United States Department of Defense United States Department of Defense The Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government 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. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia,
Construction of the Virginia approaches to Arlington Memorial Bridge steel, timber, and other building materials as well as construction personnel were being diverted to war needs, federal officials believed it would be 12 to 18 months before the bridge could be rebuilt. In fact, the bridge was not replaced until 1949. Steel for the new Lee Boulevard connecting bridge was obtained only in December 1948. Reconstruction of the bridge occurred in spring 1949. In 1951, the name of Lee Boulevard was changed to Arlington Boulevard to end confusion with Lee Highway. Construction of the Virginia approaches to Arlington Memorial Bridge The construction of the Virginia approaches to Arlington Memorial