The uniformed chief stood, came around to the front of his oversize mahogany desk and stuck out his hand.

Roosevelt gave strong support to the reforms proposed by his Secretary of War Elihu Root (1899-1904), who wanted a uniformed chief of staff as general manager and a European-type general staff for planning.

I needed a uniformed chief who could bring them together.

Currently, each armed service has parallel staffs that support the civilian service secretary and the uniformed chief of staff.

When you think about it, the civilian secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force and their uniformed chiefs of service were almost invisible during the gulf war.

In very large departments, such as the New York City Police Department, there may be several deputy and assistant commissioners, all civilian, some of whom outrank the chief of department and others on par with the uniformed chief.

Ryan remembered the testimony on TV, the internal mcmos that dated back several years, the almost desperate objections by the uniformed chiefs of staff which they had faithfully not leaked to the media.

Mr. Bush spoke to a House chamber that included members of Congress, the cabinet, the Supreme Court and the uniformed military chiefs.

Seven years ago, when the Giuliani administration took office, a corps of uniformed chiefs managed most of the Fire Department.

If he pushes the president's agenda forward, he faces the iron triangle of Congress, the uniformed chiefs of the armed services, and the defense industry (which, to little notice, roundly criticized Mr. Bush's defense platform during the campaign).