United States Navy bureau system

The "bureau system" of the United States Navy was the Department of the Navy's material-support organization from 1842 through 1966. The bureau chiefs were largely autonomous, reporting directly to the Secretary of the Navy and managing their respective organizations without the influence of other bureaus. In 1966, the bureaus were gradually replaced by unified commands (generally known as "systems commands" or SYSCOMs) reporting to the Chief of Naval Operations.

For the first several decades of the Navy Department's existence, all procurement and material matters were handled directly by the Office of the Secretary of the Navy. As the navy expanded during the War of 1812, it became clear that this system was not sufficient for the service's needs.

On February 7, 1815, Congress established a three-member Board of Naval Commissioners to handle material-support matters. As part of the navy secretary's office, the board's jurisdiction generally extended only logistical matters such as supply and construction. The Secretary of the Navy remained in control of many operational aspects of the navy.

Ultimately, the Board system was unable to provide the navy with the necessary technical and management control. Among other things, naval technology was becoming increasingly complex during the first half of the 19th century, and required more specialized oversight. In the early 1840s, Congress decided to abolish the Board of Naval Commissioners and replace them with a more specialized bureaucracy based on broad functional areas such as shipbuilding.

The first five bureaus were established by Act of Congress on August 31, 1842. They were the:

The system was reorganized during the early years of the Civil War. By an act of Congress of July 5, 1862 (12 Stat. 510), the existing bureaus were reorganized and increased to eight. As reorganized, these included the:

...
Wikipedia