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A Guide to the Washington Headquarters Service

A Guide to the Washington Headquarters Service

 

What is the Washington Headquarters Service?
The Washington Headquarters Service is a Federal agency within the United States Department of Defense. The Washington Headquarters Service acts as a streamlining initiative and maintains the core responsibility of supplying a service common to several military departments of the United States Armed Forces unit.

Prior to the creation of the Washington Headquarters Service, the Office of the Secretary of Defense was responsible for providing administrative support for several components of the Department of Defense located outside of the office. The Department of Defense wanted to remove these operating functions from the Office of the Secretary of Defense in order to refocus the staff and resources of the post on matters involving policy analysis and oversight. 
Facts concerning the Washington Headquarters Service:
The Washington Headquarters Services was established as an official sub-agency of the United States Department of Defense on October 1, 1977. The Washington Headquarters Services maintains roughly 1,300 staff employees who are organized into 7 Directorates and 2 offices. The Washington Headquarters Services are aligned under the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Administration and Management.
Specifics Concerning the Washington Headquarters Service:
During the Department of Defense reform initiative, which took place over the past two decades prior to the establishment of the Washington Headquarters Services, the WHS became the agency of choice for DoD-support functions. The Washington Headquarters Services provides streamline administrative and operational support to several Defense Agencies within the United States Federal Government, as well as various Department of Defense Activities.

Furthermore, the Washington Headquarters Service also provides operational and administrative support to the White House, the military departments of the United States, and in some degree, the United States Congress.
As a result of these evolving and expanding initiatives, the Washington Headquarters Service grew from its original size of 327 personnel in 1977 to nearly 2,000 personnel in the mid-1990s. Currently, the office functions with approximately 1,300 civilian and military employees as well as nearly 2,000 contract employees.
David Cooke assumed the role as the first Director of the Washington Headquarters Service; at this time, Mr. Cooke also acted as the Director of Administration and Management for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Following Cooke’s death in June of 2002, Raymond DuBois assumed the role of Director of Administration and Management, while serving concurrently as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense.

In January of 2004, these positions separated; the position of Director of Administration and Management is now regarded as a political appointment while the Director of the Washington Headquarters Service is a Senior Executive position. In present times, Michael Rhodes serves concurrently as the Deputy DA&M and the Director of the Washington Headquarters Service. If you need legal advice and assistance, contact Washington lawyers.