US Presidency
1958

I shall promptly take such Executive action as is necessary and, in a separate message, I shall present appropriate recommendations to the Congress. Meanwhile, without anticipating the detailed form that a reorganization should take, I can state its main lines in terms of objectives: A major purpose of military organization is to achieve real unity in the Defense establishment in all the principal features of military activities. Of all these, one of the most important to our nation's security is strategic planning and control. This work must be done under unified direction. The defense structure must be one which, as a whole, can assume, with top efficiency and without friction, the defense ofAmerica. The Defense establishment must therefore plan for a better integration of its defensive resources, particularly with respect to the newer weapons now building and under development. These obviously require full coordination in their development, production and use. Good organization can help assure this coordination.