Write a research paper about the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. I'm interested in the events that led to the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, which has caused a change in the way the military conducts its business. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commanders of the combatant commands after the act now have more authority and responsibility that they need to properly direct the military without having to satisfy all the parent services.

The question the research seeks to answer is, "How did the Goldwater-Nichols Act impact the US military and how have the combatant commands evolved since the enactment?"

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) system, the evolution of the combatant commands and the resultant methods of conducting business throughout the military since the act was put in place in 1986.