<Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.defense.gov </Td> </Tr> <P> The Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government of the United States charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government concerned directly with national security and the United States Armed Forces . The Department is the largest employer in the world, with nearly 1.3 million active duty servicemen and women as of 2016 . Adding to its employees are over 826,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists from the four services, and over 742,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.8 million employees . It is headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. </P> <P> The Department of Defense is headed by the Secretary of Defense, a cabinet - level head who reports directly to the President of the United States . Beneath the Department of Defense are three subordinate military departments: the United States Department of the Army, the United States Department of the Navy, and the United States Department of the Air Force . In addition, four national intelligence services are subordinate to the Department of Defense: the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Other Defense Agencies include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Defense Health Agency (DHA), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the Defense Security Service (DSS), and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), all of which are under the command of the Secretary of Defense . Military operations are managed by nine regional or functional Unified combatant commands . The Department of Defense also operates several joint services schools, including the National Defense University (NDU) and the National War College (NWC). </P> <P> The history of the defense of the United States started with the Continental Congress in 1775 . The creation of the United States Army was enacted on June 14, 1775 . This coincides with the American holiday Flag Day . The Second Continental Congress would charter the United States Navy, on October 13, 1775, and create the United States Marine Corps on November 10, 1775 . Today, both the Navy and the Marine Corps are separate military services subordinate to the Department of the Navy . </P>

Is the navy part of the department of defense