The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense,the executive department of the US 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 former Marine Corps four-star general,he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War,the War in Afghanistan,and the Iraq War.
The United States Department of Defense is an executive branch department of the federal government of the United States charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the U.S. government directly related to national security and the United States Armed Forces. As of June 2022,the U.S. Department of Defense is the largest employer in the world,with over 1.34 million active-duty service members,including soldiers,marines,sailors,airmen,and guardians. The Department of Defense also maintains over 778,000 National Guard and reservists,and over 747,000 civilians bringing the total to over 2.87 million employees. Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington County,Virginia,just outside Washington,D.C.,the Department of Defense's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".
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.
Donald Mitchell Brown,Jr. is an American author,attorney,and former United States Navy JAG Officer. He has published fifteen books on the United States military,including eleven military-genre novels,the best known of which is Treason (2005) in which radical Islamic clerics infiltrate the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. He has published four works of military nonfiction,including his national bestseller,The Last Fighter Pilot:The True Story of the Final Combat Mission of World War II (2017). Brown may be best known for his work as legal counsel to convicted war criminal Army Lieutenant Clint Lorance,and his authorship of the 2019 book Travesty of Justice:The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance. On November 15,2019,President Donald Trump pardoned Lorance,and the book is considered to be a major factor in leading to that pardon. Between the release of Travesty of Justice on March 31,2019,and Lorance's pardon on November 15,2019,Brown made numerous national television appearances and penned a number of national Op-eds arguing that President Trump should free and exonerate Lieutenant Lorance. On the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving,November 27,2019,Brown and Lorance appeared on Hannity,the nightly national broadcast on the Fox News Channel to discuss the presidential pardon and release.
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.
Anthony Jean Tata,is an American retired United States Army officer,author,and government official. He is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army (1981–2009),and later served as a school district administrator for two large school districts in the District of Columbia and North Carolina. He served as Secretary of Transportation of North Carolina from 2013 to 2015 under Governor Pat McCrory. Tata is the author of the Threat series of thriller novels.
John F. Kirby is a retired United States Navy rear admiral 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. He served in the Obama administration as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State from 2015 to 2017.
Patrick Michael Shanahan is the interim CEO of Spirit AeroSystems. He is a former United States federal government official who served as acting U.S. Secretary of Defense in 2019. President Donald Trump appointed Shanahan to the role after the resignation of Retired General James N. Mattis. Shanahan served as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2017 to 2019. He previously spent 30 years at Boeing in a variety of roles.
David L. 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 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.
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.
Michael Patrick Mulroy is the former United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for the Middle East,serving under Secretary James N. Mattis and Secretary Mark T. Esper. He was responsible for representing the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for defense policy and for Middle East policy in the interagency. He is also a retired CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer and a United States Marine.
Edward R. Gallagher is a retired United States Navy SEAL who was accused and partially convicted of war crimes. 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.
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.
