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{| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="4" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 20em; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; clear: right;"|+
Department of Defense|-|style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2"||-|
Established:||
July 26,
1947, [1947, [1949|-|[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense:||Gordon R. England, [Joint Chiefs of Staff:||Admiral (United States)
Michael Mullen:||$419.3 billion (2006 official)|-|Employees:||700,000 civilian
2.3 million military (2004)|-|Address:||[The Pentagon Secretary of [Defense (military) (SECDEF) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the Military of the United States and
Military of the United States. The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the
President of the United States and is responsible for the formulation of general defense policy and policy related to all matters of direct and primary concern to the DoD, and for the execution of approved policy. The Secretary is appointed by the President with the approval of the
United States Senate, and is a member of the
United States Cabinet. By statute the secretary must be a civilian who has not served in the active component of the
Military of the United States for at least 10 years (10 United States Code Sec. 113 - Note that
United States Congress had passed a law to allow George Marshall to be appointed in 1950 despite having only been a civilian since 1945). The Secretary of Defense is sixth in the
United States presidential line of succession.
History
The position was created in 1947 when the United States Navy, United States Army, and newly created
United States Air Force were merged into the new National Military Establishment. In the same massive reorganization, the
United States Secretary of War was replaced by the
United States Secretary of the Army and, along with the
United States Secretary of the Navy and the new United States Secretary of the Air Force, became a non-Cabinet position placed under the Secretary of Defense. In
1949, the National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense, which remains the current name of the department.
Organization
Within the
Military of the United States, the Secretary of Defense is often referred to as SecDef.
The SecDef and the President together constitute the
National Command Authority (NCA), which has sole authority to launch strategic nuclear weapons. All nuclear weapons are governed by the two-man rule, even at the highest levels in government. Both individuals must concur before a strategic nuclear strike may be ordered.
The SecDef, as the head of the United States Office of the Secretary of Defense, is assisted by a Deputy Secretary and five Under Secretaries in the fields of Acquisition, Technology & Logistics; Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer; Intelligence; Personnel & Readiness; and arguably the most important, Policy. All of these positions require Senate confirmation.
The Secretary of Defense also supervises the six members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commanders of the ten Combatant Commands.
Along with the
United States Secretary of State, the
United States Attorney General and the United States Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense is generally regarded as one of the "Big Four" important cabinet officials.
List of Secretaries of Defense
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"| #!rowspan="2"| Picture!rowspan="2"| Name!colspan="2"| Term of Office!rowspan="2"|
President of the United States served under|-! Start! End|-! 1| |
James Forrestal, [1947, [1949|-! 2| | [Louis A. Johnson, [1949, [1950|-! 3| | [George Marshall|
September 21,
1950, [1951|-! 4| | [Robert A. Lovett, [1951, [1953|-! 5| | [Charles Erwin Wilson| January 28, 1953, [1957|-! 6| | [Neil H. McElroy, [1957, [1959|-! 7| | [Thomas S. Gates, [1959, [1961|-! 8| | [Robert McNamara|
January 21, 1961, [1968, [LBJ|-! 9| | Clark M. Clifford, [1968, [1969|-! 10| | [Melvin R. Laird, [1969, [1973|-! 11| | [Elliot Richardson|
January 30, 1973, [1973|-! 12| | [James R. Schlesinger, [1973, [1975, [Gerald Ford| [November 20, 1975, [1977|-! 14| | [Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense)| January 21, 1977, [1981|-! 15| | [Caspar Weinberger|
January 21, 1981, [1987|-! 16| | [Frank Carlucci|
November 23, 1987, [1989|-! 17| | [Dick Cheney|
March 21,
1989, [1993|-! 18| | [Les Aspin, [1993, [1994|-! 19| | [William Perry|
February 3,
1994, [1997|-! 20| | [William Cohen|
January 24, 1997, [2001|-! 21| | [Donald Rumsfeld| January 20, [2001, [2006|-! 22| | [Robert M. Gates, [2006|}
Line of succession
In an Executive Order of
December 22,
2005, President George W. Bush modified the line of succession regarding who would act as Secretary of Defense in the event of a vacancy or incapacitation as follows:
Deputy Secretary of Defense
Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Secretary of the Army
Secretary of the Air Force
Secretary of the Navy
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Deputy
References
url=http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/|
title=Histories of the Secretaries of Defense|
work=U.S. Department of Defense|
accessmonthday=September 3 |
accessyear=2002|
-->
url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051222-7.html|
title=Executive Order: Providing An Order of Succession Within the Department of Defense|
work=Office of the Press Secretary|
accessmonthday=December 22 |
accessyear=2005|
-->
url=http://www.dod.mil/odam/omp/pubs/GuideBook/DoD.htm#Secretary%20of%20Defense|
title=The Department of Defense Organizational Structure|
work=U.S. Department of Defense|
accessmonthday=November 13 |
accessyear=2006
-->
External links
- {{cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/osd/topleaders.aspx|title=Top Civilian and Military Leaders|ork=U.S. Department of Defense|accessmonthday=October 13 |accessyear=2007|
--> – Includes the Secretary of Defense
- More information on each position and biographies of the current Deputy Secretary (DepSecDef) and Under Secretaries (USDs)
United States Secretary of Defense - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The United States Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) is the head of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and military matters.
United States Department of Defense - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United States Secretary of Defense. United States Deputy Secretary of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense. Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee; Office of Net Assessment; Pentagon ...
U.S. Department of Defense Official Website
The United States continues to support NATO membership action plans for Ukraine and Georgia, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said following a meeting with Ukraine’s defense ...
United States Secretary of Defense - encyclopedia article ...
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United States Secretary of Defense - Wikimedia Commons
English: The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense, concerned with the armed services and military matters.
DefenseLink Biography: Dr. Robert M. Gates
Dr. Robert M. Gates was sworn in on December 18, 2006, as the 22nd Secretary of Defense. Before entering his present post, Secretary Gates was the President of Texas A&M University ...
DefenseLink Biography: GORDON ENGLAND
Gordon England is the 29 th Deputy Secretary of Defense. He previously served as the 72 nd and 73 rd Secretary of the Navy and as the first Deputy Secretary of the Department of ...
United States Secretary of Defense: Information from Answers.com
secretary of defense The civilian head of the United States Department of Defense and a member of the cabinet , appointed by the president and
United States Secretary of Defense - Definition
The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense, concerned with the armed services and military matters. The Secretary is a member of ...
Reference for United States Secretary of Defense - Search.com
United States Secretary of Defense ... Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Are you an expert in this subject?