The president is a very important figure in the U.S. military. As commander and chief, he controls a significant part of the militarys actions in times of war. In the constitution, article 1 section 8 clause 11 says that Congress can declare war, and the president directs the war. Article 2 section 2 of the Constitution names the president commander in chief. These two sections require that Congress and the president work together in war time, with congress declaring and funding war, while the president directs it. Over time the president's powers over our military have been expanded beyond what the constitution originally allowed through the 20th and 21st amendments. These amendments allowed the president to deploy troops without congressional approval. This power was given to the president during the cold war because it was believed it would make the country less vulnerable to attack because we could react and deploy troops more easily. This was used to start the Korean War, Vietnam War, and many other conflicts. To combat the president's ability to deploy troops without approval, Congress passed the War Powers Act which required the president to alert congress within 48 hours of deploying troops and he must withdraw the troops within 60 days if he does not get Congressional approval. This act prevented the president from having total control over the U.S. army.
