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Executive Order 10332 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 10332—Prescribing the Order of Succession of Officers to Act as Secreetary of Defense, Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Air Force

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Friday, March 7, 1952
•
3 min read (595 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Harry S Truman on 1952-03-07, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Prescribing the Order of Succession of Officers to Act as Secreetary of Defense, Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Air Force." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ Precedence within a particular group between or among two or more officers having the same date of appointment shall be as determined by the Secretary of Defense at the time of appointment.
▪ PART II SUCCESSION TO THE POSITION OF SECRETARTY OF THE ARMY In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of the Army, the following-designated officers shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of the Army in the order indicated: 1.
▪ PART III SUCCESSION TO THE POSITION OF SECRETARY OF THE NAVY In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of the Navy, the following-designated officers shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of the Navy in the order indicated: 1.
▪ PART IV SUCCESSION TO THE POSITION OF SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of the Air Force, the following-designated officials shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of the Air Force in the order indicated: 1.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
595
3,378 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
11
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10332, Harry S Truman (Mar 7, 1952). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10332-prescribing-the-order-succession-officers-act-secreetary-defense.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 179 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (5 U.S.C. 6), and as President of the United States, and in order to insure the continuity of operations of the Department of Defense in the event of disaster, the order of succession to the positions of Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Air Force, in the event of the death, disability, or absence of the officers holding such positions, is hereby prescribed as follows: PART I SUCCESSION TO THE POSITION OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of Defense, the following-designated officers, in the Department of Defense, shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of Defense in the order indicated: 1. Deputy Secretary of Defense 2. Secretary of the Army. 3. Secretary of the Navy. 4. Secretary of the Air Force. 5. Assistant Secretaries of Defense, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. 6. Under Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. 7. Chairmen of the Munitions Board and the Research and Development Board, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. 8. Assistant Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. Precedence within a particular group between or among two or more officers having the same date of appointment shall be as determined by the Secretary of Defense at the time of appointment. PART II SUCCESSION TO THE POSITION OF SECRETARTY OF THE ARMY In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of the Army, the following-designated officers shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of the Army in the order indicated: 1. Under Secretary of the Army. 2. Assistant Secretaries of the Army, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. 3. Chief of Staff, United States Army. 4. Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army. 5. Chief of the United Army Field Forces. PART III SUCCESSION TO THE POSITION OF SECRETARY OF THE NAVY In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of the Navy, the following-designated officers shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of the Navy in the order indicated: 1. Under Secretary of the Navy. 2. Assistant Secretary of the Navy. 3. Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air. 4. Chief of Naval Operations. 5. Vice Chief of Naval Operations. PART IV SUCCESSION TO THE POSITION OF SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of the Air Force, the following-designated officials shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of the Air Force in the order indicated: 1. Under Secretary of the Air Force. 2. Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. 3. Chief of Staff, United States Air Force. 4. Vice Chief of Staff United States Air Force. 5. The Senior Deputy Chief of Staff who is not absent or disabled. 6. Commanding General, Tactical Air Command. PART V Succession to office pursuant to this order shall be on a temporary or interim basis and shall not have the effect of vacating the statutory position held by the successor. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, March 7, 1952