Ashton Baldwin Carter is an American public policy professor who served as the 25th secretary of defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He is currently director of the Belfer Center for Science &International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School.
John Wendell Thompson is an American technology executive who was the chair of Microsoft from 2014 until June 2021,and chair of Illumina since 2021. He is a former chief executive of Virtual Instruments,a vice-president at IBM and the former chief executive of Symantec. Thompson later became an independent director on the board of Microsoft,and in February 2014,was named chairman. He led the search for Microsoft's next CEO;as a result,Satya Nadella was selected.
Lloyd James Austin III is a retired United States Army four-star general who,since his appointment on January 22,2021,has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serve as the United States secretary of defense. Austin previously served as the 12th commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) from 2013 to 2016.
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 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.
John Joseph Sullivan is an American attorney and government official who served as the United States Ambassador to Russia from 2020 to 2022,and who previously served as the 19th United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party,Sullivan served as Acting United States Secretary of State from April 1,2018,to April 26,2018,following President Donald Trump's dismissal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on March 13,2018,until Tillerson's official successor,Mike Pompeo,was sworn in. Tillerson did not officially leave office until March 31,2018. Sullivan,however,was delegated all responsibilities of the Secretary of State beginning March 13.
Lisa W. Hershman is an American government official who served as the chief management officer of the Department of Defense from December 19,2019,to January 1,2021. She previously served as the Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense from April 13,2018,to December 19,2019. On December 1,2018,she became the acting chief management officer of the Department of Defense following the resignation of John H. Gibson. On July 22,2019,Hershman was nominated for the position of Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense.[3] On December 19,2019,this nomination was approved by a voice vote of the U.S. Senate,making her the highest-ranking woman ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a Pentagon position at the time.
John Francis Kirby is a retired rear admiral in the United States Navy serving as Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House since late May 2022. He previously served as Pentagon Press Secretary for the first year and a half of the Biden Administration,and worked as a military and diplomatic analyst for CNN from 2017 to 2021. Prior to that,he served in the Obama administration as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State from 2015 to 2017.
Florence Yu Pan is an American attorney who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She is a former associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) organization founded to help the U.S. military make faster use of emerging commercial technologies. Launched in 2015,the organization has been called "the Pentagon's Innovation Experiment". DIU is staffed by civilian and both active duty and reserve military personnel. The organization is headquartered in Mountain View,California —Silicon Valley —with offices in Boston,Austin,Chicago,and the Pentagon just outside Washington,D.C.
David L. Norquist is an American financial management professional and government official who served as the United States deputy secretary of defense from 2019 to 2021. In January 2021,he served for two days as the acting United States secretary of defense,succeeding Christopher C. Miller.
Colin Hackett Kahl is an American political adviser and academic serving as the under secretary of defense for policy in the Biden administration. Previously,Kahl served as the national security advisor to the vice president under then-Vice President Joe Biden. After the Obama administration,Kahl served as a Steven C. Házy Senior Fellow at Stanford University.
Christopher Charles Miller is an American retired United States Army Special Forces colonel who served as acting United States secretary of defense from November 9,2020,to January 20,2021. He previously served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center from August 10 to November 9,2020. Before his civilian service in the Department of Defense,Miller was a Green Beret,commanding 5th Special Forces Group in Iraq and Afghanistan,and later spent time as a defense contractor.
Christine Sandra Abizaid is an American intelligence officer who is the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in the Biden administration.
Ely Stefansky Ratner is an American foreign policy and defense advisor who is currently serving as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs in the Biden administration.
Mara Elizabeth Karlin is an American foreign policy and defense advisor. In April 2021,President Joe Biden nominated Karlin to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy,Plans and Capabilities. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by voice vote on August 9,2021. Previously,she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In her role,she served as the main advisor to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on U.S. security policies related to every country in Europe,the Middle East,Africa,Eurasia,and the Western Hemisphere. Her portfolio included shaping U.S. defense policy related to NATO.
Michael R. Carpenter is an American diplomat serving as United States ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the Biden administration.
