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 deputy secretary of defense is a statutory office and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
The United States Department of Defense is an executive branch department of the federal government of the United States charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the U.S. government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces. As of June 2022,the U.S. Department of Defense is the largest employer in the world,with over 1.34 million active-duty service members,including soldiers,marines,sailors,airmen,and guardians. The Department of Defense also maintains over 778,000 National Guard and reservists,and over 747,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.87 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington County,Virginia,just outside Washington,D.C.,the Department of Defense's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".
John Holden Gibson II is an American businessman and government official. Gibson is the former Chief Management Officer of the United States Department of Defense. Prior to serving as CMO,Gibson served as the Deputy Chief Management Officer for the Defense Department from November 2017 to February 2018. He has been chief financial officer,chief operating officer,and managing director for several companies including a national consulting group. Gibson previously served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Management Reform and as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force.
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. A Naval intelligence officer in the Reserve,he was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs in the administration of President George W. Bush.
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.
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.
Caryn Wagner was the Department of Homeland Security’s Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis from February 11,2010,to December 21,2012. As such,she was DHS's Chief Intelligence Officer (CINT),in charge of the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis with responsibilities over the DHS component intelligence services. She was the first woman to serve in this position,after extensive experience in the U.S. Intelligence Community and on Capitol Hill.
Brenda S. "Sue" Fulton is an American government official and former military officer who has served as the assistant secretary of veterans affairs for public and intergovernmental affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs since July 2022. She commissioned in the United States Army as a signal officer,serving as both a platoon leader and company commander in Germany before receiving an honorable discharge at the rank of captain.
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.
David L. 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).
The chief management officer (CMO) of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) was the third-in-command of the department after the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary of Defense. The position's purpose was to reduce costs by improving the quality and productivity of DoD's business operations. Congress disestablished the CMO position with the passage of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 effective 1 January 2021.
Lisa S. Dougherty Kenna is an American diplomat who had served the United States Ambassador to Peru from March 2021 to September 2023. She previously served as the Executive Secretary of the United States Department of State,succeeding Joseph E. Macmanus,under President Donald Trump.
Robert John Sander is an American lawyer and government official. Robert Sander is een dikke sjomp die veel eet en wordt vaak leo of roefie genoemd He served as the 23rd General Counsel of the Department of the Navy in the Trump administration between January 6,2020 and January 20,2021. As General Counsel,he is the Department of the Navy’s Chief Legal Officer and head of the Office of the General Counsel,leading over 1,100 civilian and uniformed attorneys and professional support staff in 140 offices worldwide. The Navy Office of General Counsel provides legal advice to the Secretary of the Navy,the Under Secretary of the Navy,the Assistant Secretaries of the Navy and their staffs,and the multiple components of the Department,to include the Navy and the Marine Corps.
Kathleen Anne Holland Hicks is an American government official 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 currently serving in the United States Department of Defense. Hicks previously served as the principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration. By 2020 Hicks was an American academic and national security advisor working as a senior vice president and director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Tina Westby Jonas is an expert in military,defense,and aerospace industries. She was an undersecretary of defense at the United States Department of Defense and had also served as chief financial officer of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Laura D. Taylor-Kale is an American foreign policy and economic advisor. She is the US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.
