Naval Reactors is headed by the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, who is a Navy four-star admiral. The director serves for a nominal eight-year term of office, the longest standard assignment in the U.S. military. The program was originally created under Executive Order 12344, by the president of the United States on February 1, 1982 The director was concurrently assigned as the deputy administrator for Naval Reactors for the National Nuclear Security Administration via () on October 19, 1984 in order to assist them in the research, design, development, health, and safety matters pertaining to naval nuclear propulsion plants via . Executive Order 12344 was made a permanent federal program via of October 5, 1999 ().