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.
The United States secretary of veterans affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,the department concerned with veterans' benefits,health care,and national veterans' memorials and cemeteries. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and second to last at sixteenth in the line of succession to the presidency. Until the appointment of David Shulkin in 2017,all appointees and acting appointees to the post were United States military veterans,but that is not a requirement to fill the position.
Gordon Richard England is an American politician and businessman who was the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and twice served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.
William James Crowe Jr. was a United States Navy admiral and diplomat who served as the 11th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush,and as the ambassador to the United Kingdom and Chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board under President Bill Clinton.
Togo Dennis West Jr. was an American attorney and public official. A Democrat,he was the third person to occupy the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the Bill Clinton administration serving from 1998 until his resignation in 2000. He was the second African American to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Hershel Wayne Gober is a former government official and Vietnam War veteran. He served as acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) on two occasions during the administration of Bill Clinton:first from July 1,1997,until January 2,1998,between the resignation of Secretary Jesse Brown and the appointment of Togo D. West Jr. as acting secretary,and the second time from July 25,2000,until January 20,2001,after the resignation of Secretary West;this time Gober served in the post until the end of the Clinton presidency.
Edward William Gnehm Jr.,also known as Skip Gnehm,is an American diplomat who most recently served as the U.S. ambassador to Jordan. He is now a faculty member at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs.
Gordon Hall Mansfield was an American military veteran who was Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs between 2004 and 2008.
The deputy secretary of veterans affairs,in the United States government,is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,responsible for a nationwide system of health care services,benefits programs,and national cemeteries for America's veterans and their dependents. The deputy secretary is the second-highest-ranking officer in the Department and succeeds the secretary of veterans affairs in the event of his resignation,death,or otherwise inability to fulfill his duties.
Rupert "Rudy" Frank de Leon Jr. is an American former senior Department of Defense official,military adviser,lobbyist,and foreign policy adviser. He served as the Deputy Secretary of Defense,described as the "second-highest civilian defense position",from March 31,2000 until March 16,2001,and before appointed as Deputy Secretary he had served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness from 1997 until 2000 and as Under Secretary of the Air Force from 1994 to 1997 in the administration of Bill Clinton.
Edward S. Walker is a former U.S. Ambassador to Israel,Egypt,and the UAE and is a Middle East specialist.
David Ohlmer "Doc" Cooke was a United States Department of Defense civilian administrator who served under twelve Secretaries of Defense over a period of 45 years. Often called the "Mayor of the Pentagon",Cooke was the department's highest-ranking career civil servant as Director of Administration and Management,and as Director of Washington Headquarters Services. He was also responsible for administering the oath of office for many key department officials.
John Luther McLucas was United States Secretary of the Air Force from 1973 to 1975,becoming Secretary of the Air Force on July 19,1973. He had been Acting Secretary of the Air Force since May 15,1973,and Under Secretary of the Air Force since March 1969. Before he was appointed Under Secretary,he was president and chief executive officer of MITRE Corporation,of Bedford,Massachusetts,and McLean,Virginia.
Raymond F. DuBois Jr. is a private consultant in national security and defense policy and also a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies,a nonpartisan think-tank in Washington,D.C. At CSIS he focuses on international security policy,civil-military relations,defense management reform,and Joint Professional Military Education. His expertise is in Defense Department organization,management and reform;land forces tactical and non-tactical systems;international and domestic installations and environmental issues;base realignment and closure;National Guard and Reserves issues;stability operations and reconstruction;continuity of business operations and crisis management. He was a member of the Defense Health Board and its NCR BRAC Health Systems Advisory Committee in 2006 to 2009. DuBois was a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on Stabilizing Fragile States. He is a member of the International Advisory Council of the United States Institute of Peace,a member of the Princeton University ROTC Board of Directors. He has spoken at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University,at the European Forum Alpbach 2008 in Austria,at the Marine Corps University,Quantico,Virginia,and before audiences of the National Defense Industry Association and the Association of the United States Army.
Robert Leon Wilkie Jr. is an American lawyer and government official who served as the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2018 to 2021,during the Trump administration. He was previously Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness during the Trump administration,from November 2017 to July 2018. An Naval intelligence in the Reserve,he was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Robin Lee Higgins is a former Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps.
J. Daniel Howard was Special Assistant to President of the United States Ronald Reagan from July 1986 to February 1988,United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from February 1988 to May 1989 and Under Secretary of the Navy from 1989 to 1993.
The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the Secretary of Defense,to a private citizen,politician,non-career federal employee,or foreign national. It is presented for exceptionally distinguished service of significance to the Department of Defense as a whole,or a DoD Component or function,where recognition at the component level would not be sufficient for the service rendered.
Robert T. Hastings Jr. is an American public relations and strategic communications professional who has served as an executive in several aerospace and defense corporations and as a political appointee in the administration of President George W. Bush,where he was the senior public affairs official and principal spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense in 2008–2009.
James Michael Byrne is an American lawyer who served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs from August 2018 to February 2020. He previously served as the general counsel for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
