United States Department of the Army

The Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. The DA is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is organized. It is led by the secretary of the Army, a civilian official appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the chief of staff of the Army, who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other senior officials of the department are the under secretary of the Army (principal deputy to the secretary) and the vice chief of staff of the Army (principal deputy to the chief of staff.)

The DA is a successor to the Department of War which was originally formed in 1789 as an Executive Department of the United States. The Department of War was split by the National Security Act of 1947 into the Department of the Army and Department of the Air Force on September 18, 1947. Provided by Wikipedia