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 early 1931, Arlington Memorial Bridge was nearing completion, but citizens of Arlington County had no way of using the bridge as no approaches had been approved by the state or county in the preceding five years. Arlington County itself took no action on any bridge approaches until January 1931, when it began tentatively surveying potential routes. In February 1931, citizens of Clarendon, Ft. Myer Heights, and Lyon Village — unincorporated communities north and northwest of Arlington National Cemetery — met with the Arlington County Board of Supervisors and a Commonwealth's Attorney from the state of Virginia to identify a route