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.
Michael Luis Dominguez retired as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness within the United States Department of Defense. He has held that position since his confirmation by the United States Senate on July 11,2006.
Michael Walter Wynne is an American politician and business executive and was the 21st United States Secretary of the Air Force. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation on June 5,2008,in the wake of the 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident and the mistaken shipment of Minuteman III parts to Taiwan in 2006,followed by an investigation by and a critical report from Admiral Kirkland H. Donald regarding the Minuteman incident.
Frank Graham Klotz served as Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. He was confirmed for the position on April 8,2014,and retired on January 20,2018.
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.
Raymond Francis 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.
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.
Robert F. Hale was the United States Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) from 2009 until 2014 and before that the Comptroller and Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management. Hale has over thirty years of experience as a professional financial manager serving in a wide range of national defense related roles. In addition to his most recent position as Under Secretary of Defense and his previous appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force,Hale has also served in the National Security Division of the Congressional Budget Office and as Executive Director of the American Society of Military Comptrollers. Hale is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a former member of the Defense Business Board. He was appointed to the National Commission on the Future of the Army by Representative Adam Smith (D-WA).
Jamie Michael Morin is a former senior official in the United States Department of Defense. He was a private sector economist and research consultant before earning a Doctorate degree in political science from Yale University. He then served as a professional staff member on the United States Senate Committee on the Budget. Morin was Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation at the Department of Defense. Previously,he was Assistant Secretary of the Air Force,and served concurrently as Acting Under Secretary of the Air Force from 3 July 2012 to 28 April 2013. He joined The Aerospace Corporation in 2017 as executive director of the Center for Space Policy and Strategy and vice president of Defense Systems Operations.
Grant Sherle Green Jr. is a former United States soldier who has held offices in the United States Department of Defense and the United States Department of State.
The Director of Administration and Management,or DA&M,is a position within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) at the Department of Defense. As the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense concerning organizational and administrative management matters,the DA&M is responsible for:developing and maintaining organizational charters and overseeing assigned programs such as DoD Committee Management,DoD Headquarters Management,the OSD Historical Program,the DoD Freedom of Information Act Program,the DoD Privacy Program,the DoD Civil Liberties program,the OSD Internal Management Control Program,and OSD Information Technology/CIO programs. Additionally,the DA&M performs management and oversight responsibilities for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency and the Washington Headquarters Services,a 1,300 employee,$1.3 billion field activity.
Larry Oneil Spencer is a retired United States Air Force general who served in many command,comptroller,and leadership roles during the course of his career. Some of his leadership roles included being the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force,commander of the 75th Air Base Wing at Hill AFB,commander of the 72nd Support Group at Tinker AFB,and the commander of the 4th Comptroller Squadron at Seymour Johnson AFB. He retired 1 October 2015 after more than 44 years of service. He received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal,the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal,the Defense Superior Service Medal,and the Legion of Merit.
Heidi Shyu is an American engineer who has served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Biden administration since July 25,2021. She previously served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition,Logistics,and Technology ASA(ALT) from 2012 to January 30,2016.
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.
Patrick Michael Shanahan is an American businessman and the president and chief executive officer of Spirit AeroSystems. He is a former United States federal government official who served as the acting United States Secretary of Defense in 2019. President Donald Trump appointed Shanahan to the role after the resignation of Jim Mattis. Prior to that,Shanahan served as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2017 to 2019. Before his government service,he previously spent 30 years at Boeing in a variety of roles.
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).
John Euler Whitley is an American government official who served as the acting United States Secretary of the Army from January 20,2021,to May 28,2021. He previously serviced as Assistant Secretary of the Army and acting director of cost assessment and program evaluation for the Department of Defense.
Donna D. Shipton is a United States Air Force lieutenant general who serves as commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The center is responsible for total life cycle management for aircraft,engines,munitions,electronic,computer,network,cyber and agile combat support systems. The center employs more than 28,000 people and has a budget of over $300 billion. Previously she served as military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition,Technology and Logistics.
Stephen G. Purdy Jr. is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration. He previously served as commander of Space Launch Delta 45,program executive officer for assured access to space,director of the Eastern Range,and director of launch and range operations of Space Systems Command.
Timothy Alan Sejba is a United States Space Force major general who serves as the commander of Space Training and Readiness Command. He previously served as the program executive officer for both the Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power (SDACP);and Battle Management,Command,Control,and Communications (BMC3) directorates. He has also served as acting director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office from 2018 to 2019.
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