Navy Department

The secretary of the Navy is the head of the Department of the Navy. Appointed by the president of the United States, the secretary serves under the direction, authority, and control of the cabinet-level secretary of defense (10 U.S.C.A. § 5031). The secretary is responsible for the policies and control of the navy, including its organization, administration, functioning, and efficiency. Next in succession for the position is the under secretary of the navy, who functions as deputy and principal assistant to the secretary and has full authority in the general management of the department.

Civilian Executive Assistants The civilian executive assistants are the principal advisers and assistants to the secretary of the navy. They include the under secretary of the navy, the assistant secretaries of the navy, and the general counsel of the navy. With department-wide responsibilities for administration, the civilian executive assistants carry out their duties in harmony with the statutory positions of the chief of naval operations, who is the principal military adviser and executive to the secretary regarding naval matters, and the commandant of the Marine Corps, who is the principal military adviser and executive regarding Marine Corps matters. Each is authorized and directed to act for the secretary within his or her assigned area of responsibility.

Staff Assistants The staff assistants to the secretary of the navy are the naval inspector general, the comptroller of the navy, the auditor general of the navy, and the chief of information. The secretary or the law has established the following positions and boards for administrative purposes.

Judge Advocate General The JUDGE ADVOCATE general is the senior officer and head of the Judge Advocate General's Corps and the Office of the Judge Advocate General. The officer's primary responsibilities are to administer military justice throughout the Department of the Navy, perform functions required or authorized by the UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE, and provide technical supervision for the Naval Justice School at Newport, Rhode Island. In cooperation with the general counsel to the navy, the judge advocate general also has broad responsibility for providing legal advice and related services to the secretary of the navy on military justice, ethics, ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, operational and INTERNATIONAL LAW and treaty interpretation, and litigation involving these issues. Officers of the Judge Advocate General's Corps and judge advocates of the Marine Corps provide a variety of legal services to both individual service members and naval commands, ranging from personal representation for individual service members for courts-martial to legal services for naval commands on matters such as investigations and claims.

Naval Criminal Investigative Service The director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service commands a worldwide organization with representation in more than 160 geographic locations to provide criminal investigation, counterintelligence, law enforcement, information, and personnel security support to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, both ashore and afloat.

Office of Naval Research Established by act of Congress on August 1, 1946 (10 U.S.C.A. §§ 5150–5153), the Office of Naval Research is the integrated headquarters of the navy for science and technology investment. It manages funding for basic research, exploratory development, advanced technology development, manufacturing technologies, and small business support.

Personnel Boards The Naval Council of Personnel Boards has four components:

1. The Naval Discharge Review Board reviews, pursuant to 10 U.S.C.A. § 1553, the discharge or dismissal of former members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, except in cases of COURT-MARTIAL. It determines whether, under reasonable standards of naval law and discipline, a discharge or dismissal should be changed and, if so, what change should be made.
2. The Naval Complaints Review Board reviews, upon request, decisional documents and index entries created by the Naval Discharge Review Board after April 1, 1977, to determine whether they conform to applicable regulations of the Department of Defense and the Department of the Navy.
3. The Naval Clemency and Parole Board reviews, pursuant to 10 U.S.C.A. §§ 953–954, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps court-martial cases referred to it and grants or denies clemency and, pursuant to 10 U.S.C.A. § 952, reviews and directs that parole be granted or denied.
4. The Physical Evaluation Board organizes and administers disability evaluations within the Department of the Navy, pursuant to 10 U.S.C.A., ch. 61, and other applicable provisions of law and regulation.

Naval Records The Board for Correction of Naval Records is the highest echelon of review of administrative errors and injustices suffered by members and former members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established under 10 U.S.C.A. § 1552 to give the secretary of the navy direction on taking actions that otherwise would require congressional decision, the board relieves Congress of the need for additional legislation. This statutory civilian board reviews service members' complaints about actions taken by various boards and officials in the department. The secretary of the navy, acting through this board of civilians of the executive part of the department, is authorized to change naval or military records to correct an error or to remove an injustice.