The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense,the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces,and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president of the United States,who is the commander-in-chief. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a defense minister in many other countries. The secretary of defense is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate,and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.
Rear Admiral Robert Dunham Reilly Jr. was a United States Navy Surface Warfare Flag Officer who retired from active duty in January 2010 after 34-plus years of military service. His last assignment was as the 24th commander of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC).
Margaret DeLuca "Peg" Klein is a former United States Navy officer who held the rank of rear admiral at the time of her retirement in March 2017. She currently serves as the dean of the College of Leadership and Ethics at the Naval War College.
Mark Howard Buzby is a retired United States Navy rear admiral who served as the Administrator of the United States Maritime Administration. He retired from the Navy in 2013 and joined Carnival Cruise Line's Safety &Reliability Review Board. Buzby was nominated to be MARAD Administrator in June 2017 by President Donald Trump,and confirmed to the position by the United States Senate on August 3,2017. He resigned from the post on January 11,2021,along with Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao,to protest the 2021 United States Capitol attack.
James Edwin McPherson is an American government official and retired United States Navy rear admiral. He served as the General Counsel of the Army from January 2,2018,to March 24,2020. He served as the United States Under Secretary of the Army from March 25,2020,to January 20,2021,and in acting capacity from July 23,2019,to March 24,2020. He served as Acting United States Secretary of the Navy from April 7,2020,to May 29,2020,following the resignation of Thomas Modly.
Nancy J. Lescavage is a retired American rear admiral who served as the 20th director of the Navy Nurse Corps and was the commander of Naval Medical Education and Training Command,Bethesda,Maryland.
Rear Admiral Kathleen Lousche Martin served as Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy/Vice Chief,Bureau of Medicine and Surgery from October 2002 until her retirement in September 2005. She also held the position as the 19th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps from August 1998 to August 2001. She serves on the board of directors for Caliburn International,a military contracting conglomerate that also oversees operations of Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children.
Rear Admiral Joan Marie Engel held the position as the 18th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps from September 1994 to August 1998. She concurrently served as deputy commander for personnel management in the Health Sciences,Education and Training Command,and later as assistant chief for Education,Training and Personnel.
Rear Admiral Linda Jeanne Bird,SC,USN,was the first woman in the United States Navy Supply Corps promoted to flag rank.
Elizabeth Ann Hight is a retired United States Navy rear admiral who served as the vice director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). She assumed this post in December 2007. In 2008,she was nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as director,Defense Information Systems Agency;commander,Joint Task Force –Global Network Operations;and deputy commander,U.S. Strategic Command Global Network Operations and Defense,Arlington,Virginia. Her nomination was rejected by the Senate due to a perceived conflict of interest with her husband,retired Air Force Brigadier General Gary Salisbury,who is vice president of business development and sales for Northrop Grumman Corp.'s mission systems sector,defense mission systems division. She retired from the Navy in 2010.
Rear Admiral Karen Ann Flaherty assumed duties as the Deputy Surgeon General of Navy Medicine at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery as of August 6,2010. Flaherty served as the 22nd Director of the United States Navy Nurse Corps as well as the Deputy Chief,Wounded,Ill,and Injured at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery from 2009 to 2010.
Rear Adm. Jonathan Alex Yuen is a retired American admiral,who last served as the 47th Chief of Supply Corps and Commander of the Naval Supply Systems Command.
John F. Kirby is a retired United States Navy rear admiral serving as White House National Security Communications Advisor since 2022. He previously served in the Biden administration as Pentagon Press Secretary and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from 2021 to 2022. He worked as a military and diplomatic analyst for CNN from 2017 to 2021. He served in the Obama administration as Pentagon Press Secretary from 2013 to 2015 and as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from 2015 to 2017.
David Folk Baucom is a retired United States Navy Rear Admiral. Among Baucom's military roles were White House military aide to the president,director of the US Central Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center in Kuwait,commander of Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support,commander of Fleet &Industrial Supply Center in Norfolk,Virginia,and strategy and policy director of the US Transportation Command. Baucom is currently senior director at Vintun LLC.
Anthony Michael Kurta is a retired United States Navy Rear Admiral and government official. Having served as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness for most of 2017,he was President Donald Trump's nominee to become Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Kurta previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy and Director of Navy Flag Officer Management and Development.
Edward Masso is a businessman and retired United States Navy Rear Admiral who was nominated by President Donald Trump to become the next United States Ambassador to Estonia. He is the founder and president of Flagship Connection,a consulting company focused on business development,strategic planning,and operations analysis in the areas of missile defense,cyber security,and data analytics. During his 32-year career in the U.S. Navy,he held nine command assignments,including Commander,Navy Personnel Command/Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel. He has served in NATO and the United States European Command. Masso is a senior fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in cyber security.
Jon Christopher Kreitz is a retired United States Navy Rear Admiral and former Deputy Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He is an Independent Director on the Board of Directors of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Surface Navy Association (SNA).
Paul J. Schlise is a retired rear admiral in the United States Navy.
R. Timothy Ziemer is an American retired naval officer. He was a U.S. Navy helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War,commanded several squadrons and an air wing during the First Gulf War,and completed his Navy career as commander of the Navy's Mid-Atlantic Region,with the rank of rear admiral. After retiring he became an expert in global disaster response and health threats. He led the President's Malaria Initiative from 2006 until 2017,then joined the National Security Council as the director in charge of global health security and biothreats,serving until May 8,2018,when the position was abolished by the Trump administration.
Vincent L. Griffith is the former director of Defense Logistics Agency operations,served over thirty years in United States Navy at various posts such as commander of the Naval Supply Systems Command,Global Logistics Support,and later,director of DLA Aviation,commanding officer of the United States Fleet Forces Command for Norfolk,Virginia,and rear admiral in the U.S. navy before his retirement to the service in 2017. Government of United States conferred numerous awards upon Vincent,including Defense Superior Service Medal,Legion of Merit,Defense Meritorious Service Medal,Meritorious Service Medals,and five Commendation Medals.
Rear Admiral 