7. Why the Double System?

This' splitting' of the responsibilities of command results, most recently, from the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. This act defined the roles and structure of the Defense Department as it exists today. Part of its effect was to create a distinction between operational and administrative command links. In a very very very condensed form, what this means for our guide is that there are Operational and Administrative command links, and I will try to differentiate between them in the guide pages. In essence, the Operational commander can tell the forces below him/her where to go and who to fight and how. The Administrative commander is responsible for staffing the force, managing the force's budget, and other managerial tasks. One effect of this is to create tensions between the operational commanders and the administrative commanders. The operational commanders are tasked solely with 'getting the job done' and are explicitly removed from concerns such as funding and budgets. This means, however, that the adminstrative commanders are tasked with maintaining the forces and resources that the operational commanders need without having input into their utilization. While this may mean increased efficiency at warfighting, it makes budgeting more difficult as the requirements and inputs are now handled by separate units.