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Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces
Incumbent Donald J. Trump since January 20, 2017
Seat	White House
Appointer	College of Electors
Term length	4 years once renewable
First holder	General of the Armies of the United States George Washington
Succession	Acting President of the United States

The Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces is the commander of all United States military forces, as well as the military forces of the states that comprise the United States when they are brought under federal control. It is a constitutionally described function of the office of President of the United States and is normally vested in the incumbent president, except when the duties of that office are being discharged by the Acting President of the United States. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the president is the "supreme commander" of any military force created by law and penultimate command cannot legally be vested in any other person or authority. All United States military officers draw their lawful authority from the assignment, by the President to them, of a portion of his supreme command power.

The President, as Commander-in-Chief, occupies a role that has been described by scholars as that of Generalissimo of the United States.

Background

History

XXX

The first invocation of the Commander-in-Chief power was by George Washington. In 1789, acting under the authority of a congressional resolution authorizing the federalization of state militias, Washington ordered Major-General Arthur St. Clair, the Governor of the Northwest Territory, to assume command of elements of the Pennsylvania and Virginia militias and lead a punitive expedition against the Western Confederacy. Less than three years later, Washington ordered federalized state troops to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion.

Legal basis

Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution provides that the "President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States".

The early anti-federalist, Cato, described the President's role as Commander-in-Chief as "Generalissimo of the Nation" while Alexander Hamilton explained that the Constitution established the president as "first General and Admiral of the Confederacy".

Harry Truman checks the rifle of a Marine during a 1950 presidential inspection of Marine Corps Base Quantico.

The president's authority to command the armed forces is "exceedingly broad" and, as it is nested in the constitution, "cannot be removed or abridged by an act of Congress". The United States Supreme Court has determined that "the Constitution vests the President with all the power and authority accorded by customary international law to a supreme commander in the field". This includes the rights to "invade [a] hostile country, and subject it to the sovereignty and authority of the United States" and to govern at his sole discretion conquered territory "until Congress provides a more permanent governing regime".

In Swain v. United States, the Supreme Court went on to rule that "Congress may increase the Army, or reduce the Army, or abolish it altogether; but so long as we have a military force, Congress can not take away from the Prsident the supreme command.

John Yoo has contended that the role of president as Commander-in-Chief was modeled on the military status of the Crown as Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces, and that "the war powers provisions of the Constitution are best understood as an adoption, rather than a rejection, of the traditional British approach to war powers". According to Yoo, the military authority of the President of the United States is analogous to that enjoyed by a British king of the 19th century as "generalissimo, or first in military command, within the kingdom".

U.S. Marines pass in review of then-President Barack Obama in 2013.

Despite being described by Hamilton as "first General and Admiral of the Confederacy", the position of Commander-in-Chief is not a military office and the "President does not enlist in, and he is not inducted or drafted into, the armed forces. Nor, is he subject to court-martial or other military discipline".

Legislative limitations

In 1973, the U.S. Congress enacted the War Powers Resolution, which required the president to consult Congress before the onset of hostilities, to report on the deployment of U.S. troops abroad, and to withdraw forces from foreign theaters within 60 days unless a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force was granted by Congress. Richard Nixon vetoed the legislation, though his veto was subsequently overridden. Despite this, subsequent presidents have generally ignored the War Powers Resolution and no court challenge has been made to enforce it.

Declaration of war

The constitution reserves to the Congress of the United States the authority to declare war. The construction of this authority represents a modification from language originally proposed which would have reserved to Congress the right to "make war"; this language was modified in the final version to give the president warmaking power. The effect of a declaration of war is essentially the suspension of the law of peace, as opposed to a necessary authorization for the president to order military action.

Donald Trump, pictured in 2017 at MacDill Air Force Base, is the current Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.

State military forces

The governors of each of the constituent states of the United States are commanders-in-chief of their own state military forces except when they are brought under control of the United States. This can be accomplished through the voluntary surrender of command by a governor to the President, or by the direct assumption of command by the President following a declaration of war or some other authorizing legislation enacted by the Congress. Under XXXX, the Congress has contingently authorized the President to directly incorporate the National Guard of any individual state into the National Guard of the United States, of which the President is commander.

Customs and courtesies

Ronald Reagan, pictured here in 1984, began the practice of returning salutes received by military personnel.

Funerary rites

According to the United States Department of Defense "the military ... provides ceremonial support for a state funeral to honor and pay tribute to a former commander-in-chief. A state funeral, as defined in regulation Army Pamphlet 1-1, is the highest category of military funeral honors".

U.S. Army Regulation AR 600–25 6–3 additionally requires that, following the death of the President of the United States, "the commanding officers of all Army installations equipped with the necessary personnel and materiel will require the following: (1) One gun to be fired every half–hour, beginning at reveille and ending at retreat, (2) All soldiers at Army installations and the cadets of the United States Military Academy to be formed and notified of the death".

Saluting

United States soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are expected to render honors to the president in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief. Historically, presidents did not return these salutes until the presidency of Ronald Reagan, since which it has become customary to do so. According to multiple sources, Reagan indicated to Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Barrow that he felt uncomfortable receiving, but not returning, salutes though was nevertheless aware that it was inappropriate to salute while in civilian clothes. In response, Barrow informed Reagan "he could salute anybody he wished".

Then-President George W. Bush in the flight uniform of a U.S. Navy aviator aboard USS Abraham Lincoln.

Uniforms

Some evidence exists that George Washington wore a military uniform when conducting a field inspection of United States forces in 1792. Since then, presidents have periodically worn elements of military or military-style apparel, such as aviator jackets and flight suits, though there is no formally prescribed uniform for the Commander-in-Chief. Ronald Reagan took the position, in his autobiography, that "civilian clothes are his [the president's] uniform".

Operational command

During World War II, Franklin Roosevelt used the Map Room, shown here in 1943, as his command post.

In normal practice, the President delegates command of military forces, by the process of commissioning officers. Each military officer's authority to command the forces of the United States draws its legitimacy from the president himself as "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States"; as the president cannot reasonably be expected to command every soldier, or any soldier, in the field he delegates his authority to command to officers he commissions.According to a 1996 opinion by then-Assistant Attorney General Walter Dellinger of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, "even the lowest ranking military or naval officer is a potential commander of United States armed forces in combat—and, indeed, is in theory a commander of large military or naval units by presidential direction or in the event of catastrophic casualties among his or her superiors."

Ultimately, however, there is no constitutional requirement for the president to delegate his authority and he is entitled to take personal command of troops in the field. During the War of 1812, James Madison famously armed himself with dueling pistols and rallied the United States Army after the fall of Washington, D.C.. Some years earlier, George Washington conducted a field inspection of the United States Army before it crossed into Pennsylvania during anti-insurgency operations in the Whiskey Rebellion.

On several other occasions, presidents have been present in a theater of active combat without actually issuing orders. The Battle of Fort Stevens has been noted for the personal presence of Abraham Lincoln during the fighting.

In yet other instances, presidents have directly involved themselves in the minutia of strategic military operations. During World War II, Franklin Roosevelt was "not merely a nominal commander-in-chief of the armed forces" but exercised day-to-day control, transforming the White House in a "military command post" and directing global military operations from the Map Room as an "activist commander".