The grade of cadet in the U.S. Army was established by law on May 9, 1794, and cadets attached to the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers were receiving instruction in tactics at West Point well before the formal establishment of the Military Academy. The position of Commandant of Cadets originated with Supt. Sylvanus Thayer's detail of Lt. George W. Gardiner as the first instructor of tactics and commander of the Corps of Battalion of Cadets on September 15, 1817. The following April, Capt. John Bliss was appointed to the position on a permanent basis. The title "Commandant of Cadets" was first used in the 1825 Regulations for the U.S. Military Academy. The Congress approved and recognized that title and created the Department of Tactics by a law approved on June 12, 1858, that stated, the "Commandant of Cadets shall have the local rank and the pay and allowances of a Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers, and besides his other duties shall be charged with the duties of Instructor in the tactics of the three arms of the service." The Commandant of Cadets has since been head of the Department of Tactics and, under the Superintendent, is charged with the administration, discipline, and military training of the Corps of Cadets.

Since 1946, the Department of Tactics has been organized for academic purposes into three main functional elements: Office of Military Instruction, Office of Military Leadership, and Office of Physical Education.

The origin of the Office of Military Instruction dates from July 20, 1840, when the Congress provided for a course in practical military engineering at the Military Academy to train cadets in actual (or practical) ground operations. The first officer assigned to teach practical military engineering arrived at West Point in August 1842, and the Department of Practical Military Engineering was created shortly thereafter. Except for the Civil War period, when the course was directed by the Department of Engineering, the Department of Practical Military Engineering functioned as a separate academic organization under the supervision of the Superintendent or the Commandant of Cadets. In 1923, its functions were transferred to the Department of Tactics and to the Department of Civil and Military Engineering. Some of the functions inherited by the Department of Tactics, along with a new course of study, military heritage, were made the concern of the Office of Military Instruction when it was established in 1961. The Office of Military Instruction is responsible for providing cadets with a base of military skills and knowledge necessary for a career involving military leadership. Since the middle of the 19th century, various enlisted detachments stationed at West Point have been assisting in this mission by training cadets in weapons use; cavalry, infantry, and artillery tactics; and engineering, ordnance, signaling or telegraphy, and other military sciences.

Training in the behavioral sciences and personnel management was added to the cadet curriculum in July 1946, with the establishment of the Department of Applied Military Psychology and Leadership within the Department of Tactics. The following September, an additional mission -- that of administering the aptitude-for-the-service system (see entry 118) -- was assigned to the Department of Applied Military Psychology and Leadership, and its name was changed shortly thereafter to the Department of Military Psychology and Leadership. Administration of the military instructor training course was added to this department's responsibilities in 1949. Human systems research and cadet evaluation, counseling, and guidance services were added in subsequent years. The department's name was changed to the Office of Military Leadership by USMA General Order 31, February 14, 1974.

The Office of Physical Education traces its origins back to July 1814, when the Secretary of War authorized the employment of a swordmaster. Initially, cadets were taught fencing, dancing, and military drill; later, they turned to voluntary athletic pursuits. In 1839 a gymnasium was prepared in the riding hall, where instruction in riding and gymnastics was conducted. An officer was appointed instructor in small arms and military gymnastics in 1853, with the swordmaster serving as his assistant. The instruction in gymnastics, however, was discontinued upon the outbreak of the Civil War. By the 1880's, cadets were once again receiving instructions on a regular basis in gymnastics, swimming, fencing, dancing, and the equestrian arts. The present course in physical education began to take shape in 1885, with the appointment of Herman J. Koehler as Master of the Sword. Intramural athletics were added during the superintendency of Gen. Douglas MacArthur (1919-22). The title "Master of the Sword" was changed to "Director of Physical Education" in July 1947. The Office of Physical Education, through its program of intramural athletics and testing of physical proficiency, helps to prepare each cadet for a career of military leadership. Its purpose is to develop skills in individual and team sports and to improve overall physical fitness and ability; these skills in turn relate directly to the development of aggressiveness, courage, confidence, and other attributes deemed necessary in a combat situation. Other divisions of the Department of Tactics are responsible for Corps of Cadet discipline, supply, personnel administration, operations, and extracurricular activities.