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 director of national intelligence (DNI) is a senior cabinet-level United States government official,required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and to direct and oversee the National Intelligence Program (NIP). All IC agencies report directly to the DNI. The DNI also serves,upon invitation,as an advisor to the president of the United States,the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council on all intelligence matters. The DNI,supported by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI),produces the President's Daily Brief (PDB),a classified document including intelligence from all IC agencies,handed each morning to the president of the United States.
Leon Edward Panetta is an American retired politician and government official who has served under several Democratic administrations as Secretary of Defense (2011–2013),director of the CIA (2009–2011),White House Chief of Staff (1994–1997),director of the Office of Management and Budget (1993–1994),and as a U.S. Representative from California (1977–1993).
Robert Michael Gates is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and was retained by President Barack Obama. Gates began his career serving as an officer in the United States Air Force but was quickly recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Gates served for twenty-six years in the CIA and at the National Security Council,and was director of central intelligence under President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. After leaving the CIA,Gates became president of Texas A&M University and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates served as a member of the Iraq Study Group,the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton that studied the lessons of the Iraq War.
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.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense,and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority,direction and control of the Department of Defense in the exercise of policy development,planning,resource management,fiscal,and program evaluation responsibilities. OSD is the Secretary of Defense's support staff for managing the Department of Defense,and it corresponds to what the Executive Office of the President of the U.S. is to the U.S. president for managing the whole of the Executive branch of the federal government.
Steven Gill Bradbury is an American lawyer and government official who served as the General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation. He previously served as Acting Assistant Attorney General (AAG) from 2005 to 2007 and Principal Deputy AAG from 2004 to 2009,heading the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the U.S. Department of Justice during President George W. Bush's second term.
The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI),formed in 2004,is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. TFI works to reduce the use of the financial system for illicit activities by terrorists,money launderers,drug cartels,and other national security threats.
The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (SAF/AQ) is a civilian position in the Department of the Air Force that is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. This position is established under Title 10 US Code Section 9016 and is one of five Assistant Secretary positions under the Secretary of the Air Force. The Assistant Secretary reports to the Secretary of the Air Force.
William James Lynn III is a former United States Deputy Secretary of Defense. Before that he was Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and a lobbyist for Raytheon.
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 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.
Lisa Oudens Monaco is an American attorney,former federal prosecutor and national security official who has served as the 39th and current United States Deputy Attorney General since April 21,2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Eric Kenneth Fanning is an American public servant who is the current President and CEO of Aerospace Industries Association and served as the 22nd Secretary of the Army,holding office from May 18,2016 to January 20,2017. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of the Army,Fanning was the 24th United States Under Secretary of the Air Force. He was the first openly gay head of any service in the US military.
David Samuel Cohen is an American attorney who has served as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since January 20,2021,previously holding the position from February 9,2015 to January 20,2017. He served as acting director of the CIA from January 20 to March 19,2021 until the Senate confirmation of William J. Burns.
Jo Ann Rooney is an American educator with a background in higher education,law,business,health care,and public service. On May 23,2016,she was named the 24th president of Loyola University Chicago,a Jesuit,Catholic university in Chicago,Illinois. Rooney is the first lay,non-Jesuit president of the university in its history and began her term as president on August 1,2016. On August 23,2021,she announced in a statement that the current school year will be her last as President of the University. Dr. Rooney's tenure at Loyola ended on September 30,2022.
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 to have served 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 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.
Frank A. Rose served as the Principal Deputy Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration in the Biden administration from August 2021 to April 2024. From 2018 to 2021,he was co-director of the Center for Security,Strategy,and Technology at the Brookings Institution. Previously Rose served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Verification,Compliance,and Implementation in the Obama administration from December 2014 to January 2017.
Christopher Paul Maier is an American government official who is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. He previously served as the Principal Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict.
Gabriel Omar Camarillo is an American attorney who has served as the 35th under secretary of the Army in the Biden administration since February 8,2022. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force from 2015 to 2017 during the Obama administration.
