How did the National Security Adviser, NSC, and NSC staff fit together?
The relationships can be confusing. The following explanation and the attached organization chart (White House Study Project, Report No. 2, December 1976) may help: National Security Council. The NSC was established by statute in 1947 as an advisory body composed of the President, the Vice President, and the Secretaries of Defense and State. Bureaucratically, it is part of the Executive Office of the President, and it meets at the discretion of the President. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff served the Ford NSC as military adviser, and the Director of Central Intelligence served as intelligence adviser. President Ford’s National Security Adviser was the supervisory officer of the NSC, the NSC staff, and the NSC system. Others attended NSC meetings as invited, according to the topic under discussion. NSC deliberations were supported by several interagency subgroups. National Security Adviser: The National Security Adviser was the supervisory officer of the Ford NSC, NSC staff,
