National Security Act
National Security Act (1947).The conditions leading to the entry of the United States into World War II in 1941 revealed a number of deficiencies in how its national security apparatus was organized. There were inadequacies in civil‐military policy coordination, in interservice coordination, and in intelligence. During the latter part of the war, debate arose over the possibility of merging the U.S. Army (and its subordinate air force) and the U.S. Navy into a single department. The army largely favored the concept; the air force saw it as the means to its independence; the navy was opposed.
It became apparent to Navy Secretary James V. Forrestal in 1945 that, given congressional interest, outright opposition was doomed. He decided it was best to come up with an alternative that he could support. He asked his former business colleague Ferdinand Eberstadt to review the issue.
Once immersed,...
[The entire page is 865 words long]
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