During the past half century, the evolution of the Department of Defense has been shaped by its response to the volatile dynamics of the domestic and international scenes. Guided by the policies and decisions of our civilian and military leaders, the four military services-Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps-and the unified combatant commands that have the ultimate fighting responsibility are the principal guarantors of our security. On the fiftieth anniversary of the Department of Defense, the goal of this book is to recognize the vital military establishment and the men and women of the armed forces who have served us so well and are so deserving of the respect and gratitude of the nation.

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Part I. Organization. National Security Act of 1947 -- 1949 Amendment and after -- Reorganization Plan No. 6-1953 -- 1958 Reorganization Act -- The McNamara Years -- 1968-1981 -- The Goldwater-Nichols Act -- Unified commands -- Conclusion / Part II. Leaders. James V. Forrestal (1947-1949) -- Louis A. Johnson (1949-1950) -- George C. Marshall (1950-1951) -- Robert A. Lovett (1951-1953) -- Charles E. Wilson (1953-1957) -- Neil H. McElroy (1957-1959) -- Thomas S. Gates, Jr. (1959-1961) -- Robert S. McNamara (1961-1968) -- Clark M. Clifford (1968-1969) -- Melvin R. Laird (1969-1973) -- Elliot L. Richardson (January-May 1973) -- James R. Schlesinger (1973-1975) -- Donald H. Rumsfeld (1975-1977) -- Harold Brown (1977-1981) -- Caspar W. Weinberger (1981-1987) -- Frank C. Carlucci III (1987-1989) -- Richard B. Cheney (1989-1993) -- Leslie Aspin (1993-1994) -- William J. Perry (1994-1997) -- William S. Cohen (1997-) -- Conclusion.