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.
Lester Martínez López is an American government official and former Army general who serves as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs since 2023. While in the United States Army,Martínez López was the first Hispanic to head the Army Medical and Research Command at Fort Detrick,Maryland. His responsibilities included overseeing the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease,which develops antidotes and vaccines for diseases soldiers might face on the battlefield.
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.
Mari Carmen Aponte is an American attorney and diplomat who has served as the United States Ambassador to Panama in the Biden administration since November 2022. She previously served as acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs on May 5,2016. She also served as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador from August 2010 until December 2011 and again from June 14,2012,until December 2015. Before that she was serving as a member of the board of directors of Oriental Group,a major financial and banking services enterprise in Puerto Rico. President Obama also nominated her as the United States' permanent representative to the Organization of American States,but the Senate had not acted upon that nomination upon adjournment in December 2014.
The United States under secretary of the Army is the second-highest-ranking civilian official of the United States Department of the Army,serving directly under the United States Secretary of the Army. The Secretary and Under Secretary,together with two military officers,the Chief of Staff of the United States Army and the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army,constitute the senior leaders of the United States Army.
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.
Heidi Shyu is a Taiwanese-born 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.
Florence Yu Pan is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2021 to 2022 and a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2021.
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 Bradley Sherman is an American intelligence official who had served as the chief information officer at the Department of Defense from December 17,2021 to June 2024. Prior to that,he served from June 2020 to January 2021 as the Principal Deputy DOD Chief Information Officer. Between 2017 and 2020 he served as Associate Director and Chief Information Officer of the Intelligence Community (IC) at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Christine Elizabeth Wormuth is an American defense official and career civil servant who serves as the United States secretary of the Army since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party,she is the first female United States secretary of the Army.
The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) (pronounced "jake") was an American organization on exploring the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) (particularly Edge computing),Network of Networks and AI-enhanced communication for use in actual combat. In February 2022,JAIC was integrated into the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO).
Elizabeth Marie Allen is an American political advisor who served as under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs in the Biden administration. She had previously served in his administration as assistant secretary of state for global public affairs. She was White House deputy communications director during the Obama administration. Allen resigned from the State Department on August 2,2024,to take up a role as chief of staff to Tim Walz,the then-unannounced running mate of Democratic presidential candidate and incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris.
Joe Biden assumed office as president of the United States on January 20,2021. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.
Andrew Philip Hunter is an American defense official and policy analyst who is the 14th and current assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition,technology and logistics (SAF/AQ). Prior to becoming an Air Force Assistant Secretary,he was the director of the defense industrial initiatives group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Before joining CSIS,Hunter spent 15 years as a staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives,and as a senior procurement official at the Department of Defense during the Obama administration.
Victoria Marie Baecher Wassmer is an American government official who serves as the Chief Financial Officer and an assistant secretary of transportation for budget and programs within the Department of Transportation. She previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Finance and Budget within the department as well as in various roles at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Laura D. Taylor-Kale is an American foreign policy and economic advisor. She is the US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.
