The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches:the Army,Marine Corps,Navy,Air Force,Space Force,and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and forms military policy with the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS),both federal executive departments,acting as the principal organs by which military policy is carried out. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States.
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.
The National Security Act of 1947 was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the provisions of the act took effect on September 18,1947,the day after the Senate confirmed James Forrestal as the first secretary of defense.
John William Warner III was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 2009. Warner served as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1999 to 2001,and again from 2003 to 2007. He also served as the Chair of the Senate Rules Committee from 1995 to 1999.
The New York University Tandon School of Engineering is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United States. The school dates back to 1854 when its predecessor institutions,the University of the City of New York School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute,were founded. The school was renamed in 2015 in honor of NYU Trustees Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon following their donation of $100 million to the school.
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.
ZoëEliot Baird is an American lawyer and president of the Markle Foundation. She is known for her role in the Nannygate matter of 1993,which arose when she was nominated by President Bill Clinton as the first woman to be Attorney General of the United States,but she withdrew her nomination when it was discovered she had hired undocumented immigrants and failed to pay Social Security taxes for them. Since 1998,she has led the Markle Foundation.
James Gerard Roche is an American politician. He served as the 20th Secretary of the Air Force,serving from January 20,2001 to January 20,2005. Prior to serving as secretary,Roche served in the United States Navy for 23 years,and as an executive with Northrop Grumman.
Richard Jeffrey Danzig is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 71st Secretary of the Navy under President Bill Clinton. He served as an advisor of the President Barack Obama during his presidential campaign and was later the chairman of the national security think-tank,the Center for a New American Security.
Frederick Whitten Peters is a District of Columbia lawyer and senior level public official. His law practice specializes in civil and criminal litigation including contract fraud,antitrust,tax and security cases. He has served in several key positions within the U.S. federal government,including as Secretary of the Air Force.
Michael D. Lumpkin is a former American Naval Officer and businessman who served as the Special Envoy and Coordinator of the Global Engagement Center at the U.S. Department of State until January 2017. From 2013 until 2016,he was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. During that time,he also served as the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy,the third-highest civilian job at the United States Department of Defense.
Robert F. Hale was the United States Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) from 2009 until 2014 and before that the Comptroller and Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management. Hale has over thirty years of experience as a professional financial manager serving in a wide range of national defense related roles. In addition to his most recent position as Under Secretary of Defense and his previous appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force,Hale has also served in the National Security Division of the Congressional Budget Office and as Executive Director of the American Society of Military Comptrollers. Hale is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a former member of the Defense Business Board. He was appointed to the National Commission on the Future of the Army by Representative Adam Smith (D-WA).
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 Wade Douglass is a retired Brigadier General,United States Air Force. He served as the United States Navy's Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1995 to 1998. In 2012,Douglass ran for election to the United States House of Representatives for Virginia's 5th congressional district as a Democrat,losing to incumbent congressman Robert Hurt.
Bernard Daniel Rostker was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1977 to 1979;Director of the United States Selective Service System from 1979 to 1981;Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1994 to 1998;Under Secretary of the Army from 1998 to 2000;and Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in 2000-2001. From 1996 to 2001,he also served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Gulf War Illnesses.
Richard Greco Jr. is an American businessman,educator,former United States Government official,and long-standing trustee and benefactor of educational,cultural,and civic institutions. He was appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate as the nation's 19th Assistant Secretary of the Navy and served from 2004 to 2007. In this role,Greco was the chief financial officer of the Department of the Navy,responsible for an annual budget of more than $130 billion and a financial management workforce of 9000 professionals,including budgeters,analysts,auditors,fiscal lawyers,Congressional relations officers,and financial operations personnel. The Department of the Navy would be equivalent to the 7th largest corporation in the world based on revenues. He also served as chairman of the Department of the Navy audit committee,a member of the Acquisition Integrity Board,and the executive committee of the United States Naval Academy. For exceptional service Greco was twice awarded the Department of the Navy's Distinguished Public Service Medal,the highest civilian medal awarded by the Navy. In addition,Greco's Fiscal Year 2005 Department of the Navy Annual Financial Report was awarded the Gold Vision Award and was named one of the top 100 corporate annual reports in the world in the Overall category. During his tenure as Assistant Secretary,Greco also served for two years as National President of the American Society of Military Comptrollers,an association of 18,000 financial professionals. Greco's strategic vision for financial management at the Department of the Navy,entitled Transforming Today to Win Tomorrow,continued to guide the office of the Assistant Secretary for many years following his tenure and included long-term initiatives such as portfolio analysis and management,human capital development,private sector technology adoption,and many others.
Steven S. Honigman is an American lawyer who served as General Counsel of the Navy from 1993 to 1998.
Patrick Timothy Henry was United States Assistant Secretary of the Army from 1998 to 2001.
Mitchell Everett Shivers is an American diplomat,national security official,and investment banker. He is currently the non-executive Chair of BlueQuartz Technologies LLC,and is a governor-appointed member of the New Jersey State Investment Council.
