Director of the Joint Staff

The Director of the Joint Staff (DJS) is a three-star officer who assists the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a cabinet of senior military officers within the United States Armed Forces who advise the Secretary of Defense and President on military matters. The Director assists the Chairman in managing the Joint Staff and with the management and organization of the staff's members. The Director also chairs meetings of the Operations Deputies, a subsidiary body comprising the Director and a three-star delegate from each service who preview or resolve issues before they are escalated to the four-star level of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[1]

Director of the Joint Staff
Seal of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Incumbent Lt Gen Glen D. VanHerck since September 2019
Formation	19 September 1949
First holder	MG Alfred M. Gruenther, USA
Website	www.jcs.mil

The Director of the Joint Staff is selected by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in consultation with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense.[1] As with all three- and four-star positions, the Director's appointment is subject to presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.

The position of Director is considered one of the most desirable three-star positions in the United States military establishment, for the position has historically served as a stepping stone to a four-star position.[2] As of February 2019, 35 of the 47 past directors and one past, short-term, acting director, have been promoted to four-star rank. Many of them have been promoted to four-star rank within a year of leaving the position of Director of the Joint Staff.

The current Director of the Joint Staff is Lieutenant General Glen D. VanHerck.

List of Directors of the Joint Staff

This is a complete list of the Directors of the Joint Staff.[3]

No.	Director		Term			Service branch
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
1		Major General Alfred M. Gruenther	17 September 1947	19 September 1949	63 years, 173 days	U.S. Army
2		Rear Admiral Arthur C. Davis	20 September 1949	1 November 1951	2 years, 42 days	U.S. Navy
3		Lieutenant General Charles P. Cabell	2 November 1951	23 April 1953	1 year, 172 days	U.S. Air Force
4		Lieutenant General Frank F. Everest	24 April 1953	18 March 1954	328 days	U.S. Air Force
5		Lieutenant General Lemuel Mathewson	19 March 1954	14 March 1956	1 year, 361 days	U.S. Army
6		Vice Admiral Bernard L. Austin	15 March 1956	31 March 1958	2 years, 16 days	U.S. Navy
7		Lieutenant General Oliver S. Picher	1 April 1958	31 March 1960	1 year, 365 days	U.S. Air Force
8		Lieutenant General Earle G. Wheeler	1 April 1960	24 February 1962	1 year, 329 days	U.S. Army
9		Vice Admiral Herbert D. Riley	25 February 1962	23 February 1964	1 year, 363 days	U.S. Navy
10		Lieutenant General David A. Burchinal	24 February 1964	31 July 1966	2 years, 157 days	U.S. Air Force
11		Lieutenant General Andrew J. Goodpaster	1 August 1966	31 March 1967	242 days	U.S. Army
12		Lieutenant General Berton E. Spivy	1 April 1967	31 July 1968	1 year, 121 days	U.S. Army
13		Vice Admiral Nels C. Johnson	1 August 1968	19 July 1970	1 year, 352 days	U.S. Navy
14		Lieutenant General John W. Vogt	20 July 1970	7 April 1972	1 year, 262 days	U.S. Air Force
-		Rear Admiral Mason B. Freeman Acting	8 April 1972	11 June 1972	64 days	U.S. Navy
15		Lieutenant General George M. Seignious II	12 June 1972	31 May 1974	1 year, 353 days	U.S. Army
16		Vice Admiral Harry D. Train II	1 June 1974	30 June 1976	2 years, 29 days	U.S. Navy
17		Lieutenant General Ray B. Sitton	1 July 1976	30 June 1977	364 days	U.S. Air Force
18		Vice Admiral Patrick J. Hannifin	1 July 1977	20 June 1978	354 days	U.S. Navy
-		Major General John A. Wickham Jr. Acting	1 July 1978	21 August 1978	51 days	U.S. Army
19		Lieutenant General John A. Wickham Jr.	22 August 1978	22 June 1979	304 days	U.S. Army
20		Vice Admiral C. Thor Hanson	22 June 1979	30 June 1981	2 years, 8 days	U.S. Navy
21		Lieutenant General James E. Dalton	1 July 1981	30 June 1983	1 year, 364 days	U.S. Air Force
22		Lieutenant General Jack N. Merritt	1 July 1983	30 June 1985	1 year, 364 days	U.S. Army
23		Vice Admiral Powell F. Carter Jr.	1 July 1985	14 August 1987	2 years, 44 days	U.S. Navy
24		Lieutenant General Robert W. RisCassi	15 August 1987	30 November 1988	1 year, 107 days	U.S. Army
25		Lieutenant General Hansford T. Johnson	1 December 1988	20 September 1989	293 days	U.S. Air Force
-		Major General Gene A. Deegan Acting	21 September 1989	26 September 1989	5 days	U.S. Marine Corps
26		Lieutenant General Michael P.C. Carns	27 September 1989	16 May 1991	1 year, 231 days	U.S. Air Force
27		Lieutenant General Henry Viccellio Jr.	17 May 1991	1 December 1992	1 year, 198 days	U.S. Air Force
28		Vice Admiral Richard C. Macke	1 December 1992	17 July 1994	1 year, 228 days	U.S. Navy
-		Major General Charles T. Robertson Jr. Acting	19 July 1994	24 July 1994	5 days	U.S. Air Force
29		Lieutenant General Walter Kross	25 July 1994	12 July 1996	1 year, 353 days	U.S. Air Force
-		Major General Stephen T. Rippe Acting	13 July 1996	13 September 1996	62 days	U.S. Army
30		Vice Admiral Dennis C. Blair	14 September 1996	12 December 1998	6 years, 11 days	U.S. Navy
31		Vice Admiral Vernon E. Clark	12 December 1998	26 July 1999	226 days	U.S. Navy
32		Lieutenant General Carlton W. Fulford Jr.	26 July 1999	14 July 2000	354 days	U.S. Marine Corps
33		Vice Admiral Scott A. Fry	July 2000	October 2001	~ 1 year, 92 days	U.S. Navy
34		Lieutenant General John P. Abizaid	16 October 2001	23 January 2003	1 year, 99 days	U.S. Army
35		Lieutenant General George W. Casey Jr.	January 2003	October 2003	~ 273 days	U.S. Army
36		Vice Admiral Timothy J. Keating	13 October 2003	October 2004	~ 354 days	U.S. Navy
37		Lieutenant General Norton A. Schwartz	October 2004	August 2005	~ 304 days	U.S. Air Force
38		Lieutenant General Walter L. Sharp	August 2005	May 2008	~ 2 years, 274 days	U.S. Army
-		Major General Stephen M. Goldfein Acting	May 2008	August 2008	~ 92 days	U.S. Air Force
39		Lieutenant General Stanley A. McChrystal	August 2008	10 June 2009	~ 313 days	U.S. Army
-		Rear Admiral Bruce E. Grooms Acting	10 June 2009	August 2009	~ 52 days	U.S. Navy
40		Lieutenant General Lloyd J. Austin III	August 2009	30 June 2010	~ 333 days	U.S. Army
41		Vice Admiral William E. Gortney	1 July 2010	August 2012	~ 2 years, 31 days	U.S. Navy
42		Lieutenant General Curtis M. Scaparrotti	August 2012	August 2013	~ 1 year, 0 days	U.S. Army
43		Lieutenant General David L. Goldfein	August 2013	August 2015	~ 2 years, 0 days	U.S. Air Force
44		Lieutenant General William C. Mayville Jr.	August 2015	July 2017	~ 1 year, 334 days	U.S. Army
45		Lieutenant General William C. Mayville Jr.	July 2017	28 February 2019	~ 1 year, 242 days	U.S. Marine Corps
46		Vice Admiral Michael M. Gilday	1 March 2019	21 August 2019	173 days	U.S. Navy
47		Lieutenant General Glen D. VanHerck	August 2019	Incumbent	~ 348 days	U.S. Air Force

Vice Director

No.	Director		Term			Service branch
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
-		Major General Stephen M. Goldfein	February 2007	28 July 2008	~ 1 year, 178 days	U.S. Air Force
-		Major General Walter E. Gaskin	28 July 2008	May 2009	~ 277 days	U.S. Marine Corps
-		Rear Admiral Bruce A. Grooms	May 2009	November 2010	~ 1 year, 184 days	U.S. Navy
-		Major General Craig A. Franklin	November 2010	March 2012	~ 1 year, 121 days	U.S. Air Force
-		Rear Admiral Nora W. Tyson	March 2012	July 2013	~ 1 year, 122 days	U.S. Navy
-		Major General Frederick S. Rudesheim	~ July 2013	February 2015	~ 1 year, 215 days	U.S. Army
-		Major General Jacqueline D. Van Ovost	February 2015	August 2017	~ 2 years, 181 days	U.S. Air Force
-		Rear Admiral Michael J. Dumont	~ July 2017	August 2018	~ 1 year, 31 days	U.S. Navy
-		Major General Glen D. VanHerck	August 2018	September 2019	~ 1 year, 31 days	U.S. Air Force
-		Rear Admiral William D. Byrne Jr.	September 2019	Incumbent	~ 348 days	U.S. Navy

See also

• List of active duty United States four-star officers
• List of United States Army four-star generals
• List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals
• List of United States Navy four-star admirals
• List of United States Air Force four-star generals

References

1. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Director Responsibility Statement". Joint Chiefs of Staff. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.
2. Woodward, Bob (2006). State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III. Simon and Schuster. pp. 22, 40. ISBN 978-0-7432-7223-0. scott fry joint staff.
3. Historical Office (2004). "Department of Defense Key Officials, 1947–2004". Office of the Secretary of Defense. p. 61. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009.