Dov S. Zakheim is an American businessman,writer,and former official of the United States government. In the Reagan administration,he held various Department of Defense positions. In 2000,Zakheim was a member of "The Vulcans",a group of foreign policy advisors assisting George W. Bush's presidential campaign. From 2001 to 2004 he was Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Defense.
Michèle Angélique Flournoy is an American defense policy advisor who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy under President Bill Clinton and under secretary of defense for policy under President Barack Obama.
Ashton Baldwin Carter was an American government official and academic who served as the 25th United States secretary of defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He later served as director of the Belfer Center for Science &International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.
Edward "Pete" Cleveland Aldridge Jr. is an aerospace engineer and former government official in the U.S. Defense Department. He was also selected as a payload specialist for the Space Shuttle mission STS-62-A,scheduled to launch in July 1986. The mission was canceled after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in January 1986,and Aldridge never flew.
The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment,or USD (A&S),is the Principal Staff Assistant (PSA) and advisor to the Secretary of Defense for all matters relating to acquisition and sustainment in the Department of Defense. This includes the DoD Acquisition System;system design and development;production;logistics and distribution;installation maintenance,management,and resilience;military construction;procurement of goods and services;material readiness;maintenance;environment and energy resilience;utilities;business management modernization;International Armaments Cooperation,Cooperative Acquisition and International Agreements,Promoting exportability of military components to allies and partners;nuclear,chemical and biological defense programs;and nuclear command,control,and communications.
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is a think tank in Washington,D.C. specializing in United States national security issues,including terrorism,irregular warfare,the future of the U.S. military,the emergence of Asia as a global power center,war games pitting the U.S. against the People's Republic of China,and the national security implications of natural resource consumption,among others.
Robert Orton Work is an American national security professional who served as the 32nd United States Deputy Secretary of Defense for both the Obama and Trump administrations from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that,Work was the United States Under Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2013,and before that served as a colonel in the United States Marine Corps;Work retired in 2001 and worked as a civilian at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) and the George Washington University in various positions relating to military and strategic study. From 2013 to 2014,he was the CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). After his time as Deputy Secretary of Defense,he went on to serve on the board of Raytheon. As of October 2023,he serves on the Special Competitive Studies Project's board of advisors.
The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering,abbreviated USD (R&E),is a senior official of the United States Department of Defense. The USD (R&E) is charged with the development and oversight of technology strategy for the DoD. The post has at various times had the titles Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering,or Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E). The latter title has itself historically varied between the rank of under secretary and that of assistant secretary.
Letitia A. Long served as a civilian in the U.S. Navy and the Intelligence Community between 1978 and 2014,retiring as the fifth Director the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency,and the first woman to lead a major U.S. intelligence agency,in October 2014. She currently is the Chairman of the Board for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA).
John Earl Hyten is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the 11th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 to 2021. A career space operations and acquisitions officer,he commanded the United States Strategic Command from 2016 to 2019 and the Air Force Space Command from 2014 to 2016.
Stan Polovets is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is known for his work in the international energy sector and for his innovative philanthropic initiatives.
Ezra Cohen,also known as Ezra Cohen-Watnick,is an American intelligence official who served as the acting under secretary of defense for intelligence during the first Trump Administration. He previously served as the acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict,national security adviser to the United States attorney general and as a former senior director for intelligence programs for the United States National Security Council (NSC).
David Lutz Norquist is an American financial management professional and former government official who served as the 34th United States deputy secretary of defense from 2019 to 2021. In May of 2022,Norquist was selected as the president and chief executive officer of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).
Mira Radielovic Ricardel,is an American businesswoman and former government official.
Kari Bingen is an American policy analyst and former government official who served as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence during the Trump Administration.
Michael A. Brown was managing director of the Defense Department's Innovation Unit. He previously served as chief executive officer for Symantec. Brown has also served as chairman of the board for Line 6 and for EqualLogic and as CEO and chairman of the board for Quantum Corp.
William B. Roper Jr. is an American physicist and foreign policy strategist who served as the 13th Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition,Technology and Logistics,overseeing procurement for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force from 2018 to 2021. Before taking office he served elsewhere within the Department of Defense as founder and director of the Strategic Capabilities Office,and prior as Ballistic Missile Defense System Architect at the Missile Defense Agency. He was also a member of the 2018 National Defense Strategy steering group. He is currently the CEO at Istari,as well as serving as senior advisor at McKinsey and Co.,and teaching at Georgia Tech.
Kathleen Anne Holland Hicks is an American civil servant who has served as the United States deputy secretary of defense since 2021. She is the first Senate-confirmed woman in this role and is the highest ranking woman to have served in the United States Department of Defense.
Alexandra Nicole Baker,known as Sasha Baker,is an American policy advisor who served as deputy under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense.
Radha Iyengar Plumb is an American government official currently serving as the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer in the U.S. Department of Defense. She previously served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. She was confirmed for that position by the U.S. Senate on April 18,2023 and assumed office later that month.
