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Structure The DOD includes the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military departments and the military services within those departments, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and

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A sample deed of trust

(continued).

ILLUSTRATION BY GGS

CREATIVE RESOURCES.

REPRODUCED BY

PERMISSION OF GALE,

A PART OF CENGAGE

LEARNING.

default by trustor in payment of any indebtedness secured by this trust deed or in the performance of any agreement under this trust deed,

to collect and retain such rents, issues, and profits as they become due and payable On any such default, beneficiary may at any time without notice, either in person, by agent, or by a court-appointed receiver, and without regard to the adequacy of any security for the indebtedness secured by this trust deed, enter on and take possession of the premises or any part of them, in its own name sue for or otherwise collect such rents, issues, and profits, including those past due and unpaid, and apply the same, less costs and expenses of operation and collection, including reasonable attorney fees, on any indebtedness secured by this trust deed, and in such order as beneficiary may determine The entering on and taking possession of the premises, the collection of the rents, issues, and profits, and the application thereof as stated above shall not cure or waive any default or notice of default under this trust deed or invalidate any act done pursuant to such notice.

16 DEFAULT; BANKRUPTCY 16.1 On default by trustor in payment of any indebtedness secured by this trust deed, or in performance of any agreement herein contained, or if trustor is adjudicated bankrupt or made defendant in a bankruptcy or receivership proceeding, all sums secured by this trust deed shall, at beneficiary's option, immediately become due and payable In the event of default, beneficiary shall execute or cause trustee to execute a written notice of such default and of beneficiary's election to cause the above-described property to be sold to satisfy the obligation hereof, and shall cause such notice to be recorded as then required by law.

16.2 On notice of sale as then required by law and elapse of the then-required time period after recordation of notice of default, trustee, without demand on trustor, shall sell the property at the time and place of sale fixed by it in the notice of sale, either as a whole or in separate parcels and in such order as it may determine, at public auction to the highest and best bidder for cash, payable at the time of sale Trustee may postpone the sale of all or any part of the property by public announcement at the time and place of sale, and from time

to time thereafter may postpone the sale by public announcement at the time fixed by the preceding postponement Trustee shall deliver

to the purchaser its deed conveying the property so sold, but without any covenant or warranty, express or implied The recitals in the deed of any matters or facts shall be conclusive proof of the truthfulness thereof Any person, including trustor, trustee, or beneficiary, as defined under this trust deed, may purchase at such sale.

16.3 After deducting all costs, fees, and expenses of trustee and of this trust, including the cost of evidence of title and reasonable counsel fees in connection with the sale, trustee shall apply the proceeds of the sale to the payment of all sums expended under the trust terms, not then repaid with accrued interest at the rate provided on the principal debt, all other sums then secured by this trust deed, and the remainder, if any, to the person or persons legally entitled to receive them.

17 APPLICATION OF TRUST DEED 17.1 This trust deed applies to, inures to the benefit of, and binds all parties to this agreement, their heirs, legatees, devisees, administrators, executors, successors, and assigns The term "beneficiary" shall mean the holder and owner, including pledgee, of the

_ (Note or Bond) secured by this trust deed, whether or not named as a beneficiary herein Whenever the context of this

trust deed so requires, the masculine gender includes the feminine and/or neuter, and the singular number includes the plural.

18 ACCEPTANCE OF TRUST 18.1 Trustee accepts this trust when this trust deed, duly executed and acknowledged, is made a public record as provided by law Trustee

is not obligated to notify any party to this trust deed of any pending sale under any other trust deed or of any action or proceeding in which trustor, beneficiary, or trustee shall be a party, unless brought by trustee.

19 SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE 19.1 Beneficiary may, from time to time, as provided by statute, appoint another trustee in place of trustee herein named, and on such appointment, trustee herein named shall be discharged and the trustee so appointed shall be substituted as trustee with the same effect as

if originally named trustee.

20 MULTIPLE TRUSTEES 20.1 If two or more persons are designated as trustee, all powers granted to trustee may be exercised by any of such persons, if the other person or persons are unable, for any reason, to act; and any recital of such inability in any instrument executed by any of such persons shall be conclusive against trustor, or trustor's heirs and assigns.

_ (If appropriate, add: , the (wife or husband) of trustor, for the above-stated consideration, hereby relinquishes _ (her or his) right of _ (dower or curtesy) (and homestead)

in and to the above-described premises.) 20.2 The undersigned trustor requests that a copy of any notice of default and of any notice of sale under this trust deed be mailed to trustor's address set forth above.

In witness whereof, trustor has executed this trust deed the day and year first written above.

Signature Date

Signature Date

DEED OF TRUST

398 DEED OF TRUST

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by a mortgagor-borrower to a mortgagee-lender

to secure the payment of the borrower’s debt

Although a deed of trust serves the same

purpose as a type of security, it differs from a

mortgage A deed of trust is an arrangement

among three parties: the borrower, the lender,

and an impartial trustee In exchange for a loan

of money from the lender, the borrower places

LEGAL TITLEto real property in the hands of the

trustee who holds it for the benefit of the lender,

named in the deed as the beneficiary The

borrower retains equitable title to, and

posses-sion of, the property

The terms of the deed provide that the

transfer of legal title to the trustee will be void

on the timely payment of the debt If the

borrower defaults in the payment of the debt,

the trustee is empowered by the deed to sell the

property and pay the lender the proceeds to

satisfy the debt Any surplus will be returned

to the borrower

The right of the trustee to sell the premises

is calledFORECLOSUREbyPOWER OF SALE It differs

in several respects from the power of a mortgagee

to sell mortgaged property upon default, which

is called a judicial foreclosure A foreclosure by

power of sale is neither supervised nor

con-firmed by a court, unlike a judicial foreclosure

Whereas the rights received by a purchaser at a

foreclosure by power of sale are the same as those

obtained at a judicial foreclosure, there is a

practical difference Because the sale has not been

judicially approved, there is a greater possibility

ofLITIGATIONovertitle, thereby making title to the

purchased premises less secure than one

pur-chased at a judicial foreclosure In addition, the

lender may purchase the property for sale under

the provisions of a deed of trust, since the neutral

trustee conducts the sale This is not the case in a

foreclosure, unless contract or statute provides

otherwise, because the mortgagee must act

impartially in selling the property to satisfy the

debt Some mortgages may, however, provide for

foreclosure by power of sale

The procedure for a foreclosure by power

of sale is regulated by statute, a characteristic

shared by a judicial foreclosure All interested

parties must be given notice of the sale, which

must be published in local newspapers, usually

in the public notice columns, for a certain

period of time as required by statute The sale

is usually open to the public to ensure that the

property will be sold at itsFAIR MARKET VALUE

DEEM

To hold; consider; adjudge; believe; condemn;

determine; treat as if; construe

To deem is to consider something as having certain characteristics If an act is deemed a crime by law, then it is held to be a crime If someone is deemed liable for damages, then he

or she will have to pay them

DEFALCATION The misappropriation or embezzlement of money

Defalcation implies that funds have in some way been mishandled, particularly where an officer or agent has breached his or her fiduciary duty It is commonly applied to public officers who fail to account for money received by them in their official capacity, or to officers

of corporations who misappropriate company funds for their own private use

Colloquially, the term is used to mean any type of BAD FAITH, deceit, misconduct, or dishonesty

DEFAMATION Any intentional false communication, either writ-ten or spoken, that harms a person’s reputation;

decreases the respect, regard, or confidence in which

a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile, or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person

Defamation may be a criminal or civil charge

It encompasses both written statements, known

as libel, and spoken statements, called slander

The probability that aPLAINTIFFwill recover damages in a defamation suit depends largely

on whether the plaintiff is a public or private figure in the eyes of the law The public figure law of defamation was first delineated in New York Times v Sullivan, 376 U.S 254, 84 S Ct

710, 11 L Ed 2d 686 (1964) In Sullivan, the plaintiff, a police official, claimed that false allegations about him appeared in the New York Times, and sued the newspaper for libel The Supreme Court balanced the plaintiff’s interest

in preserving his reputation against the public’s interest in freedom of expression in the area

of political debate It held that a public official alleging libel must prove actual malice in order

to recover damages The Court declared that the FIRST AMENDMENT protects open and robust debate on public issues even when such debate includes“vehement, caustic, unpleasantly sharp

DEFAMATION 399

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attacks on government and public officials.” A public official or other plaintiff who has volun-tarily assumed a position in the public eye must prove that defamatory statements were made with knowledge that they were false or with reckless disregard of whether they were false

Where the plaintiff in a defamation action

is a private citizen who is not in the public eye, the law extends a lesser degree of constitutional protection to defamatory statements Public figures voluntarily place themselves in a posi-tion that invites close scrutiny, whereas private citizens who have not entered public life do not relinquish their interest in protecting their reputation In addition, public figures have greater access to the means to publicly counteract false statements about them For these reasons, a private citizen’s reputation and privacy interests tend to outweigh free speech considerations and deserve greater protection from the courts

(See Gertz v Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S 323, 94

S Ct 2997, 41 L Ed 2d 789[1974].) Distinguishing between public and private figures for the purposes of defamation law is sometimes difficult For an individual to be considered a public figure in all situations, the person’s name must be so familiar as to be a household word—for example, Michael Jordan

Because most people do not fit into that category

of notoriety, the Court recognized the limited-purpose public figure, who is voluntarily injected into a public controversy and becomes a public figure for a limited range of issues Limited-purpose public figures, such as public figures, have at least temporary access to the means to counteract false statements about them They also voluntarily place themselves in the public eye and consequently relinquish some of their privacy rights For these reasons, false statements about limited-purpose public figures that relate to the public controversies in which those figures are involved are not considered defamatory unless they meet the actual-malice test set forth in Sullivan

Determining who is a limited-purpose public figure can also be problematic In Time, Inc v

Firestone, 424 U.S 448, 96 S Ct 958, 47 L Ed 2d

154 (1976), the Court held that the plaintiff,

a prominent socialite involved in a scandalous

DIVORCE, was not a public figure because her divorce was not a public controversy and because she had not voluntarily involved herself in a public controversy The Court recognized

that the divorce was newsworthy, but drew a distinction between matters of PUBLIC INTEREST

and matters of public controversy In Hutchinson

v Proxmire, 443 U.S 111, 99 S Ct 2675, 61 L Ed 2d 411 (1979), the Court determined that a scientist whose federally supported research was ridiculed as wasteful by Senator William Prox-mire was not a limited-purpose public figure because he had not sought public scrutiny in order to influence others on a matter of public controversy, and was not otherwise well-known FURTHER READINGS

Collins, Matthew 2001 The Law of Defamation and the Internet New York: Oxford Univ Press.

Friedman, Jessica R 1995 “Defamation.” Fordham Law Review 64 (December).

Jones, William K 2003 Insult to Injury: Libel, Slander, and Invasions of Privacy Boulder: Univ Press of Colorado.

Smolla, Rodney A 1999 Law of Defamation 2d ed Eagan, Minn.: West.

CROSS REFERENCES Freedom of the Press; Libel and Slander.

DEFAULT

An omission; a failure to do that which is antici-pated, expected, or required in a given situation Default is distinguishable from NEGLIGENCE

in that it does not involve carelessness or imprudence with respect to the discharge of a duty or obligation but rather the intentional omission or nonperformance of a duty To default on a debt is to fail to pay it upon its due date Default in contract law implies failure to perform a contractual obligation

A default judgment is one that may be entered against a party in a lawsuit for failure

to comply with a procedural step in the suit, such as failure to file an answer to a complaint

or failure to file a paper on time A DEFAULT JUDGMENTis not one that goes to the merits of a lawsuit but is procedural in nature

DEFAULT JUDGMENT Judgment entered against a party who has failed

to defend against a claim that has been brought

by another party Under rules of civil procedure, when a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead (i.e., answer) or otherwise defend, the party is in default and a judgment by default may be entered either

by the clerk or the court

400 DEFAULT

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DEFEASANCE CLAUSE

A provision of a mortgage—an interest in land

given to a mortgagee-lender to secure the payment

of a debt—which promises that the

mortgagor-borrower will regain title to the mortgaged property

when all the terms of the mortgage have been met

Defeasance clauses are found in mortgages in

the few states that still follow the common-law

theory of mortgages At early English COMMON

LAW, a mortgagee who lent money to a mortgagor

received in exchange a deed ofDEFEASIBLEfee to the property, offered as security for the payment

of the debt Such title was subject to defeat or cancellation upon payment of the debt on theLAW DAY, that is, at its maturity, and the mortgagor would at that time regain title to the property If the mortgagor failed to pay the debt, even by only one day, the mortgagee’s title became an estate in

FEE SIMPLE absolute, which gave the mortgagee absolute ownership of the property A defeasance

Default Judgment

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

_X

Plaintiff, Civ _ ( )

_X

This action having been commenced on _ by

the filing of the Summons and Complaint, and a copy of the Summons and Complaint having been personally served on the defendant,

_ , on

by _ (STATE SPECIFICALLY HOW SERVICE WAS MADE ON DEFENDANT)

personal service on , and a proof of service

having been filed on and the defendant not having answered the Complaint, and the time for

answering the Complaint having expired, it is

ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED: That the plaintiff have judgment against defendant in the liquidated amount of $ _

with interest at _ % from _ amounting to $ plus costs

and disbursements of this action in the amount of $ _ amounting in all to $ _

Dated: New York, New York

_

U.S.D.J.

This document was entered on the docket on

SDNY Web 5/99

(date)

(name)

(name)

(date)

(date)

(date)

A sample default judgment.

ILLUSTRATION BY GGS CREATIVE RESOURCES REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION OF GALE,

A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING.

DEFEASANCE CLAUSE 401

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clause embodies these common-law principles that govern this type of mortgage agreement

Defeasance clauses are not found in mort-gages based upon the LIEN theory, observed in most states The mortgage creates a lien for the mortgagee on the mortgaged property, which gives the mortgagee the right to its possession only after the mortgage has been foreclosed

Since the mortgage has not been given defeasi-ble title, there is no need for a defeasance clause

DEFEASIBLE Potentially subject to defeat, termination, or annulment upon the occurrence of a future action

or event, or the performance of a condition subsequent

The most common legal application of the term is with respect to estates as interest in land, such as in the case of a conveyance or a LIFE ESTATE, which is defeasible upon the happening

of a certain specified event, for example, the death of the person holding such an interest

DEFECT Imperfection, flaw, or deficiency

That which is subject to a defect is missing

a requisite element and, therefore, is not legally binding Defective SERVICE OF PROCESS, for

A sample form letter

providing notice of a

product defect to the

manufacturer.

ILLUSTRATION BY GGS

CREATIVE RESOURCES.

REPRODUCED BY

PERMISSION OF GALE,

A PART OF CENGAGE

LEARNING.

Date: _

To: _

Dear :

Notice is hereby provided that we have purchased a product manufactured, distributed, or sold by you and described as:

You are advised of a product defect or warranty claim In support of same we provide the following information:

1 Date of Purchase:

2 Nature of Defect:

3 Injuries or Damage:

4 Item Purchased From:

This is provided to give you earliest notice of said claim I request that you or your representative contact me as soon as possible.

Very truly,

_

Name

_

Address

_

City, State, Zip

_

Telephone Number

CERTIFIED MAIL, Return Receipt Requested

Product Defect Notice

402 DEFEASIBLE

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example, is service that does not comply with

a procedural or jurisdictional requirement A

defective will is one that has not been properly

drawn up, has been obtained by unlawful means,

or does not comply with a particular law In

some cases, however, defects can be cured; for

example, defective service of process can be

cured by the service of an amended complaint

In PRODUCT LIABILITY, a defective product

is one that cannot be used for the purposes

intended or is made dangerous as a result of a

flaw or imperfection Such a defect might exist

in the entire design of a product or in the

production of a particular individual product

A latent defect is one that is not readily

observable by the buyer of an item, whereas a

patent defect is obvious or immediately apparent

upon observation A fatal defect is one that, due

to its serious nature, serves to nullify a contract

DEFENDANT

The person defending or denying; the party against

whom relief or recovery is sought in an action or

suit, or the accused in a criminal case

In every legal action, whether civil or criminal,

there are two sides The person suing is the

PLAINTIFFand the person against whom the suit is

brought is theDEFENDANT In some instances, there

may be more than one plaintiff or defendant

If an individual is being sued by his or her

neighbor for TRESPASS, then he or she is the

defendant in a civil suit The person being

accused ofMURDERby the state in aHOMICIDEcase

is the defendant in aCRIMINAL ACTION

DEFENSE

The forcible repulsion of an unlawful and violent

attack, such as the defense of one’s person,

property, or country in time of war

The totality of the facts, law, and contentions

presented by the party against whom a civil action

or ciminal prosecution is instituted in order to

defeat or diminish the plaintiff’s cause of action or

the prosecutor’s case A reply to the claims of the

other party, which asserts reasons why the claims

should be disallowed The defense may involve

an absolute denial of the other party’s factual

allegations or may entail an affirmative defense,

which sets forth completely new factual

allega-tions Pursuant to the rules of federal civil procedure,

numerous defenses may be asserted by motion as

well as by answer, whereas other defenses must be pleaded affirmatively

A frivolous defense is one that entails a vacuous assertion, which is not supported by argument or evidence The rules of federal procedure provide that on motion such defense may be ordered stricken from the pleadings

A meritorious defense is one that involves the essence or substance of the case, as distin-guished from technical objections or delaying tactics

With respect to a criminal charge, defenses such as alibi, consent, duress,ENTRAPMENT, igno-rance or mistake, infancy, insanity, intoxication, andSELF-DEFENSEcan result in a party’s acquittal

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT The Department of Defense (DOD) is the executive department in the federal government that is responsible for providing the military forces needed

to deter war and to protect the security of the United States The major elements of the military forces under its control are the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, consisting of about 1.5 million men and women on active duty They are backed, in case of emergency, by 1 million members of reserve units In addition, the DOD employs approximately 900,000 civilians

Although every state has some defense activities, the central headquarters of the DOD

is in northern Virginia at the Pentagon, the

“world’s largest office building.”

The National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C

A § 401) created the National Military Establish-ment, which replaced the War Department and was later renamed the Department of Defense It was established as an executive department of the government by the National Security Act Amendments of 1949, with the secretary of defense as its head (5 U.S.C.A § 101) Since

1949 many legislative and administrative changes have occurred, evolving the department into the structure under which it currently operates

Structure

The DOD includes the Office of the Secretary

of Defense, the military departments and the military services within those departments, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, the unified combatant commands, the DOD agencies, the DOD field activities, and such other offices, agencies, activities, and commands

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 403

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as may be established or designated by law or

by the president or the secretary of defense

Office of the Secretary

The secretary of defense is the principal adviser

on defense policy to the president The secretary

is responsible for the formulation of general defense policy and DOD policy and for the execution of approved policy Under the direc-tion of the president, the secretary exercises authority, direction, and control over the DOD

The deputy secretary of defense has full power and authority to act for the secretary of defense

Three positions are designated as undersec-retary of defense The undersecundersec-retary of defense for acquisition and technology chairs the Defense Acquisition Board and advises the secretary of defense on all matters relating to the acquisition system, research and development, test and

evaluation, production, logistics, military con-struction, procurement, and economic affairs The undersecretary of defense for policy advises the secretary of defense on policy matters relating to overall international security and political-military affairs, includingNORTH ATLAN-TIC TREATY ORGANIZATIONaffairs, arms limitations agreements, and international trade and tech-nology

The undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness develops policies and administra-tive processes to ensure that the military forces have sufficient readiness to execute the National Military Strategy; develops civilian and military personnel policies including health and drug policies, equal opportunity programs, and family issues and support; and oversees matters concerning the reserve components

Department of Defense

Inspector General

Secretary of Defense Deputy Secretary of Defense

Office of the Secretary

of Defense

Under Secretaries Assistant Secretaries

of Defense and Equivalents

Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Staff Chairman JCS

Vice Chairman JCS Chief of Staff, Army Chief of Naval Operations Chief of Staff, Air Force Commandant, Marine Corps

Department of the Army

Secretary of the Army

Under

Secretary

and

Assistant

Secretaries

of the Army

Chief of

Staff

Army

Army Major

Commands

and Agencies

Department of the Navy Secretary of the Navy Under

Secretary and Assistant Secretaries

of the Navy

Chief of Naval Operations

Commandant

of Marine Corps

Navy Major Commands and Agencies

Marine Corps Major Commands and Agencies

Department of the Air Force Secretary of the Air Force

Under Secretary and Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force

Chief of Staff Air Force

Air Force Major Commands and Agencies

Defense Agencies Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Defense Business Transformation Agency Defense Commissary Agency Defense Contract Audit Agency Defense Contract Management Agency Defense Finance and Accounting Service Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Defense Legal Services Agency Defense Logistics Agency Defense Security Cooperation Agency Defense Security Service Defense Threat Reduction Agency Missile Defense Agency National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Nat Security Agency/Central Security Service Pentagon Force Protection Agency

DoD Field Activities American Forces Information Service

Defense POW/MP Office

Defense Technical Information Center

Defense Technology Security Administration

DoD Counterintelligence Field Activity

DoD Education Activity

DoD Human Resources Activity

DoD Test Resource Management Center

Office of Economic Adjustment

TRICARE Management Activity

Washington Headquarters Services

Combatant Commands Central Command European Command Joint Forces Command Pacific Command Southern Command Special Operations Command Strategic Command Transportation Command Africa Command

ILLUSTRATION BY GGS

CREATIVE RESOURCES.

REPRODUCED BY

PERMISSION OF GALE,

A PART OF CENGAGE

LEARNING.

404 DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

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The comptroller and chief financial officer

of the DOD is the principal adviser and assistant

to the secretary of defense for budgetary and

fiscal matters, including financial management,

accounting policy, and systems and budget

formulation and execution

The director of operational test and

evalua-tion serves as a staff assistant and adviser to the

secretary of defense, prescribing policies and

procedures for the conduct of operational test

and evaluation within the department,

includ-ing assessments of operational effectiveness and

of the suitability of major defense acquisition

programs

The assistant secretary of defense for

com-mand, control, communications, and intelligence

(C’s3I) is the principal staff assistant and adviser

to the secretary of defense for C’s3I, information

management, counterintelligence, and security

countermeasures

The assistant secretary of defense for

legislative affairs is responsible for maintaining

a direct liaison with Congress, coordinating

departmental actions relating to congressional

consideration of the legislative program of the

department, coordinating responses to requests

for information by members of Congress, and

arranging for witnesses from the DOD and the

various military departments at congressional

hearings on defense matters

The general counsel is the chief legal officer

of the DOD and is responsible for the

prepara-tion and processing of legislaprepara-tion, executive

orders, and proclamations, and reports and

comments thereon The general counsel also

serves as director of the Defense Legal Services

Agency, providing legal advice and services for

the Office of the Secretary of Defense, its field

activities, and the defense agencies The general

counsel also administers the Defense Industrial

Security Clearance Review Program and the

Standards of Conduct Ethics Program

The inspector general serves as an

indepen-dent and objective official in the DOD The

inspector general is responsible for conducting,

supervising, monitoring, and initiating audits,

investigations, and inspections relating to

pro-grams and operations of the department The

inspector general coordinates activities designed

to promote economy, efficiency, and

effective-ness in the administration of such programs

and operations, and to prevent and detect fraud

and abuse in them

The assistant secretary of defense for public affairs is responsible for the functional areas of the DOD, which include public and internal information, audiovisual activities, community relations, and security clearance The assistant secretary also reviews information intended for public release, and implements programs under the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (5 U.S.C.A

§ 552) and Federal Privacy Act (5 U.S.C.A

§ 552a) within the DOD

The assistant secretary of defense for intelligence oversight conducts independent oversight inspections of DOD intelligence and counterintelligence operations to ensure com-pliance with legal requirements, and reviews all allegations that raise questions of legality or propriety involving intelligence and counterin-telligence activities

The director of administration and manage-ment serves as the principal staff assistant to the secretary and deputy secretary of defense on matters concerning department-wide organiza-tional and administrative management, and also serves as the director of the Washington Headquarters Service

Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff consists of a chair and vice chair, the chief of staff of the U.S Army, the chief of naval operations, the chief of staff

of the U.S Air Force, and the commandant of the Marine Corps

The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the president, the

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, and the secretary

of defense While serving, the chair holds the

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (left) speaks before the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing held to discuss the Defense Department’s budget.

ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 405

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grade of general or admiral and outranks all other officers of the armed forces

The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff helps the president and the secretary of defense to provide for the strategic direction and planning

of the armed forces, including resource ALLOCA-TION, the assessment of the military strength of potential adversaries, and the preparation of both contingency plans and joint logistic and mobility plans In addition, the chair coordi-nates military education and training, repre-sents the United States on the Military Staff Committee of theUNITED NATIONS, and convenes and presides over regular meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Department of Defense in the Response to Terrorism

Recent acts of TERRORISM have required the Department of Defense to reconsider some of its methods for protecting the United States from foreign threats TheSEPTEMBER11TH ATTACKS

perpetrated by the terrorist organization al Qaeda not only destroyed the World Trade Center towers in New York City but also severely damaged the Pentagon building in Virginia In the months following these attacks, the U.S

military engaged in operations in Afghanistan, which had harbored suspected al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden Following the campaign against Afghanistan, the secretary of defense under President GEORGE W BUSH, Donald Rumsfeld, become a central figure in the American media

One of the most publicized issues during Rumsfeld’s tenure was the indefinite detention and treatment of persons at the U.S Guanta-namo Bay, Cuba, military prison who were suspected terrorists, and the ostensible trials before “military commissions” created by the Bush Administration to try detained enemy combatants for WAR CRIMES The U.S Supreme Court, in Hamdan v Rumsfeld, 126 S.Ct 2749 (2005) held that neither the U.S Constitution (including the inherent powers of the Execu-tive) nor any act of Congress expressly autho-rized the type of military commissions created

by the Bush administration to try detained enemy combatants for war crimes Absent that express authorization, the commissions were forced to comply with the ordinary laws of the United States and the laws of war, including parts

of the Geneva Conventions and the statutory

UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE(UCMJ)

In response to the Court’s ruling, Congress enacted the U.S Military Commissions Act, Pub L 109-366, 120 Stat 2600, in 2006 Its stated purpose was to “facilitate bringing to justice terrorists and other unlawful enemy combatants [defined therein] through full and fair trials by military commissions, and for other purposes.” But by 2009 only one combatant had been tried by the military commission’s tribunal At that time, newly-elected President

BARACK OBAMA signed EXECUTIVE ORDER 13492

on January 22, 2009, within 48 hours of taking office, which directed the closure of Guanta-namo within one year He also ordered the temporary suspension (for 120 days) of all proceedings conducted by the Guantanamo Military Commission, and an immediate assess-ment of the prison itself to ensure that con-ditions for the remaining detainees would meet the humanitarian requirements of the Geneva Conventions The Executive Order noted that some of the 240 remaining detainees had been held from four to six years without prosecution

or formal charges

Another thorny issue for the department was the scandal surrounding abuse and mis-treatment of Iraqi prisoners by DOD personnel

at Baghdad’s now infamous Abu Ghraib facility The prison scandal stemmed from incidents that took place in 2004, when photographs of the prisoner abuse were leaked to the media

In April 2006, U.S Army Lieutenant Colonel Steven L Jordan became the first and only military officer to be criminally charged in relation to these incidents, but at least 11 U.S enlisted soldiers were convicted and several officers were reprimanded or demoted But that was not the end of DOD’s troubles with detainees The release to the public of the detainee photographs became the subject of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION (ACLU), denial of which resulted in a lawsuit on appeal

to the U.S Supreme Court for its 2009-2010 term Department of Defense v ACLU, No

09-160 (The other remaining scandal, involving the release of internal “torture memos,” implicated theDEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEmore than the DOD.) The Department of Defense has restruc-tured other operations and developed new defense strategies in light of new threats against the United States In 2002 the Department redrafted the Unified Command Plan as part

406 DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Trang 10

the largest restructuring of the military since

WORLD WAR II The revised structure places more

emphasis on terrorism and other threats, with

considerable focus on the development

of technologies to assist in fighting these threats

Homeland security has also been a primary

focus for the department

Field Activities

The American Forces Information Service,

established in 1977 under the supervision of

the assistant secretary of defense for public

affairs, is responsible for the department’s

internal information program and visual

infor-mation policy The Armed Forces Radio and

Television Service and Broadcast Center and the

American Forces Press and Publications Service

(which includes among its many products the

Current News Early Bird) function under the

director of the American Forces Information

Service Current News Early Bird is a

Pentagon-produced newspaper that contains clippings and

analysis of defense-related articles from

news-papers around the country The American Forces

Information Service provides policy guidance

and oversight for departmental periodicals and

pamphlets, the Stars and Stripes newspapers,

military command newspapers, and the Defense

Information School, among other projects

The Department of Defense Civilian

Per-sonnel Management Service was established on

August 30, 1993, and functions under the

authority, direction, and control of the

under-secretary of defense for personnel and readiness

It provides services in civilian personnel policy,

support, functional information management,

and civilian personnel administration to DOD

components and their activities

The Department of Defense Education

Activity (DODEA) was established in 1992 and

also functions under the authority, direction,

and control of the undersecretary of defense

for personnel and readiness It consists of three

subordinate entities: the DOD dependents

schools, the DOD Section 6 schools, and the

Continuing Adult and Post-Secondary

Educa-tion Office The DODEA formulates, develops,

and implements policies, technical guidance

plans, and standards for the effective

manage-ment of defense activities and programs both

stateside and overseas

The Office of Civilian Health and

Medi-cal Program of the Uniformed Services

(OCHAMPUS) was established as a field activity

in 1974 The office administers a civilian health and medical care program for retired service members and the spouses and dependent children of active duty, retired, disabled, and deceased service members, and also administers

a program for payment of emergency medical and dental services provided to active duty service members by civilian medical personnel

The Defense Medical Programs Activity develops and maintains the department’s Uni-fied Medical Program to provide resources for all medical activities, including planning, pro-gramming, and budgeting construction projects for medical facilities It also provides informa-tion systems and related communicainforma-tions and automated systems in support of the activities

of the DOD Military Health Services System (MHSS), the Defense Enrollment Eligibility and Reporting System, the Tri-Service Medical Information System, the Reportable Disease Database, and other department-wide

automat-ed MHSS information systems

The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Office was established on July 16, 1993, under the authority, direction, and control of the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs It provides centralized manage-ment of prisoner of war–missing in action (POW-MIA) affairs with the DOD The office provides DOD personnel to negotiate with officials of foreign governments to achieve the fullest possible accounting of missing U.S

military personnel and also assembles and admin-istrates information and databases on U.S mili-tary and civilian personnel who are, or were, prisoners of war or missing in action The office declassifies DOD documents and maintains open channels of communication between the department and Congress, POW-MIA families, and veterans’ organizations

The Defense Technology Security Adminis-tration was established on May 10, 1985, and functions under the control, direction, and authority of the undersecretary of defense for policy This office is responsible for reviewing the international transfer of defense technology, goods, services, and munitions, consistent with U.S foreign policy and national security objectives

The Office of Economic Adjustment is responsible for planning and managing the DOD’s economic adjustment programs and for assisting federal, state, and local officials

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 407

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