By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws 'of the United States of America, including section 3347 of title 5, United States Code, 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 incumbents in the Department of Defense positions listed below 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. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. 6. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. 7. Assistant Secretaries of Defense and the General Counsel of the Department of Defense, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. 8. Under Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, in the order fixed by their length of service as such. 9. Assistant Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the 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 officers designated below 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, U.S. Army Forces 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 officers designated below 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 fixed by their length of service as such. 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 officers designated below 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. The 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, 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 that person 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 that relates to the order to 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/ Acting Capacity. 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. An officer shall not succeed to any position under this order if the position that he occupies entitling him so to succeed is held by him in an acting capacity only. part VII. Revocation of Prior Executive Order. Executive Order No. 10820 of May 18, 1959, is hereby revoked. RONALD REAGAN The White House, May 14, 1985. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:29 a.m., May 15, 1985]
Executive Order 12514 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order 12514—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
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 4 min read (764 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of Defense, the incumbents in the Department of Defense positions listed below shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of Defense in the order indicated: 1.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Ronald Reagan on May 14, 1985, this order concerns 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. Position of Secretary of Defense. In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of Defense, the incumbents in the Department of Defense positions listed below 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.
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
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In the event of the death, disability, or absence of the Secretary of Defense, the incumbents in the Department of Defense positions listed below shall succeed to the position of, and act as, Secretary of Defense in the order indicated: 1.
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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.
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Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command.
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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 fixed by their length of service as such. 3.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)
Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.
Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
42 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
High Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
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Audit Synthesis
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
764
4,325 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
10.3
High School
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
George Bush • 1991-12-31
Related Executive Orders
1 order cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 10820 May 18, 1959
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
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
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
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…
Dwight D. Eisenhower High School • 4m
EO 12515 May 14, 1985
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12515—Generalized System of Preferences
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
In order to take into account the changes made by the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984, Annex II of Executive Order No. 11888 of November 24, 1975, as amended, listing articles that are eligible for benefits of the GSP when imported from any designated beneficiary developing…
Ronald Reagan College Level • 2m
EO 12516 May 21, 1985
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12516—President's Commission on Executive Exchange
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order No. 12493 of December 5, 1984, is amended by substituting for subsection (a)(2) of section 2 thereof the following: "(2) career Federal Executives, who are members of the Senior Executive Service, or equivalent level, or are candidates for the Senior Executive…
Ronald Reagan Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 12513 May 1, 1985
⚖️⚠️ Zone 3 (Lowest Ebb) Friction (-0.19)
Executive Order 12513—Prohibiting Trade and Certain Other Transactions Involving Nicaragua
📜 Art. I §8: Legislative Prerogative Tension (Purse & Commerce)
I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, find that the policies and actions of the Government of Nicaragua constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and hereby declare a national emergency…
Ronald Reagan High School • 1m
EO 12517 May 29, 1985
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12517—Delegation Concerning the United States- India Fund for Cultural, Educational, and Scientific Cooperation
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
All functions vested in the President by the United States-India Fund for Cultural, Educational, and Scientific Cooperation Act (Title IX of Public Law 98164, 97 Stat. 1051; "the Act") are delegated to the Secretary of State. Sec. 2.
Ronald Reagan College Level • 1m
EO 12512 Revoked Apr 29, 1985
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.29)
Executive Order 12512—Federal Real Property Management
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
To ensure the effective and economical use of America's real property and public land assets, establish a focal point for the enunciation of clear and consistent Federal policies regarding the acquisition, management, and disposal of properties, and assure management…
Ronald Reagan Post-Graduate Legal • 3m
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,514 (May 14, 1985), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12514-prescribing-the-order-succession-officers-act-secretary-defense.
