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 approach on February 28, 1933. In March 1933, ahead of schedule, the Arlington County Board of Commissioners voted to pursue the Lee Boulevard route for a connection to Arlington Memorial Bridge. This did not rule out the Wilson Boulevard route, although the county by now favored Lee Boulevard because it would boost economic development in the area. The county's wishes seemed to be pushed aside, however, in May 1933. Colonel Ulysses S. Grant III asked the Federal Employment Stabilization Board to fund $12 million in construction projects in Virginia that included extending Wilson Boulevard to Arlington Memorial Bridge. Grant's proposal