CHAPTER 6
NAVAL ORGANIZATION
The primary mission of the Navy is to support U.S.
national interests. To do that, the Navy must be prepared
to conduct prompt and sustained combat operations at
sea. Each Navy unit must be prepared to engage in battle
and support other units and forces in battle. Meeting the
objectives of this mission requires organization. This
chapter introduces you to naval organization, including
the Department of Defense, the Department of the
Navy, a typical unit organization, and the chain of
command.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Learning Objective: When you finish this chapter, you
will be able to—
Recognize the organization of the Department of
Defense (DoD) to include the Department of the
Navy (DoN) and the operating forces.
Originally, two executive departments managed the
armed forces—the Department of War and the
Department of the Navy. In 1947, the United States
created the Department of Defense (DoD) as part of its
security program by combining these two departments.
The DoD consists of various agencies and three military
departments—the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The DoD
includes the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which consists of a
chairman, the military heads of each department, and
the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The DoD
maintains and employs the armed forces to carry out the
following missions:
1. To support and defend the Constitution of the
United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic
2. To ensure, by timely and effective military
action, the security of the United States, its
possessions, and areas vital to its interests
3. To uphold and advance the national policies and
interests of the United States
4. To safeguard the internal security of the United
States
Figure 6-1 shows how the armed forces fit into the
organization of the DoD to carry out these missions. The
DoD is headed by the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF).
The military departments that come under the DoD are
the Department of the Army, the Department of the Air
Force, and the Department of the Navy. Each
department has a secretary as the head of department.
By law, these secretaries (Army, Navy, Air Force, and
SECDEF) are civilian appointees of the President. The
Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) heads the department
of which you are a part.
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train, and
equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning
wars, deterring aggression, and maintaining freedom of
the seas. The Department of the Navy has two main
objectives:
1. The first objective is to organize, train, equip,
prepare, and maintain the readiness of Navy and
Marine Corps forces to perform military
missions. These forces carry out military
missions as directed by the President through
the Secretary of Defense, to the SECNAV, to the
Navy Department.
6-1
Organization is the element of administration which entails the orderly
arrangement of materials and personnel by functions in order to attain the
objective of the unit. Organization establishes the working relationship among
unit personnel; establishes the flow of work; promotes teamwork; and identifies
the responsibility, authority and accountability of individuals within the unit.
—Standard Organization and Regulations of the U.S. Navy,
OPNAVINST 3120.32C
