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.
James Norman Mattis is an American military veteran who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general,he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War,the War in Afghanistan,and the Iraq War.
Joseph Devereux Kernan is a retired United States Navy vice admiral and the former under secretary of defense for intelligence. His last military assignment was serving as the military deputy commander of the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM),Miami,Florida,from May 23,2011,to September 2013. He was the second-in-command of one of nine unified commands under the Department of Defense.
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.
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.
Anthony Jean Tata is an American retired military officer,author and government official.
John F. Kirby is a retired United States Navy rear admiral serving as White House National Security Communications Advisor since 2022. He previously served in the Biden administration as Pentagon Press Secretary and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from 2021 to 2022. He worked as a military and diplomatic analyst for CNN from 2017 to 2021. He served in the Obama administration as Pentagon Press Secretary from 2013 to 2015 and as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from 2015 to 2017.
Donald Trump assumed office as the 45th president of the United States on January 20,2017,and his first term ended 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.
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).
Ryan D. McCarthy is an American business executive and former U.S. Army Ranger who served as the 24th United States Secretary of the Army,from 2019 to 2021. He previously held the office in an acting capacity in 2017 and 2019.
Mark Thomas Esper is an American politician and manufacturing/high-tech executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party,he had previously served as the 23rd U.S. secretary of the Army from November 2017 to July 2019.
Transgender people have served or sought to serve in the United States military. The subject began to engender some political controversy starting with transgender service members being banned in 1960 and possibly earlier. This controversy came to a head in the 2010s and was subjected to relatively rapid changes for the next few years. As of 2021,transgender individuals are expressly permitted to serve openly as their identified gender. A brief timeline is as follows:
Thomas B. Modly is an American businessman and former government official who served as acting United States Secretary of the Navy from November 24,2019,to April 7,2020. He resigned as acting Secretary in the wake of his firing and berating Brett Crozier,the captain of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt,for allegedly going outside his chain of command in calling for help to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak onboard. Later,Modly traveled to the ship at port in Guam,where he addressed the crew in a manner that was perceived as disrespectful. He was subsequently widely criticized,and submitted a letter of resignation.
Kenneth John Braithwaite II is an American politician,diplomat,businessman and naval officer who served as the 77th secretary of the Navy from May 29,2020,to January 20,2021,in the Donald Trump administration. Prior to that,he served as the U.S. ambassador to Norway,beginning February 8,2018. Braithwaite is a retired U.S. Navy one-star rear admiral,having served in the Iraq War.
Edward R. Gallagher is a retired United States Navy SEAL. He came to national attention in the United States after he was charged in September 2018 with ten offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In the most prominently reported offense,he was accused of fatally stabbing an injured 17-year-old ISIS prisoner,photographing himself with the corpse,and sending the photo to friends.
Guy Snodgrass is a retired American naval aviator,TOPGUN graduate and instructor,who served as Jim Mattis's speechwriter and chief of communications during his time as Secretary of Defense. His book Holding the Line:Inside Trump's Pentagon with Secretary Mattis was released in October 2019. The book details key decisions and moments during Mattis's time as Secretary of Defense and provides the author's first-hand look into the relationship between Mattis and Trump,the Pentagon,The White House,and American national security decision making.
James H. Anderson is an American government official and academic who served as acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the Donald Trump administration.
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.
