Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Seal of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Flag of the Vice Chairman of the JCS
Incumbent Admiral Christopher W. Grady, USN since December 20, 2021
Joint Chiefs of Staff Department of Defense
Abbreviation	VJCS
Member of	Defense Acquisition Board Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Requirements Oversight Council
Reports to	President Secretary of Defense Chairman
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	4 years
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C. § 154
Formation	February 6, 1987
First holder	Robert T. Herres
Deputy	Director
Website	www.jcs.mil

The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS)^[1][2] is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces,^[3] ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vice chairman outranks all respective heads of each service branch, with the exception of the chairman, but does not have operational command authority over their service branches.^[3] The vice chairman assists the chairman in exercising their duties. In the absence of the chairman, the vice chairman presides over the meetings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and performs all other duties prescribed under 10 U.S.C. § 153 and may also perform other duties that the president, the chairman, or the secretary of defense prescribes.^[3]

The 12th and current vice chairman is Admiral Christopher W. Grady, who assumed office on December 20, 2021.