Director of the Joint Staff

Director of the Joint Staff
	Incumbent; LTG William C. Mayville, Jr., USA; since August 2015
Formation	19 September 1949
First holder	MG Alfred M. Gruenther, USA
Website	Official Website

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The Director of the Joint Staff (DJS) is a three-star officer (the first two were two-star) who assists the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the management of the Joint Staff, an organization composed of approximately equal numbers of officers contributed by the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard Bureau. The Joint Staff are assigned to assist the Chairman with the unified strategic direction, operation, and integration of the combatant land, naval, and air forces. 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]

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 Senate confirmation.

The position of Director is considered one of the most desirable billets in the United States military establishment, for the position has historically served as a stepping stone to a four-star billet.^[2] As of February 2016, 34 of the 43 past Directors and 7 past short term acting Directors (all "acting" were two-star) have been promoted to four-star rank, including a former Director promoted to that rank upon retirement from active duty. Many of these 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 William C. Mayville, Jr., U.S. Army.^[3]

List of Directors of the Joint Staff

This is a complete list of the Directors of the Joint Staff.^[4] An asterisk (*) indicates an acting Director.

No.	Image	Name	Service	Start	End	Notes
1		MG Alfred M. Gruenther	U. S. Army (USA)	17 September 1947	19 September 1949	Later a lieutenant general, was promoted to general, 1951
2	75px	RADM Arthur C. Davis	U. S. Navy (USN)	20 September 1949	1 November 1951	Later a vice admiral, was promoted at retirement to admiral, 1955
3		Lt Gen Charles P. Cabell	U. S. Air Force (USAF)	2 November 1951	23 April 1953	Promoted to general, 1958
4		Lt Gen Frank F. Everest	USAF	24 April 1953	18 March 1954	Promoted to general, 1957
5		LTG Lemuel Mathewson	USA	19 March 1954	14 March 1956
6		VADM Bernard L. Austin	USN	15 March 1956	31 March 1958
7		Lt Gen Oliver S. Picher	USAF	1 April 1958	31 March 1960
8		LTG Earle G. Wheeler	USA	1 April 1960	24 February 1962	Promoted to general, 1962
9		VADM Herbert D. Riley	USN	25 February 1962	23 February 1964
10		Lt Gen David A. Burchinal	USAF	24 February 1964	31 July 1966	Promoted to general, 1966
11		LTG Andrew J. Goodpaster	USA	1 August 1966	31 March 1967	Promoted to general, 1968
12		LTG Berton E. Spivy	USA	1 April 1967	31 July 1968	Promoted to general, 1968
13		VADM Nels C. Johnson	USN	1 Aug 1968	19 July 1970
14		Lt Gen John W. Vogt	USAF	20 July 1970	7 April 1972	Promoted to general, 1972
*		RADM Mason B. Freeman	USN	8 April 1972	11 June 1972
15		LTG George M. Seignious II	USA	12 June 1972	31 May 1974
16		VADM Harry D. Train II	USN	1 June 1974	30 June 1976	Promoted to admiral, 1978
17		Lt Gen Ray B. Sitton	USAF	1 July 1976	30 June 1977
18		VADM Patrick J. Hannifin	USN	1 July 1977	20 June 1978
*	75px	MG John A. Wickham Jr.	USA	1 July 1978	21 August 1978
19	75px	LTG John A. Wickham Jr.	USA	22 August 1978	22 June 1979	Promoted to general, 1979
20		VADM Carl Thor Hanson	USN	22 June 1979	30 June 1981
21		Lt Gen James E. Dalton	USAF	1 July 1981	30 June 1983	Promoted to general, 1983
22		LTG Jack N. Merritt	USA	1 July 1983	30 June 1985	Promoted to general, 1985
23		VADM Powell F. Carter Jr.	USN	1 July 1985	14 August 1987	Promoted to admiral, 1987
24		LTG Robert W. RisCassi	USA	15 August 1987	30 November 1988	Promoted to general, 1988
25		Lt Gen Hansford T. Johnson	USAF	1 December 1988	20 September 1989	Promoted to general, 1989
*	75px	MG Gene A. Deegan	U. S. Marine Corps (USMC)	21 September 1989	26 September 1989
26		Lt Gen Michael P.C. Carns	USAF	27 September 1989	16 May 1991	Promoted to general, 1991
27		Lt Gen Henry Viccellio Jr.	USAF	17 May 1991	1 December 1992	Promoted to general, 1992
28		VADM Richard C. Macke	USN	1 December 1992	17 July 1994	Promoted to admiral, 1994
*		MG Charles T. Robertson Jr.	USAF	19 July 1994	24 July 1994	Later a lieutenant general, was promoted to general, 1998
29		Lt Gen Walter Kross	USAF	25 July 1994	12 July 1996	Promoted to general, 1996
*		MG Stephen T. Rippe	USA	13 July 1996	13 September 1996
30		VADM Dennis C. Blair	USN	14 September 1996	12 December 1998	Promoted to admiral, 1999
31		VADM Vernon E. Clark	USN	12 December 1998	26 July 1999	Promoted to admiral, 1999
32		LtGen Carlton W. Fulford Jr.	USMC	26 July 1999	14 July 2000	Promoted to general, 2000
33	75px	VADM Scott A. Fry	USN	July 2000	October 2001
34	75px	LTG John P. Abizaid	USA	16 October 2001	23 January 2003	Promoted to general, 2003
35		LTG George W. Casey Jr.	USA	January 2003	October 2003	Promoted to general, 2003
36	75px	VADM Timothy J. Keating	USN	13 October 2003	October 2004	Promoted to admiral, 2004
37	75px	Lt Gen Norton A. Schwartz	USAF	October 2004	August 2005	Promoted to general, 2005
38		LTG Walter L. Sharp	USA	August 2005	May 2008	Promoted to general, 2008
*	75px	MG Stephen M. Goldfein	USAF	May 2008	August 2008
39		LTG Stanley A. McChrystal	USA	August 2008	10 June 2009	Promoted to general, 2009
*		RADM Bruce E. Grooms	USN	10 June 2009	August 2009
40	75px	LTG Lloyd J. Austin III	USA	August 2009	30 June 2010	Promoted to general, 2010
41	75px	VADM William E. Gortney	USN	1 July 2010	August, 2012	Promoted to admiral, 2012
42	75px	LTG Curtis M. Scaparrotti	USA	August, 2012	August, 2013	Promoted to general, 2013
43	75px	Lt Gen David L. Goldfein	USAF	August, 2013	August, 2015	Promoted to general, 2015.
44		LTG William C. Mayville, Jr.	USA	August, 2015	(incumbent)