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 had arisen. The best geographic route for Lee Boulevard crossed the northwestern tip of Fort Myer. The War Department was willing to grant an easement to the state to construct this road, but insisted on maintaining jurisdiction over the property. That was unacceptable to the state of Virginia. Other federal officials said that the federal government would also continue to reserve the right to build other approaches to Arlington Memorial Bridge, which the state of Virginia also opposed. The state of Virginia then proposed that federal legislation be enacted to transfer the land to the state. The commandant of Fort