Who is in the Operational Chain of Command?

• A. President; Secretary of Defense; Commanders of Combatant Commands
• B. President; Secretary of Defense; Commandant of the Marine Corps
• C. Commanders of Combatant Commands only
• D. Secretary of Defense; Commandant of the Marine Corps

Answer: (A)

In theOperational Chain of Command, authority starts with the President as Commander in Chief, then flows to the Secretary of Defense, and from there to the Commanders of the Combatant Commands who direct military operations. The President provides overarching policy and direction, and civilian oversight is maintained through the Secretary of Defense, who coordinates and assigns forces to the Combatant Commands. The Commanders of those commands have the authority to conduct ongoing operations and assign tasks to forces under their unified commands. The Commandant of the Marine Corps is a Service Chief within the Department of Defense, not an operational commander in the chain of command. He advises and oversees his service, but the actual operational command rests with the Combatant Commanders.