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This volume, the first of a series, is a collection of documents with a single theme-the establishment and development of the organization of the Department of Defense. This reference collection contains source materials that will be useful to scholars, officials of government, reporters of current affairs, and others. It may also afford insights into the evolution of a large and complex department of government. Topics summarized and/or documented include: The National Security Act of 1947; The Amendment of 1949; Reorganization Plan No. 6 of 1953; Defense Reorganization Act of 1958; Administrative and Legislative Modifications -- 1958-1978; and Functions of the Armed Services and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In 1950, when he commissioned the first edition of The Armed Forces Officer, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall told its author, S.L.A. Marshall, that "American military officers, of whatever service, should share common ground ethically and morally." In this new edition, the authors methodically explore that common ground, reflecting on the basics of the Profession of Arms, and the officer's special place and distinctive obligations within that profession and especially to the Constitution.