Secretary of Defense William Perry and Deputy Secretary of Defense John Deutch would like to welcome you to DefenseLINK, the World-Wide Web Information Service from the Department of Defense.

The Department of Defense is responsible for providing the military forces needed to deter war and protect the security of our country. The department's headquarters is at the Pentagon.

Under the President, who is also Commander in Chief, the Secretary of Defense exercises the authority, direction, and control over the department, which includes:

• The Office of the Secretary
• The Joint Chiefs of Staff
• The Army
• The Navy
• The Air Force
• The Marines Corps
• The Coast Guard (in time of war)
• The Reserve
• The National Guard
• The Combatant Commands
• Other Components
  • The Inspector General of the Department of Defense
  • The Defense Agencies
  • The Department of Defense Field Activities

Contents

• News: Official Defense News Releases (Apr 24)
• Questions/Public Information Series Frequently Asked Questions about the department (Apr 10)
• Defense Fact File: Information in English, not in Pentagonese.
• Publications, including:
  • Defense Issues: Important Speeches (Apr 25)
  • Guide to Defense Organization and Functions (Apr 7)
  • Defense Directives and Instructions

Finding Information

• The DefenseLINK Locator: A searchable database of Defense Information Sources.
• What's New: The latest Defense Information Sources (Apr 17)