Who is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?

• A. General Randy A. George
• B. General Kenneth S. Wilsbach
• C. Chief Master Sergeant David R. Wolfe
• D. General Dan Caine

Answer: (D)

The key idea this item tests is the identity and nature of the position itself. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the senior military officer on the Joint Chiefs and serves as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. This role is an advisory and coordinating one: the chairman brings together the service chiefs and presents unified military recommendations, but does not have direct command authority over combat forces. Operational command rests with the combatant commanders and is exercised through the chain of command under the Secretary of Defense and the President.

Typically, the chairman is a four-star general or admiral, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and serves in that capacity for a set term that can be extended or renewed. The other names listed are not the person in that role and do not reflect the office’s distinctive function and appointment process. In short, what matters is understanding what the chair is and what the role does, not the specific person who happens to hold the title at any given time.