Goldwater–Nichols Act

Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986
Long title	To reorganize the Department of Defense and strengthen civilian authority in the Department of Defense, to improve the military advice provided to the President, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense, to place clear responsibility on the commanders of the unified and specified combatant commands for the accomplishment of missions assigned to those commands and ensure that the authority of those commanders is fully commensurate with that responsibility, to increase attention to the formulation of strategy and to contingency planning, to provide for more efficient use of defense resources, to improve joint officer management policies, otherwise to enhance the effectiveness of military operations and improve the management and administration of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.
Enacted by	the 99th United States Congress
Citations
Public law	99-433
Statutes at Large	100 Stat. 992
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House as H.R. 3622 by William Flynt Nichols (D–AL) on October 24, 1985; Committee consideration by United States House Committee on Armed Services; Passed the House on November 20, 1985 (383–27); Passed the Senate on May 5, 1986 (95–0); Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on October 1, 1986;

The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of October 4, 1986 (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 99–433; signed by President Ronald Reagan) made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947 by reworking the command structure of the U.S. military. It increased the powers of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and implemented some of the suggestions from the Packard Commission, commissioned by President Reagan in 1985. Among other changes, Goldwater–Nichols streamlined the military chain of command, which now runs from the president through the secretary of defense directly to combatant commanders (CCDRs, all four-star generals or admirals), bypassing the service chiefs. The service chiefs were assigned to an advisory role to the president and the secretary of defense, and given the responsibility for training and equipping personnel for the unified combatant commands.

Named after Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona) and Representative William Flynt "Bill" Nichols (D-Alabama), the bill passed the House of Representatives, 383–27, and the Senate, 95–0. It was signed into law by President Reagan on October 1, 1986. Admiral William J. Crowe was the first chairman to serve under this new legislation.

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