Key West Agreement
The
Key West Agreement is the colloquial name for a policy paper entitled
Function of the Armed Forces and the Joint Chiefs of Staff drafted by
James V. Forrestal, the first
United States Secretary of Defense. Its most prominent feature was an outline for the division of
air assets between the
Army,
Navy and the newly created
Air Force which, with modifications, continues to provide the basis for the division of these assets in the
US military today.
The basic outline for the document was agreed to at a meeting of United States service chiefs that took place from
March 11,
1948-
March 14,
1948 in
Key West, and was finalized after subsequent meetings. It was revised in
1954 by the
Dwight D. Eisenhower administration.
*The Navy would be allowed to retain its own combat air arm
"...to conduct air operations as necessary for the accomplishment of objectives in a naval campaign..."*The Army would be allowed to retain aviation assets for reconnaissance and medical evacuation purposes.
*The Air Force would have control of all strategic air assets, and most tactical and logistic functions as well.
*
United States Army Air Corps*
Forrestal tenure synopsis: includes discussion of Key West
