The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD),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 president appoints the secretary of defense 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.
The secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer and the head of the Department of the Navy,a military department within the United States Department of Defense.
Gordon Richard England is an American politician and businessman who was the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and twice served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary investigative law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate major criminal activities involving the Navy and Marine Corps. However,its broad mandate includes national security,counterintelligence,counterterrorism,cyberwarfare,and the protection of U.S. naval assets worldwide. NCIS is the successor organization to the former Naval Investigative Service (NIS),which was established by the Office of Naval Intelligence after the Second World War. One-half of NCIS personnel are civilian,with the other half being US government investigators —1811 series special agents. NCIS agents are armed federal law enforcement investigators,who frequently coordinate with other U.S. government agencies and have a presence in more than 41 countries and on U.S. Navy vessels. NCIS special agents are supported by analysts and other experts skilled in disciplines such as forensics,surveillance,surveillance countermeasures,computer investigations,physical security,and polygraph examinations.
David Ohlmer "Doc" Cooke was a United States Department of Defense civilian administrator who served under twelve Secretaries of Defense over a period of 45 years. Often called the "Mayor of the Pentagon",Cooke was the department's highest-ranking career civil servant as Director of Administration and Management,and as Director of Washington Headquarters Services. He was also responsible for administering the oath of office for many key department officials.
John Revell "Jack" Dailey is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps (ACMC) and Chief of Staff from 1990 to 1992,Acting Associate Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from 1992 to 1999;and director of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) from 2000 to 2018.
Paul Allan Schneider is a former United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. He had previously served as the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management. He was responsible for all the department's budget,appropriations,expenditure of funds,accounting and finance;procurement;human resources and personnel;information technology systems;facilities,property,equipment,and other material resources;and identification and tracking of performance measurements.
Michael Bruce Donley is a United States government official who is the director of administration and management in the Office of the Secretary of Defense since May 2021,having served in the same position from 2005 to 2008. In the Bush and Obama administrations,Donley served as the 22nd secretary of the Air Force,amongst other positions. Donley has 30 years of experience in the national security community,including service on the staff of the United States Senate,White House and The Pentagon.
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 Defense Media Activity (DMA) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) field activity. It provides a range of media and services to that aim to "inform,educate,and entertain Department of Defense audiences around the world." The Defense Media Activity is located on Fort Meade,Maryland. DoD field activities are established as DoD components by law,by the President,or by the Secretary of Defense to provide for the performance,on a DoD-wide basis,of a supply or service activity that is common to more than one Military Department when it is determined to be more effective,economical,or efficient to do so. DMA operates as a separate DoD Component under the authority,direction and control of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
John Rutherford Allen is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general,and former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces –Afghanistan (USFOR-A). On 13 September 2014,president Barack Obama appointed Allen as special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. He was succeeded in that role by Brett McGurk on 23 October 2015. He is the co-author of Turning Point:Policymaking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence with Darrell M. West and Future War and the Defence of Europe alongside Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges and Professor Julian Lindley French. Allen was president of the Brookings Institution from October 2017 until his resignation on 12 June 2022.
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.
James Daniel Howard was Special Assistant to President of the United States Ronald Reagan from July 1986 to February 1988,United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from February 1988 to May 1989 and Under Secretary of the Navy from 1989 to 1993.
David Peter Pekoske is an American government official and retired U.S. Coast Guard vice admiral who served as the seventh administrator of the Transportation Security Administration in the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from 2017 to 2025. He served as the acting deputy secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019 and again from January to June 2021. From January 20,2021 to February 2,2021 he served as acting secretary of homeland security,during the Senate confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas. Pekoske retired with 33 years of active military service in 2010 as the 26th vice commandant of the Coast Guard.
Robert Cardillo is a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. Prior to this appointment,he was the sixth Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and was sworn in October 3,2014. He was previously selected by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to serve as the first Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Intelligence Integration in September 2010. Clapper said in a statement that the position would "elevate information sharing and collaboration" between those who collect intelligence and those who analyze it. Cardillo previously served as deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Prior to that,he served as the deputy director for Analysis,DIA,and Director,Analysis and Production,National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
Michael H. Decker was the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Oversight. from September 2009 to February 2014. Before that he was assistant director of Intelligence,Marine Corps Intelligence,United States Marine Corps. He served as Director of Intelligence during Operation Iraqi Freedom II from January 2004 to June 2005.
Robert Blake Neller is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2015 to 2019.
Anthony Michael Kurta is a retired United States Navy Rear Admiral and government official. Having served as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness for most of 2017,he was President Donald Trump's nominee to become Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Kurta previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy and Director of Navy Flag Officer Management and Development.
Carlos Matus is an American diplomat at the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) who serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and director of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) administered by United States Department of State. The DS is a law enforcement security arm of the State Department which leads security and law enforcement focusing on safeguard national security interests. Matus has served over 37 years as a career member in the Senior Foreign Service (SFS.) From 2004 to 2017,Carlos Matus was appointed as a Regional Security Officer (RSO) at the United States Embassy of Kabul,Afghanistan. During 2018 to 2019,Carlos Matus served for the High Threat Program Directorate while he worked as a Regional Director for High Threat Programs as the Deputy Regional Director for Contingency Operations focusing on Afghanistan,while Matus worked as the Officer Director of Protective Intelligence Investigations. From 2019 to 2020,Carlos Matus served as the Deputy Assist Secretary for Threat Investigations and Analysis Directorate. Matus currently serves at Diplomatic Security Affairs Office for Criminal Investigations at Office of Public Affairs for Department of Justice and DSS.
