Following studies by the JCS Joint Strategic Survey Committee on ways to resolve joint roles and missions problems, George Marshall published a memo in support of postwar unification on November 2, 1942. Marshall's memo called for the following:<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

* Reorganizing the Navy and War Departments into a single department led by a civilian secretary
* Creating an independent air force under the new department
* Creating an independent supply service under the new department
* Placing each of the four services under a civilian secretary and a military chief of staff
* Creating a "United States General Staff" made up of the four service chiefs plus a chief of staff to the President.

=== The Rise of Air Power ===
During both World Wars, but particularly World War 2, aviation had become increasingly important. The aircraft carrier had overtaken the battleship as the Navy's premier surface combatant. Army airmen had called for an independent air service since 1919, and the Army's Air Corps had already been expanded into what bordered on a separate service. Finally, the advent of nuclear weapons delivered by bombers led some leaders, such as [[Curtis LeMay]], to believe air power would inevitably become more decisive than ground warfare or sea power. The time seemed right to create an independent air force, but it would require congressional action.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

=== Shrinking Budgets ===
Immediately following the war, confronting the Soviets was a lower priority than ending wartime austerity, balancing the federal budget, and returning to peace. This situation would not change until the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons in 1949, followed by the Korean War in 1950.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

In this environment, forces were rapidly demobilized, and budgets were slashed. In Fiscal Year 1946, the military's total budget ceiling was approximately $42 billion. In Fiscal Year 1947, it was $14 billion. On V-J Day, the US military consisted of the Army's 91 Army divisions, 9 Marine Corps divisions, 1,166 combat ships in the Navy, and 213 combat groups in the Army Air Forces. By the end of demobilization on June 30, 1947, the Army had 10 divisions, the Marine Corps had 2 divisions, the Navy had 343 combat ships, and the Army Air Forces had 63 groups of which only 11 were fully operational.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

As forces were reduced and budgets were cut, unification seemed like a promising way to save money by reducing duplication, and this would become a theme to which its proponents would repeatedly return. It also created a sense of urgency to quickly institutionalize lessons learned from World War 2. However, the shrinking budgets also created a zero-sum game environment which encouraged interservice bickering by pitting Army and Navy advocates against each other.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

=== Executive Power ===
Before [[World War II]], [[United States congressional committee|congressional committees]] oversaw the [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]]-level [[United States Department of War|War Department]] and [[United States Department of the Navy|Navy Department]], and while each department was separate from the other, both were able to obtain [[Military aircraft|aircraft]].<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last1=Kurtz |first1=James H. |last2=Crerar |first2=John H. |title=Military Roles and Missions: Past Revisions and Future Prospects |date=March 2009 |publisher=Institute for Defense Analyses |id={{DTIC|ADA519426}} }}{{pn|date=October 2023}}</ref> During this time, the President had a level of authority over the departments.<ref name=":2" /> After the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], Congress passed the [[War Powers Act of 1941|First War Powers Act]], which authorized the sitting president "to make such redistribution of functions among executive agencies as he may deem necessary" provided that it is "only in matters relating to the conduct of the present war" and that these authorities will expire "six months after the termination of the war."<ref name=":2" /><ref>First War Powers Act of 1941, Pub.L. No. 77-354, 55 Stat. 838 (1941).  https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/55/STATUTE-55-Pg838.pdf</ref> 

During World War II, then-[[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|chief of staff of the Army]] [[George C. Marshall|George Marshall]] brought the idea of unification of the armed services to President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], but "he was routinely rebuffed on the grounds that a substantive discussion of this option while the country was at war might undermine the [[war effort]]."<ref name=":13">{{cite book |chapter=Present at the Legislation: The 1947 National Security Act |pages=5–24 |jstor=resrep12044.5 |title=Organizing for National Security |date=2000 |publisher=Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College |url=https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/125/ |last1=Stuart |first1=Douglas }}</ref> On August 26, 1944, future president [[Harry S. Truman]], who was a senator at the time, wrote that "under such a set-up [of unification] another Pearl Harbor will not have to be feared" in his article "Our Armed Forces Must Be United".<ref name=":13" /> Military problems apparent during World War II that turned attention to the need for unification were a lack of [[Combat readiness|preparedness]], a lack of attention to "[[Military logistics|logistics in war]]," and a "lack of coordination among the services."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Gus C. |title=The Organization for National Security |journal=Public Administration Review |date=1949 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=36–44 |doi=10.2307/972661 |jstor=972661 }}</ref> 

In the years following the war, President Truman had been pushing for the unification of the armed services until the passing of the National Security Act of 1947, having [[Military science|research]] conducted on the topic since 1944<ref name=":3" /> and having expressed his desire for Congress to act on the issue as early as April 6, 1946.<ref name=":13" /> He stated in a letter to Congress on June 15, 1946, that he "consider[s] it vital that we have a unified force for our [[National security|national defense]]."<ref>The Associated Press. (June 15, 1946). "President's program to unify the services, with Army-Navy views". ''The New York Times''. {{ProQuest|107793495}}</ref> President Truman had worked closely with the Army and the Navy to establish a consensus, but the departments struggled to come to an agreement until 1947.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite news |title=ARMY-NAVY DISPUTE BACK AT WHITE HOUSE |id={{ProQuest|107493837}} |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/06/01/archives/armynavy-dispute-back-at-white-house.html |work=The New York Times |date=1 June 1946 }}</ref>

== Drafting Legislation ==
However, even if everyone could admit that a military reorganization was necessary, they could not agree on how it should be done. The process of obtaining even tentative consensus would take nearly four years.

=== The Woodrum Committee ===
On March 28, 1944, the House passed a resolution introduced by Rep. [[James_W._Wadsworth_Jr.|James W. Wadsworth]] (R-NY) to create a Select Committee On Postwar Military Policy, and this began the debate. The committee chair was Rep. [[Clifton A. Woodrum]] (D-VA), and the committee itself was made up of seven members of the Naval Affairs Committee, seven members of the Military Affairs Committee, and nine other members.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

Though the War Department considered asking for the hearings to be postponed to prevent an interservice fight that could hurt wartime unity, they decided not to when Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox told Secretary of War Henry Stimson that he also favored unification.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

The hearings began on April 24, 1944. On the second day, Lieutenant General [[Joseph_T._McNarney|Joseph McNarney]] presented the War Department's plan for unification, which was essentially Marshall's plan as laid out in his memo.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" /><ref name="USMCDU4447" />

On May 11th, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Alexander Vandegrift, addressed the committee.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

The hearings ended on May 19, 1944. Due to the increasingly apparent disagreements between the two departments, committee members and military leaders agreed that a fight between them would be bad for the war effort. In June, the committee reported the time was not right for legislation, but encouraged the two departments to continue to study unification.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

=== The Richardson Committee ===
While the Woodrum Committee met, the JCS continued to study the problem by convening their own committee of two Army officers and two Navy officers. It was led by former Pacific Fleet commander Admiral [[James O. Richardson]]. The Richardson committee interviewed eighty commanders both at war and in Washington, almost all of flag rank, to get their thoughts on postwar reorganization.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

On April 18, 1945, the Richardson Committee presented their findings and recommendations.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" /> They found that most Army officers and about half the Navy officers favored unification to a single service, but disagreed on the details. The committee's recommendations went even farther than McNarney's, calling not only for one civilian secretary overseeing the military and none overseeing the individual services, but also calling for a single uniformed "Commander of all Forces."<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

=== The Eberstadt Report ===
On June 19, 1945, the Department of the Navy began its own investigation. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal requested an objective investigation of the postwar reorganization by his friend [[Ferdinand_Eberstadt_(policy_advisor)|Ferdinand Eberstadt]], the former chairman of the Army-Navy Munitions Board and former vice chair of the War Production Board. By late September, Eberstadt had finished his report, and Forrestal forwarded it to the chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee, David Walsh. The 200 page report's key recommendations included the following:<ref name="OSDHistVol1" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Eberstadt |first1=Ferdinand |title=Report, to the Honorable James Forrestal, “Unification of the War and Navy Departments and Postwar Organization for National Security,” (henceforth, Eberstadt Report), “Introduction” and “Conclusions and Recommendations,” page 1-14, 22 October 1945 |url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/28646-document-2-report-honorable-james-forrestal-unification-war-and-navy-departments-and |website=National Security Archive |publisher=U.S. Senate, 79th Congress, 1st session, Committee on Naval Affairs |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>

* Making the Joint Chiefs of Staff permanent.
* Creating an independent air force, but also letting the Army and Navy retain air forces.
* Reorganizing the military into three departments: War, Navy, and Air. Each would be led by a cabinet-rank secretary.
* Changing the administrative structures of the departments to mirror each other as much as possible.
* Creating a National Security Council.
* Creating a National Security Resources Board.
* Creating a Joint Munitions Board.
* Creating a Central Intelligence Agency.
* Creating a Joint Military Education and Training Board.
* Creating a civilian scientific research and development agency, and creating assistant secretaries for research and development in each of the services.
* Reviewing the many other joint boards and committees from World War 2 to determine which should be continued, combined, or dissolved.
* Maintaining close working relations with Congress.
* Appointing a commission to conduct analysis of the overall national security situation before making further changes.

=== 1945 Senate Military Affairs Hearings ===
On January 3, 1945, the  first day of the 79th Congress, Rep. [[Jennings Randolph]] (D-WV) submitted unification bill H.R. 550 to the House Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Department. Two days later, Sen. [[Lister Hill]] (D-AL) introduced a similar bill, S. 84, in the Senate.

From October 7th to December 17, 1945, the Senate Military Affairs Committee conducted hearings to consider unification bills. These included not only S. 84, but also S. 1482, introduced in the middle of the hearings by Sens. [[Edwin C. Johnson]] (D-CO) and [[Harley M. Kilgore]] (D-WV). However, the hearings mostly became a venue for the two departments, increasingly at odds, to give their official positions on different unification plans.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

==== The War Department's Collins Plan ====
On October 30th, General [[J. Lawton Collins]] presented the War Department's plan. It combined features of recommendations made by the Richardson committee (other than Richardson's dissent) and Marshall's original plan from November 1942. Its key recommendations included the following:<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

* Reorganizing the military services into a single department led by a civilian cabinet-rank secretary with at least one undersecretary, and assistant secretaries appointed as needed.
* Replacing the Joint Chiefs of Staff with a new chiefs of staff organization called the "US Chiefs of Staff" made up of the department secretary and service chiefs.
* Creating a single uniformed "Commander of the Armed Forces" who would also act as Chief of Staff to the President.
* Creating an independent air force

==== The Department of the Navy's Hensel Plan ====
On November 29th, Assistant Secretary of the Navy [[H. Struve Hensel]] presented the Department of the Navy's plan. It was the recommendations of the Eberstadt Report, but left the question of an independent air force up to Congress.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

==== Debate ====
Proponents of the Department of the Navy's plan came across as obstructionists due to the previous Woodrum Committee hearings having framed the debate entirely in terms of the War Department plan.

Proponents of the War Department's plan repeatedly emphasized the cost savings it would provide.

==== Truman Intervenes ====
On December 19th, Truman let Congress know his own thoughts on unification. They mirrored the War Department plan in all respects.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

The hearings concluded as Congress went into its Christmas recess with the two departments and their congressional allies at an impasse.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

=== Navy and Marine Corps Resistance ===
Over the course of the 1945 hearings, Navy and Marine Corps resistance to the War Department plan began to coalesce.

==== SCOROR ====
In October, on the advice of Admiral Radford, Forrestal created the Secretary's Committee on Research on Reorganization (SCOROR) to track unification developments and help manage the Navy's response.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hone |first1=Thomas |last2=Utz |first2=Curtis |title=History of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1915-2015 |date=2020 |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-1-943604-02-9 |page=190 |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/publications/publication-508-pdf/OPNAV%20100%20508.pdf |access-date=29 July 2024}}</ref> The same month, Forrestal asked Sen. David Walsh, the chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee, to hold hearings of his own so that the Navy would have a chance to properly present their counterargument to the War Department Proposal.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

==== First Marine Corps Board ====
At the same time, the Commandant directed the head of Marine Corps Schools, Merrill Twining, to create a Marine Corps Board to do the same for the Marine Corps.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

=== The Thomas Plan ===
In January 1946, Senator [[Elbert D. Thomas]] formed a subcommittee within the Senate Military Affairs Committee to draft unification legislation. The subcommittee included Vice Admiral [[Arthur W. Radford|Arthur Radford]] and Major General [[Lauris Norstad]] as advisors from the Department of the Navy and the War Department. On April 9th, the subcommittee introduced the bill, S. 2044. Its key points were the following:<ref name="USMCDU4447">{{cite book |last1=Keiser |first1=Gordon |title=The US Marine Corps and Defense Unification 1944-1947 |date=1982 |publisher=National Defense University Press |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0898758047 |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA121927.pdf}}</ref>

*Replacing the Navy and War Departments with a single "Department of Common Defense" led by a civilian secretary with one undersecretary and four assistant secretaries.
*Creating an independent air force under the new department.
*Creating a "Joint Staff of the Armed Forces" made up of the three service chiefs plus a chief of staff to submit recommendations and non-concurrences once a year to the president through the secretary of defense.
*Creating a "Council of Common Defense" based on Eberstadt's concept for a National Security Council.
*Creating a National Security Resources Board.
*Creating a Central Intelligence Agency.

==== JCS 1478 ====
On March 15th and 16th, Army Air Corps Commanding General Carl Spaatz and Army Chief of Staff Dwight Eisenhower wrote two papers regarding unification JCS 1478/10 and 1478/11, that dealt with Army objectives for postwar unification. Marked "TOP SECRET", the two papers were blunt in their statement of their intent to marginalize the Marine Corps. The Eisenhower-Spaatz proposal's key points were the following:<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

*Limit Marine Corps units to the size of regiments and below, and cap the total size of the Marine Corps at 50,000-60,000.
*Bar the Marine Corps from wartime expansion, eliminating the need for the Marine Corps Reserve.
*Limit Marine Corps missions to guarding naval ships and shore establishments.
*Limit Marines to participating "only in minor shore combat operations in which the Navy alone is interested."
*Bar the Marine Corps from engaging in operations that required combined arms since this would duplicate the functions of the Army and Air Force.

The papers were forwarded to the chief of naval operations, Admiral Chester Nimitz, for his thoughts. There the papers came to the attention of Merritt Edson, the Marine Corps liaison to the chief of naval operations. Edson alerted the commandant of the Marine Corps and the members of the Marine Corps Board, most of whom, particularly Merrill Twining, believed that the only purpose of the papers' high classification was to conceal the Army's goals from Congress.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

Nimitz replied on March 30th, and included responses by the Commandant and by the head of Naval Aviation, both of whom were strongly against the proposals.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

==== Lobbying and Gag Order ====
Following the bill's introduction, the Department of the Navy openly opposed it.

In a press conference on April 11th, Truman said he had not authorized Navy officers to speak against unification, only to offer their honest opinions. He demanded that members of both the War Department and Department of the Navy "get in line" behind the official White House policy. When questioned about Army lobbying tactics, Truman claimed ignorance, but stated he was opposed to all congressional lobbying by the two departments.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

On April 30th, the Senate Naval Affairs Committee began hearings to consider S. 2044.

==== The Bended Knee Speech ====
On May 6th, Commandant of the Marine Corps Alexander Vandegrift testified. His testimony noted that on multiple occasions there had been efforts to marginalize and disband the Marine Corps, all of which had been ended by congressional oversight. He noted Marine Corps successes such as the prediction of the course of the Pacific War by Pete Ellis, and a history of extreme frugality that did not characterize other services. Finally, he denounced the War Department plan as a transparent attempt to quietly marginalize and disband the Marine Corps by removing its congressional protection.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

==== Defeat ====
On May 7th, Clark Clifford, Truman's lead for unification legislation, told General Norstad and Assistant Secretary of War Stuart Symington that the Thomas Bill could not pass in its current form, and that the Naval Affairs Committee hearings were causing it to lose more support every day. He also admitted he had been swayed by some of the Navy's objections, especially regarding the role of the chief of staff. Clifford recommended that Truman meet with the secretaries of War and the Navy and their advisors to clarify points of agreement and disagreement and find a way forward.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

On May 13th, Truman held the meeting, and demanded that Patterson and Forrestal find a way to break the impasse by the end of the month due to the urgency of passing unification legislation. He also said that he had accepted the Navy's arguments against the chief of staff. Finally, he told his chief of staff, Admiral William Leahy, to silence criticism of unification by naval officers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolk |first1=Herman |title=Planning and Organizing the Postwar Air Force 1943-1947 |date=1984 |publisher=Office of Air Force History |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-1508659587 |url=https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/28/2001329803/-1/-1/0/planning_and_organizing_the_postwar_af.pdf |access-date=29 July 2024}}</ref>

May 31st Patterson and Forrestal reported to him that of the twelve points in S. 2044 they agreed on eight and disagreed on four. The points of agreement were as follows:<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

*That there should not be a single military Chief of Staff
*The creation of a permanent Joint Chiefs of Staff
*The creation of a Council of Common Defense
*The creation of a Central Intelligence Agency
*The creation of a National Security Resources Board
*The creation of an agency for joint military education and training
*The creation of an agency for joint research
*The creation of an agency for procurement and supply.

The remaining points of disagreement were the following:

*Whether or not to reorganize into a single Department of Defense
*Whether or not to establish a separate Air Force
*The status of Army and Navy aviation
*The status of the Marine Corps

The period of rival Military Affairs Committee and Naval Affairs Committee hearings came to an end for good on August 2nd, when Truman signed the [[Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946]]. It combined the Military Affairs and Naval Affairs Committees into Armed Services Committees in the House and Senate, and would go into effect for the 80th United States Congress.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

Additionally, in August, Thomas suggested to Truman that he use an executive order to execute some unification changes, for example by creating a Council of Common Defense led by Secretary of State James F. Byrnes. Thomas believed that forcing the military to operate under unification for several months might convince all involved, particularly Congress, that unification legislation was feasible.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Unification of the Armed Forces |journal=CQ Almanac |date=1947 |url=http://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/cqal46-1410852}}</ref>

=== The Patterson-Forrestal Compromise ===
On November 7, 1946, Forrestal called a meeting at his home with Army and Navy representatives to attempt to find a way forward. the attendees included the two departments' primary negotiators Norstad and Radford, the Assistant Secretary of War for Air Stuart Symington, and Forrestal's friend Admiral Forrest Sherman. The main outcome of the meeting was the replacement of Admiral Radford as the Navy's primary negotiator with Forrestal's friend Vice Admiral Forrest Sherman. According to Marine Corps Brigadier General Gerald Thomas, this was due to Patterson's suggestion since the Army found Radford difficult to work with.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" /><ref name="USMCDU4447" />

On January 16, 1947, Norstad, Sherman, and Symington forwarded a letter to the White House with an outline of a joint Army-Navy agreement.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

==== Second Marine Corps Board ====
Vandegrift and the other Marines involved with unification believed they had been betrayed. Admiral Radford had been a close ally of the Marine Corps, and Admiral Sherman was not. There had been no Marine Corps input into the Patterson-Forrestal Compromise, and many Marines, Vandegrift included, believed Sherman had cut a deal with Norstad to preserve Navy aviation in exchange for abandoning demands for statutory protections of the Marine Corps.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

The same month the Patterson-Forrestal Compromise went to the White House, Vandegrift appointed a second Marine Corps board to "Conduct Research and Prepare Material in Connection with Pending Legislation" led by [[Merritt Edson]] and [[Gerald C. Thomas]]. Other members formally appointed to the board in writing included Col [[Merrill Twining]], Col [[Edward_C._Dyer|Edward Dyer]], LtCol [[Victor_H._Krulak|Victor Krulak]], LtCol [[Samuel_R._Shaw|Samuel Shaw]], LtCol DeWolf Schatzel, LtCol James C. Murray, LtCol [[James_D._Hittle|James Hittle]], LtCol [[Edward_H._Hurst|Edward Hurst]], LtCol Robert Heinl, and Maj [[Jonas_M._Platt|Jonas Platt]].<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

== Legislative history ==
When Congress convened, it had preemptively restructured in favor of unification. Due to the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, in the 80th Congress the Military and Naval Affairs Committees had been combined into unified Armed Services Committees in both the House and Senate.<ref name="USMCDU4447" />

On February 26, 1947, President Harry S. Truman sent a bill proposal to Congress detailing the creation of a "National Defense Establishment".<ref name=":10">{{cite news |title=Text of the President's Proposal for a National Defense Establishment, as Sent to Congress |id={{ProQuest|107802651}} |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/02/28/archives/text-of-the-presidents-proposal-for-a-national-defense.html |work=The New York Times |date=28 February 1947 }}</ref> Representative [[Clare Hoffman|Clare E. Hoffman]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Michigan|MI]]) introduced the bill as H.R. 2319 to the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] on February 28, 1947; it was then referred to the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform|Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments]].<ref name=":4">Congressional Quarterly, Inc. (1948). Unification of armed services. In ''Congressional quarterly almanac'' (v. 3, pp. 53–56). Congressional Quarterly, inc.</ref>

Senator [[John Chandler Gurney|Chan Gurney]] (R-[[South Dakota|SD]]) introduced the bill to the [[United States Senate|Senate]] as S. 758 on March 3, 1947.<ref name=":4" /> Due to conflict over which committee the bill was to be referred to, as well as the focus the Senate had on the legislative budget at the time, the bill was not able to be introduced in the Senate sooner.<ref name=":4" />

=== Congressional hearings ===
On March 18, 1947, then-[[Chairperson|Chairman]] Senator Gurney held [[United States congressional hearing|congressional hearings]] in the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Senate Committee on Armed Services]] on the bill that would become the National Security Act of 1947.<ref name=":4" /> The hearings were held in three parts: Part 1 hearings were held on March 18, March 20, March 25, March 26, and April 1–3, 1947;<ref name=":11">''National Defense Establishment (Unification of the Armed Services) Part 1: Hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services,'' 80th Cong. (1947). https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=HRG-1947-SAS-0003&type=HEARING={{subscription required}}</ref> Part 2 hearings were held on April 8, April 9, April 15, April 18, April 22, April 24, and April 25, 1947;<ref name=":5">''National Defense Establishment (Unification of the Armed Services) Part 2: Hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services,'' 80th Cong. (1947). https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=HRG-1947-SAS-0007&type=HEARING{{subscription required}}</ref> and Part 3 hearings were held on April 30, May 2, May 6, May 7, and May 9, 1947.<ref name=":6">''National Defense Establishment (Unification of the Armed Services) Part 3: Hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services,'' 80th Cong. (1947). https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=HRG-1947-SAS-0008&type=HEARING{{subscription required}}</ref>

The witnesses at the hearings largely spoke in support of the bill, either overall or with adjustments. Major witnesses of the bill who spoke in support were [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|United States Army Chief of Staff]] [[General officer|General]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] [[James Forrestal|James V. Forrestal]], [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Robert P. Patterson]], [[Chief of Naval Operations]] [[Admiral]] [[Chester W. Nimitz]],<ref name=":4" /> Under Secretary of War [[Kenneth Claiborne Royall|Kenneth C. Royall]], Representative [[Walter G. Andrews]] (R-[[New York (state)|NY]]), Senator [[Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.|Henry Cabot Lodge]] (R-[[Massachusetts|MA]]), two [[Colonel|colonels]] from the [[Reserve Officers Association of the United States]], [[Director of Central Intelligence]] [[Hoyt Vandenberg|Hoyt S. Vandenberg]], Director of the [[Office of Management and Budget|Bureau of the Budget]] [[James E. Webb]], and president of [[General Electric|General Electric Co.]] [[Charles Edward Wilson (businessman)|Charles E. Wilson]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy]] [[W. John Kenney]] spoke in support but expressed concerns about appropriations, while [[Surgeon General of the United States Army|United States Army Surgeon General]] [[Norman T. Kirk]] expressed concern about the role of [[Army Medical Department (United States)|medical services]].<ref name=":5" /> Former senator [[Thomas C. Hart]] (R-[[Connecticut|CT]]) opposed the bill and proposed changes to the areas concerning the Navy and the [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]].<ref name=":5" /> The president of the Marine Reserve Officers Association, [[Melvin Maas|Melvin J. Maas]], stated that 95% of the Association opposes the bill and requests adjustments as it comes to the Marine Corps' role.<ref name=":5" /> The president of the Reserve Officers of the Naval Services (RONS), John P. Bracken, stated that the organization opposed the bill due to the lack of input they were allowed to give.<ref name=":6" /> Representatives from the [[National Guard Association of the United States|National Guard Association]] opposed the bill as it stood and said that the role of the [[National Guard (United States)|National Guard]] needed to be improved.<ref name=":6" />

On April 24th, Edson requested to retire in order to be permitted to present his personal views against the bill, but the Commandant denied his request.<ref name="EdsonOMPF" />

On May 6th, the second Marine Corps Board was dissolved.<ref name="EdsonOMPF">[[nara:40912374|Official Military Personnel File of Merritt A. Edson (NAID: 40912374)]]; Official Military Personnel Files, 1885 – 1998; Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798–2007, Record Group 24; National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.</ref>

The next day, at the invitation of a member of the committee, Merritt Edson testified in opposition to the bill. He was the only active duty military officer to do so.<ref name="EdsonOMPF" />

On June 7th, Edson submitted a second request to retire, and this one was accepted. On June 17th, Edson testified before the committee again.<ref name="EdsonOMPF" />

=== Executive Order 9877 ===
Following the congressional hearings, on June 6th Truman published Executive Order 9877, which explicitly prescribed the functions of each of the military services.<ref name="ExecOrd9877">[[nara:300008|Executive Order 9877: Functions of the Armed Forces dated June 6, 1947 (NAID: 300008)]]; Executive Orders, 1862 – 2020; General Records of the United States Government, 1778–2006, Record Group 11; National Archives at Washington DC, Washington, DC.</ref>

=== Debates ===
On July 7, 1947, the National Security Act of 1947 was debated for the first time in the Senate, two days after the Senate Committee on Armed Services reported the bill to the Senate.<ref name=":3" /> On July 9, 1947, the Senate continued debates and, with an [[amendment]] to the title, passed the bill by a [[voice vote]].<ref name=":7">Legislative Insight. (n.d.). ''National Security Act of 1947''. ProQuest. https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=PL80-253&type=LEG_HIST{{subscription required}}</ref>

On July 15, 1947, having already been passed in the Senate, the National Security Act of 1947 was debated in the House of Representatives.<ref name=":7" /> The House introduced [[Resolution (law)|Resolution]] 80 H.Con.Res. 70 on the same day.<ref name=":7" /> The Senate agreed to the Resolution on July 16, 1947.<ref name=":7" /> The House debated and passed the National Security Act of 1947, along with 80 H.R. 4214, on July 19, 1947.<ref name=":7" /> The [[conference report]] 80 H. rp. 1051 was agreed to in the Senate on July 24, 1947, and was agreed to in the House on July 25, 1947.<ref name=":7" /> The recorded votes on the bill itself "drew strong [[Bipartisanship|bipartisan]] support."<ref name=":3" />

==== Senate ====
During the July 7, 1947, and July 9, 1947, debates in the Senate, members of the Senate Committee on Armed Services spoke the most, with major proponents being Senators Lodge (R-MA), [[Leverett Saltonstall|Saltonstall]] (R-MA), [[Raymond E. Baldwin|Baldwin]] (R-CT), [[Wayne Morse|Morse]] (R-[[Oregon|OR]]), [[Millard Tydings|Tydings]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[Maryland|MD]]), [[Burnet R. Maybank|Maybank]] (D-[[South Carolina|SC]]), and [[J. Lister Hill|Hill]] (D-[[Alabama|AL]]).<ref name=":3" /> Arguments in support of the bill included Senator Gurney's reasoning that there were "personnel problems in the Army and Navy, including the [[United States Air Force|Air Forces]]" and that "the unification bill is a sincere and earnest attempt to put into effect by legislation a security organization which is adequate, effective, modern – and yet economical."<ref>''Debated in Senate''. (July 7, 1947). ProQuest. Retrieved October 29, 2021, from https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=CR-1947-0707-PL80-253-S&type=CONGRESSIONAL_RECORD{{subscription required}}</ref>

Senator [[Edward V. Robertson|Robertson]] (R-[[Wyoming|WY]]) was a staunch opponent of the bill, arguing that the bill would cost the country too much considering it would not be able to make the armed services any more efficient, and that the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] would have too much power.<ref name=":3" />

Senator Robertson offered three amendments during debates, all of which were defeated by voice vote.<ref name=":3" /> Senator [[Joseph McCarthy|McCarthy]] (R-[[Wisconsin|WI]]) offered an amendment that stipulated that the "existing status of Marine Corps and Naval Aviation not to be altered or diminished; their existing functions not to be transferred to other services"; the Senate debated this amendment the most until it was defeated by a 52–19 [[roll call vote]].<ref name=":3" /> The only amendment that passed (by voice vote) in the Senate was offered by Senator [[Robert A. Taft|Taft]] (R-[[Ohio|OH]]) in which the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] was to only be focused on [[national security]] matters.<ref name=":3" />

==== House of Representatives ====
During the July 15, 1947, and July 19, 1947, debates in the House of Representatives, major proponents of the National Security Act of 1947 included Representatives [[James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.|Wadsworth]] (R-[[New York (state)|NY]]), [[John W. McCormack|McCormack]] (D-MA), and [[Carter Manasco|Manasco]] (D-AL), who were all on the Expenditures Committee as high-ranking members, and the [[United States House Committee on Armed Services|House Armed Services Committee]] Chairman Walter G. Andrews (R-NY).<ref name=":3" />

Opponents of the bill in the House included Representatives [[W. Sterling Cole|Cole]] (R-NY), [[Harry R. Sheppard|Sheppard]] (D-[[California|CA]]), [[Edith Nourse Rogers|Rogers]] (R-MA), and [[John Taber|Taber]] (R-NY).<ref name=":3" /> Representatives Cole, Sheppard, and Rogers argued that the Navy did not have enough protections under the bill, while Representative Taber argued against the budgetary aspect.<ref name=":3" />

Minor amendments were passed during debates in the House. Some of Representative Cole's amendments protecting the Navy and limiting the secretary of defense's powers were passed by voice vote (though others he offered were defeated).<ref name=":3" /> Representatives [[Walter Judd (politician)|Judd]] (R-[[Minnesota|MN]]) and [[Clarence J. Brown|Brown]] (R-OH) were able to pass amendments by voice votes that required the director of Central Intelligence to be appointed by the president from civilian life and confirmed by the Senate, and Representative Judd passed an amendment allowing the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] and the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] to conduct secret operations without the inspection of the director of Central Intelligence.<ref name=":3" /> Amendments offered by Representatives [[George MacKinnon|MacKinnon]] (R-MN), [[Clifford P. Case|Case]] (R-[[New Jersey|NJ]]), Mitchell (R-[[Indiana|IN]]), [[Charles R. Clason|Clason]] (R-MA), and [[Thomas L. Owens|Owens]] (R-[[Illinois|IL]]) were defeated.<ref name=":3" />

=== Enactment ===
The National Security Act of 1947 was signed into law by President Truman on July 26, 1947.<ref name=":8" /> The bill signing took place aboard Truman's [[VC-54]]C presidential aircraft ''Sacred Cow'', the first aircraft used for the role of [[Air Force One]].<ref name=":12">[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1845 Fact Sheets : National Security Act of 1947 : National Security Act of 1947<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114142445/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1845 |date=January 14, 2012 }}</ref> The president was traveling to be at the bedside of his dying [[Martha Ellen Young Truman|mother]] and delayed his departure until the bill was signed.<ref name=":8">{{cite news |last1=Hulen |first1=Bertram D. |title=UNIFICATION SIGNED; President Acts in Plane Just Before Take-Off for Mother's Home CONFIRMATION IS SPEEDY Senate Upholds Nomination by Truman, by Voice Vote, Just Before Quitting FORRESTAL NAMED DEFENSE CHIEF |id={{ProQuest|107857035}} |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/07/27/archives/unification-signed-president-acts-in-plane-just-before-takeoff-for.html |work=The New York Times |date=27 July 1947 }}</ref>

The majority of the provisions of the act took effect on September 18, 1947, the day after the Senate confirmed [[James Forrestal]] as the first secretary of defense.<ref name=":9">Historical Office. (n.d.). [https://history.defense.gov/Multimedia/Biographies/Article-View/Article/571293/james-v-forrestal/ James V. Forrestal]. Office of the Secretary of Defense. Retrieved November 14, 2021</ref> His power was initially limited and it was difficult for him to exercise the authority to make his office effective.<ref>{{Cite web |title=James V. Forrestal |url=https://history.defense.gov/Multimedia/Biographies/Article-View/Article/571293/james-v-forrestal/https%3A%2F%2Fhistory.defense.gov%2FMultimedia%2FBiographies%2FArticle-View%2FArticle%2F571293%2Fjames-v-forrestal%2F |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=Historical Office |at="Forrestal brought to his new office a deep distrust of the Soviet Union and a determination to make the new national security structure workable. . . . He soon discovered that perhaps the chief obstacle to accomplishing his objectives for the NME was the inherent weakness in the secretary of defense's powers as defined in the National Security Act." |language=en-US}}</ref> This was later changed in the amendment to the act in 1949, creating what was to be the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]].<ref>Kinnard, Douglas. "The Secretary of Defense in Retrospect." The Secretary of Defense. Lexington: University of Kentucky, 1980. 192–93. Print.</ref>

=== Provisions ===
The legislation's definition of covert action was vague, limiting oversight over the CIA's activities. It was only in the 1990s that Congress attempted to regulate covert action by prohibiting certain forms of it and enacting substantive and procedural rules for covert action.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Haas |first=Melinda |date=2022 |title=Origins of Oversight: Covert Action Amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/08850607.2022.2119446 |journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence |pages=1–22 |doi=10.1080/08850607.2022.2119446 |s2cid=252612436 |issn=0885-0607}}</ref>

==== Title I – Coordination for National Security ====
Title I worked to establish the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], an advisory council to the [[President of the United States|president]] for matters relating to national security in the realm of "domestic, [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign]], and military policies" with the intent of allowing for the military departments to communicate with more efficiency.<ref name=":1">National Security Act of 1947, Pub. L. No. 80-253, 61 Stat. 495 (1947). https://catalog.archives.gov/id/299856</ref> It also established the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) under the National Security Council, led by the [[Director of Central Intelligence]].<ref name=":1" /> The role of the director of Central Intelligence, and the CIA as a whole, is as an advisory unit to the National Security Council and as a coordinator of [[Military intelligence|intelligence]].<ref name=":1" /> Finally, Title I worked to establish the [[National Security Resources Board]], an advisory board to the President on matters relating to "the coordination of military, industrial, and civilian [[mobilization]]."<ref name=":1" />

==== Title II – The National Military Establishment ====
Outlined the establishment of the [[National Military Establishment]] (NME), which consists of the [[United States Department of the Army|Department of the Army]], the Department of the Navy, and the [[United States Department of the Air Force|Department of the Air Force]] (DAF) and is led by the secretary of defense.<ref name=":1" />

Designated the Department of War to be renamed the Department of the Army, led by the [[secretary of the Army]].<ref name=":1" /> 

Established the Department of the Navy and outlined it to consist of the [[United States Marine Corps]], the [[United States Navy]], and the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name=":1" /> The role of the United States Marine Corps was further outlined.<ref name=":1" />

Established the DAF, led by the [[secretary of the Air Force]], and allowed the secretary of defense to designate any and all functions that they deem fit to be under the DAF.<ref name=":1" /> 

Created the [[United States Air Force]] as an agency of [[Military aviation|aviation]] offense and defense under the DAF, led by a [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Chief of Staff, United States Air Force]], who in turn is directed by the secretary of the Air Force.<ref name=":1" /> The chief of staff, United States Air Force, was designated as having equal authority as the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Chief of Staff, United States Army]], and the [[Chief of Naval Operations]].<ref name=":1" />

Established the [[Council of war|War Council]] as an advisory council to the secretary of defense within the NME.<ref name=":1" /> The War Council consists of the secretary of defense, the secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, the chief of naval operations, and the chiefs of staff of the United States Army and the United States Air Force.<ref name=":1" />

Title II established the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] within the NME as consisting "of the Chief of Staff, United States Army; the Chief of Naval Operations; the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force; and the [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff|Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief]], if there be one" with the role of being "the principal military advisers to the President and the Secretary of Defense."<ref name=":1" /> It also created a Joint Staff under the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<ref name=":1" />

Created a Munitions Board within the NBE, which replaced the Joint Army and Navy Munitions Board, led by a chairman and consisted of [[United States Under Secretary of State|under secretaries]] or assistant secretaries [[United States Under Secretary of the Army|from the Department of the Army]], [[United States Under Secretary of the Navy|the Department of the Navy]], and [[United States Under Secretary of the Air Force|the Department of the Air Force]].<ref name=":1" />

Established a Research and Development Board within the NME, which replaces the Joint Research and Development Board, and that consists of a chairman with two representatives from each military department.<ref name=":1" /> The Research and Development Board acts as an advisory unit on matters relating to and the conducting of [[military research]].<ref name=":1" />

==== Title III – Miscellaneous ====
Designated compensation for each of the positions created under the act, designate relative [[Security clearance|classification statuses]], and specify the transfer of funds and resources. <ref name=":1" />

Defined "function" as including "functions, powers, and duties", and defines "budget program" as "recommendations as to the apportionment, to the allocation and to the review of allotments of appropriated funds".<ref name=":1" />

Specified [[Severability|separability]] and established the timeline of when provisions of the act would be in effect.<ref name=":1" />

Amended the July 18, 1947, [[Presidential Succession Act]]<ref>Presidential Succession Act, Pub. L. No. 199, 61 Stat. 380 (1947). https://congressional.proquest.com/legisinsight?id=PL80-199&type=LEG_HIST{{subscription required}}</ref> to remove "Secretary of the Navy" and to replace "Secretary of War" with "Secretary of Defense".<ref name=":1" />

== Results ==
The act produced mixed results, and both sides of the unification fight would see their positions partly vindicated and partly tested over the next few years.

=== Cost savings ===
The promised cost savings were fleeting and arguable. Even before the act was passed, the military's total budget ceiling had been cut by two thirds. The first year after the act, Truman cut the budget again by several billion dollars, however the defense budget had returned to its previous level by the next year. If the act saved money, it was obscured by an immediate return to high defense budgets following the Soviet development of nuclear weapons and the beginning of the Korean War.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

=== Elimination of duplication ===
The Act was partially successful in eliminating duplication. One example was the combination of the Air Force's Air Transport Command and the Navy's Naval Air Transport Service into the Military Air Transport Service on June 1, 1948.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

=== Joint operations ===
Among the services, the problems of joint operations remained bad. Rather than leading to streamlined joint operations, the Act preceded a heightened period of interservice rivalries and service parochialism. It included fights between the Army and Air Force over close air support, fights between the Air Force and Navy over development of carriers vs. development of strategic bombing capabilities, and additional attempts to marginalize the Marine Corps by both the Army and Navy. Following joint operations problems in the [[Operation_Eagle_Claw|Iranian hostage rescue]] in 1980 and [[United States invasion of Grenada]] in 1983, Congress would pass a second vast reorganization in the [[Goldwater–Nichols_Act|Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act]] in 1986.

=== Secretary of defense ===
As the first secretary of defense over the National Military Establishment, Forrestal had to live with the watered-down secretary of defense powers he had fought for as the secretary of the Navy. He found it left him unable to control the military services. Forrestal spent the remainder of his tenure as secretary of defense working to have the act amended.<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

=== President ===
Truman had succeeded in establishing a permanent and more centralized Department of Defense. However, Department of the Navy arguments regarding the dangers of placing excessive power in the hands of uniformed members of the armed forces would haunt Truman in the form of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur pursued the Republican nomination for president even while still in uniform, and Truman would ultimately relieve MacArthur for insubordination during the Korean War in 1951. The relief of the highly popular general preceded a drop in Truman's approval rating to 22%. Though Truman ultimately decided not to run in the 1952 presidential election, had he run it would have been against Eisenhower, another highly popular Army general, who retired from active service only to accept the Republican nomination.

=== Army ===
The new Air Force focused on strategic bombing and air superiority to the exclusion of almost all else, which left the Army dissatisfied with the attention paid to transportation and close air support of troops on the ground. Helicopters emerged as an Army alternative to absent support from the Air Force. By the end of 1952, the secretary of the Army and secretary of the Air Force had signed the [[Pace-Finletter_MOU_1952|Pace-Finletter]] memorandum of understanding that removed all weight limits on helicopters the Army could operate and allowed use of fixed-wing aircraft up to 5,000 lb. Army-owned helicopters proliferated during the Vietnam War. Finally, in 1983, with the establishment of the [[United States Army Aviation Branch]] to more effectively oversee the Army's numerous helicopters, the Army had effectively recreated the Army Air Forces.

=== Navy ===
The Department of the Navy had kept its aircraft and the Marine Corps had essentially saved itself, but the Navy almost immediately regretted unification. Following 1949 amendments that made the secretary of defense more than a powerless advisor, second secretary of defense Louis Johnson, an Army veteran, cancelled the aircraft carrier USS ''United States'' without consulting Congress. In an incident remembered as the [[Revolt of the Admirals]], the secretary of the Navy resigned in protest, and naval officers began a lobbying war against a rival procurement program for the B-36 bomber.

=== Marine Corps ===
Within the Marine Corps, the fight to amend the Act was memorialized as one of the Marine Corps' finest hours, primarily by former members of the Marine Corps Board.

In September 1962, Robert Heinl wrote an account of the unification battle for Proceedings, and the Pentagon blocked its publication. Five days later, a Senate subcommittee began hearings regarding the Pentagon muzzling freedom of expression, and [[Strom Thurmond]] used the censorship of Heinl's article as evidence. When the Pentagon allowed the article's publication in October, it focused the media's attention on many of the negative statements about the Marine Corps made by Truman, Eisenhower, and others.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rems |first1=Alan |title=Semper Fidelis: Defending the Marine Corps |journal=Naval History |date=June 2017 |volume=31 |issue=3 |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/june/semper-fidelis-defending-marine-corps}}</ref>

In 1984, [[Victor Krulak]] published an account of it in the book First to Fight, which has remained on the Commandant's Professional Reading List since it was first published.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krulak |first1=Victor |title=First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps |date=1984 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |isbn=978-1557504647}}</ref>

== Amendments ==
On August 10, 1949, the act was amended. The amendments' key changes included the following:<ref name="OSDHistVol1" />

* The National Military Establishment was converted into a Cabinet-level department and renamed the Department of Defense.
* The three military departments were placed under the authority of the secretary of defense.
* The secretaries of the three military departments lost their statutory access to the president, but gained statutory access to Congress.
* The secretaries of the three military departments lost their statutory membership in the National Security Council.
* The chief of staff to the commander in chief was replaced with a full-time chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff senior in rank to all other military officers.
* The War Council was renamed the Armed Forces Policy Council.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Seal of the United States National Military Establishment (1947–1949).png|Seal of [[National Military Establishment]] (1947–1949), which was later renamed the Department of Defense.
File:Seal of the United States Department of the Air Force.svg|Seal of the [[United States Department of the Air Force|Department of the Air Force]], established by the National Security Act of 1947.
File:Photograph of President Truman at his desk in the Oval Office, signing the National Security Act Amendments of 1949... - NARA - 200168.jpg|President Truman signs the National Security Act Amendment of 1949. Secretary of Defense [[Louis A. Johnson]] leans over the desk. Behind him is Admiral [[Louis Denfeld]], General [[Omar N. Bradley]], and General [[Hoyt Vandenberg]].
File:1947 National Security Act page1.jpg|The first page of the National Security Act of 1947.
File:1947 National Security Act page sign.jpg|The last page of the National Security Act of 1947. Signed by [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House of Representatives]] [[Joseph W. Martin Jr.|Joseph W. Martin]], Jr. (R-MA), [[President of the Senate]] [[pro tempore]] [[Arthur Vandenberg|Arthur H. Vandenberg]] (R-MI), and President Harry S. Truman.
File:Sacred Cow airplane.jpg|President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on board this [[C-54 Skymaster|VC-54C]] Presidential transport, the first aircraft used for the role of [[Air Force One]]. 
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Goldwater–Nichols Act]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Further reading ===
* {{Cite journal |last=McFarland |first=Keith D. |date=1981 |title=The 1949 Revolt of the Admirals |url=https://press.armywarcollege.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1257&context=parameters |journal=Parameters |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=53–63 |doi=10.55540/0031-1723.1257|doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Stevenson |first=Charles A. |title=Underlying Assumptions of the National Security Act of 1947 |url=https://ndupress.ndu.edu/portals/68/Documents/jfq/jfq-48.pdf |journal=Joint Force Quarterly |issue=48 |pages=129–133 |issn=1070-0692}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Stevenson |first=Charles A. |date=May–June 2008 |title=The Story Behind the National Security Act of 1947 |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/military-review/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20080630_art001.pdf |journal=Military Review |volume=LXXXVIII |issue=3 |pages=13–20 |id=Professional Bulletin 100-08-5/6}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Trager |first=Frank N. |date=November–December 1977 |title=The National Security Act of 1947: Its Thirtieth Anniversary |url=https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/ASPJ/journals/1977_Vol28_No1-6/1977_Vol29_No1.pdf |journal=Air University Review |volume=XXIX |issue=1 |issn=0002-2594 |pages=2–15}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-1493/uslm/COMPS-1493.xml National Security Act of 1947] as amended ([https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-1493/pdf/COMPS-1493.pdf PDF]/[https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/COMPS-1493/ details]) in the [[United States Government Publishing Office|GPO]] [https://www.govinfo.gov/help/comps Statute Compilations collection]
* [https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/cwr/17603.htm Information] at the [[Department of State]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090423054953/http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/natsec1947.htm Bibliography] of sources relating to the act, including many links to online, public-domain sources
* {{cite book |url=https://research.archives.gov/description/299856 |title=National Security Act of 1947 |date=July 26, 1947 |series=Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, compiled 1789 - 2008 |publisher=U.S. National Archives and Records Administration }}

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[[Category:United States National Security Council]]
[[Category:1947 in American law]]
[[Category:United States federal defense and national security legislation]]
[[Category:American intelligence gathering law]]
[[Category:80th United States Congress]]
[[Category:Military reforms]]