The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) is a four-star admiral and senior military officer in the Department of the Navy. The CNO is responsible for the command, use of resources, and operational efficiency of the naval operating forces and the Navy's shore activities assigned by the Secretary of the Navy. Despite the title, the CNO has no operational command authority over naval forces. The CNO is an administrative position based in the Pentagon and oversees Navy organizations as a person appointed by the Secretary of the Navy.
The operational command of the naval forces is the responsibility of the combat commanders, who report to the Secretary of Defense. While the credit for the Navy's operational success lies directly with our sailors, it's important to know that the tools they use, many of them technological wonders, didn't appear by chance. Putting these tools in the hands of sailors, so that they can navigate in danger and emerge victorious, requires a complex structure that consists of establishing the requirements, development, evaluation, acquisition and distribution in the initial part, and detailed plans for the provision, training, equipment and maintenance of everything in the rear. The dedicated military and civilian personnel of the OPNAV staff have performed the vital functions of resource allocation, risk assessment and balance.
The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) is the Navy's senior military officer. The CNO is a four-star admiral and is responsible to the Secretary of the Navy for the command, resource utilization and operational efficiency of the Navy's operational forces and for the Navy's shore activities assigned by the Secretary. These officers and their staff are collectively known as the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNav). The successes of Meyer's first operations assistant, Rear Admiral Richard Wainwright, influenced Meyer's decision to appoint his third operations assistant.
Rear Admiral Bradley A. Pratt became the fifth chief of naval operations on September 17, 1930, following the resignation of Charles F. The assistants are the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO), the Deputy Chiefs of Naval Operations (DCNO) and several other high-ranking officers. Like the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CNO is an administrative position, with no operational command authority over the forces of the United States Navy.
Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (except for the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) may present to the president a piece of advice or an opinion in addition to the advice presented by the president to the president, the NSC, or the SECDEF. The head of naval operations liked the house so much that in 1923 he took over it as his official residence.
