Director of the Joint Staff

	Director of the Joint Staff
	; ; Incumbent:; LTG Curtis Scaparrotti, USA; since: August 2012
First	MG Alfred M. Gruenther, USA
Formation	19 September 1949
Website	Official Website
	;

The Director of the Joint Staff (DJS) is a three-star officer who assists the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the management of the Joint Staff, an organization composed of approximately equal numbers of officers contributed by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, who have been assigned to assist the Chairman with the unified strategic direction, operation, and integration of the combatant land, naval, and air forces. The Director also chairs meetings of the Operations Deputies, a subsidiary body comprising the Director and a three-star delegate from each service who preview or resolve issues before they are escalated to the level of the four-star Joint Chiefs of Staff.¹

The Director of the Joint Staff is selected by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in consultation with the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense.¹ As with all three- and four-star positions, the Director's appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. The position of Director is considered one of the most desirable three-star billets in the United States military establishment,² for the position has historically served as a large stepping stone for an officer to be considered for a four-star billet.

The current Director of the Joint Staff is Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti, USA.³

List of Directors of the Joint Staff

This is a complete list of the Directors of the Joint Staff.⁴ An asterisk (*) indicates an acting Director.

Of the 41 Directors of the Joint Staff as of 2012, 30 have been promoted to four-star rank while on active duty, as has one acting Director; and a 31st former Director was promoted to that rank upon retirement. Moreover, 22 of the last 23 Directors have been promoted to four-star rank within a year of leaving the Joint Staff.

No.	Name	Service	Start	End	Notes
1	MG Alfred M. Gruenther	USA	September 17, 1947	September 19, 1949	Promoted to general, 1951
2	RADM Arthur C. Davis	USN	September 20, 1949	November 1, 1951	Retired as admiral, 1955
3	Lt Gen Charles P. Cabell	USAF	November 2, 1951	April 23, 1953	Promoted to general, 1958
4	LTG Frank F. Everest	USAF	April 24, 1953	March 18, 1954	Promoted to general, 1957
5	LTG Lemuel Mathewson	USA	March 19, 1954	March 14, 1956
6	VADM Bernard L. Austin	USN	March 15, 1956	March 31, 1958
7	Lt Gen Oliver S. Picher	USAF	April 1, 1958	March 31, 1960
8	LTG Earle G. Wheeler	USA	April 1, 1960	February 24, 1962	Promoted to general, 1962
9	VADM Herbert D. Riley	USN	February 25, 1962	February 23, 1964	Retired as vice admiral, 1964
10	Lt Gen David A. Burchinal	USAF	February 24, 1964	July 31, 1966	Promoted to general, 1966
11	LTG Andrew J. Goodpaster	USA	August 1, 1966	March 31, 1967	Promoted to general, 1968
12	LTG Berton E. Spivy	USA	April 1, 1967	July 31, 1968	Promoted to general, 1968
13	VADM Nels C. Johnson	USN	Aug 1, 1968	July 19, 1970
14	Lt Gen John W. Vogt	USAF	July 20, 1970	April 7, 1972	Promoted to general, 1972
*	RADM Mason B. Freeman	USN	April 8, 1972	June 11, 1972
15	LTG George M. Seignious II	USA	June 12, 1972	May 31, 1974
16	VADM Harry D. Train II	USN	June 1, 1974	June 30, 1976	Promoted to admiral, 1978
17	Lt Gen Ray B. Sitton	USAF	July 1, 1976	June 30, 1977
18	VADM Patrick J. Hannifin	USN	July 1, 1977	June 20, 1978
*	MG John A. Wickham Jr.	USA	July 1, 1978	August 21, 1978
19	LTG John A. Wickham Jr.	USA	August 22, 1978	June 22, 1979	Promoted to general, 1979
20	VADM Carl Thor Hanson	USN	June 22, 1979	June 30, 1981
21	Lt Gen James E. Dalton	USAF	July 1, 1981	June 30, 1983	Promoted to general, 1983
22	LTG Jack N. Merritt	USA	July 1, 1983	June 30, 1985	Promoted to general, 1985
23	VADM Powell F. Carter Jr.	USN	July 1, 1985	August 14, 1987	Promoted to admiral, 1987
24	LTG Robert W. RisCassi	USA	August 15, 1987	November 30, 1988	Promoted to general, 1988
25	Lt Gen Hansford T. Johnson	USAF	December 1, 1988	September 20, 1989	Promoted to general, 1989
*	MajGen Gene A. Deegan	USMC	September 21, 1989	September 26, 1989
26	Lt Gen Michael P.C. Carns	USAF	September 27, 1989	May 16, 1991	Promoted to general, 1991
27	Lt Gen Henry Viccellio Jr.	USAF	May 17, 1991	December 1, 1992	Promoted to general, 1992
28	VADM Richard C. Macke	USN	December 1, 1992	July 17, 1994	Promoted to admiral, 1994
*	Maj Gen Charles T. Robertson Jr.	USAF	July 19, 1994	July 24, 1994	Promoted to general, 1998
29	Lt Gen Walter Kross	USAF	July 25, 1994	July 12, 1996	Promoted to general, 1996
*	MG Stephen T. Rippe	USA	July 13, 1996	September 13, 1996
30	VADM Dennis C. Blair	USN	September 14, 1996	December 12, 1998	Promoted to admiral, 1999
31	VADM Vernon E. Clark	USN	December 12, 1998	July 26, 1999	Promoted to admiral, 1999
32	LtGen Carlton W. Fulford Jr.	USMC	July 26, 1999	July 14, 2000	Promoted to general, 2000
33	VADM Scott A. Fry	USN	July 2000	October 2001
34	LTG John P. Abizaid	USA	October 16, 2001	January 23, 2003	Promoted to general, 2003
35	LTG George W. Casey Jr.	USA	January 2003	October 2003	Promoted to general, 2003
36	VADM Timothy J. Keating	USN	October 13, 2003	October 2004	Promoted to admiral, 2004
37	Lt Gen Norton A. Schwartz	USAF	October 2004	August 2005	Promoted to general, 2005
38	LTG Walter L. Sharp	USA	August 2005	May 2008	Promoted to general, 2008
*	Maj Gen Stephen M. Goldfein	USAF	May 2008	August 2008
39	LTG Stanley A. McChrystal	USA	August 2008	June 10, 2009	Promoted to general, 2009
*	RADM Bruce E. Grooms	USN	June 10, 2009	August 2009
40	LTG Lloyd J. Austin III	USA	August 2009	June 30, 2010	Promoted to general, 2010
41	VADM William E. Gortney	USN	July 1, 2010	August, 2012	Promoted to admiral, 2012
42	LTG Curtis M. Scaparrotti	USA	August, 2012	(incumbent)