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Executive Order 10820 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 10820—Prescribing the Order of Succession of Officers To Act as Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Air Force

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower
•
Monday, May 18, 1959
•
4 min read (703 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 Dwight D. Eisenhower on 1959-05-18, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Prescribing the Order of Succession of Officers To Act as Secretary 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

▪ 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.
▪ 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 SECRETARY 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.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
703
4,055 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
11.9
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10820, Dwight D. Eisenhower (May 18, 1959). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10820-prescribing-the-order-succession-officers-act-secretary-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, it is hereby ordered 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. Director of Defense Research and Engineering. 6. Assistant Secretaries of Defense and the General Counsel of the Department of Defense, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. 7. Under Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, 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 SECRETARY 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. Commanding General, Continental Army Command. 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 Secretaries of the Navy, in the order prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy, or if no order is prescribed by the Secretary, then in the order in which they have taken office as Assistant Secretaries. 3. Chief of Naval Operations. 4. 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 officers 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. Commander, Air University. PART V-VARIATIONS IN THE ORDER OF SUCCESSION Without regard to any other part of this order, except Part VI, the President, or the person acting as President under section 19 of title 3 of the United States Code, may, in the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of Defense, appoint any officer designated in Part I of this order to succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of Defense; and may, in the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of a military department, appoint any officer designated in the part of this order which relates to the order of succession in the department concerned to succeed to the position of, and act as, the Secretary of that department. PART VI-TEMPORARY NATURE OF SUCCESSION 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. PART VII-REVOCATION OF PRIOR EXECUTIVE ORDERS Executive Order No. 10495 of October 14, 1953, and Executive Order No. 10669 of May 18, 1956, are hereby revoked. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER THE WHITE HOUSE, May 18, 1959.