Walter B. Jones: “since 1947 Congress has twice affirmed that the Marine Corps is a separate military service within the Department of the…”

“since 1947 Congress has twice affirmed that the Marine Corps is a separate military service within the Department of the Navy. In 1947, the National Security Act stated that we have four separate military services: the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marine Corps. In 1986, the Goldwater-Nichols Act formally acknowledged the roles of each service's commanding officer and stated that each branch's commander serves equally as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. For the past 5 years, this House has sent legislation to the Senate that would rename the Department of the Navy to be the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps. Not only has this change received support from the full House Armed Services Committee and the House itself, but by such notables as Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitz; Assistant Secretary of the Navy H. Lawrence Garrett, III; Acting Secretary of the Navy Daniel Howard; Secretary of the Navy John Dalton; General Carl Mundy, 30th Commandant of the Marine Corps; General Chuck Krulak, 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps; the Fleet Reserve Association; the Marine Corps League; the National Defense PAC; and the National Association of Uniformed Services. Wade Sanders, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs, 1993 to 1998, also declared his support for this change.”