The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has command authority over the armed forces.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only during wartime
• D. Only subordinate to the Secretary of Defense

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that command authority over the U.S. armed forces does not rest with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The President, as Commander in Chief, holds the ultimate authority and, through the Secretary of Defense, directs military forces. The Chairman’s role is to serve as the senior military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council, and to chair the Joint Chiefs. He does not have operational command over combatant forces; that authority lies with the combatant commanders under the Unified Command Plan and the broader chain of command. In practice, orders and direction flow from the President and the Secretary of Defense down to those commanders, not from the Chairman. So the statement about the Chairman having command authority is not correct, even in wartime, because the authority to command remains with the President and the designated military commanders.