[1] Other positions in the Office of Naval Research leadership include the Vice Chief of Naval Research (a one-star Marine Corps brigadier general), the Assistant Chief of Naval Research and Commanding Officer of ONR Global (both captains), and the Executive Director and Assistant Vice Chief of Naval Research (both civilians).

[2] The Chief of Naval Research reports directly to the civilian Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, and Acquisition), and is thus not organizationally subordinate to the Chief of Naval Operations, the senior military officer in the entire Navy.

[3][4][5] The predecessor to the Office of Naval Research was the Office of the Coordinator of Research and Development, an institution within the Navy during World War II meant to coordinate between the military-wide Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), Navy materiel bureaus, and civilian research organizations.

The organization was formed in 1941 and was nicknamed the "Bird Dogs" due to their skill at finding and solving interorganizational problems.

Jerome Clarke Hunsaker was interim chief, followed by Rear Admiral Julius A. Furer.