He served as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989, until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Before becoming the Secretary of Defense, Dr. Gates was the President of Texas A&M University, the nation's seventh largest university. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, The White House, serving four presidents of both political parties. The longest-serving secretary of defense is Robert McNamara, who served for a total of 7 years, 39 days. The Defense Distinguished Service Medal (DDSM), the Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM), the Joint Service Commendation Medal (JSCM) and the Joint Service Achievement Medal (JSAM) are awarded, to military personnel for service in joint duty assignments, in the name of the secretary of defense. James N. Mattis served as the 26th Secretary of Defense. Because the Constitution vests all military authority in Congress and the president, the statutory authority of the secretary of defense is derived from their constitutional authorities. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Obama’s first secretary of defense, Robert Gates, resigned without incident in 2011, but would later criticize Obama’s role as commander in chief … It is hereby expressed as the sense of the Congress that after General Marshall leaves the office of Secretary of Defense, no additional appointments of military men to that office shall be approved. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives and Senate, and as Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Bill Clinton. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis broke his silence and blasted President Donald Trump: "We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership."   Political Independent / Unknown, The secretary of defense is sixth in the presidential line of succession, following the secretary of the treasury and preceding the attorney general. The second-longest unbroken tenure was Caspar Weinberger's, at 6 years, 306 days. Former Secretaries of Defense Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta, William Perry, and Donald Rumsfeld, signed the opinion piece. The shortest-serving secretary of defense is Elliot Richardson, who served 114 days and then was appointed U.S. attorney general amid the resignations of the Watergate Scandal. Others include two former deputy Secretaries of Defense, two former Army Secretaries, three former Navy Secretaries, and five former Air Force Secretaries. (2012). [22] The current acting secretary of defense is David Norquist, who assumed acting status following the inauguration of Joe Biden.[23]. The last major revision of the statutory framework concerning the position was done in the Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. It renamed the Department of War the Department of the Army, and added both it and the Department of the Navy to a newly established National Military Establishment (NME). NPR's Audie Cornish talks with ex-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel about a Washington Post op-ed, signed by all former living Pentagon chiefs, urging an easy transition to the Biden administration. Former Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano said that the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 was “incited” by President Donald Trump, and … Defenselink bio, Retrieved February 8, 2010; and Marshall Foundation bio, Retrieved February 8, 2010. Dr. Gates was the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly elected President. § 113 provides that "subject to the direction of the President", its occupant has "authority, direction, and control over the Department of Defense". While the approval authority for DSSM, DMSM, JSCM, JSAM and JMUA is delegated to inferior DoD officials: the DDSM can only be awarded by the secretary of defense. Strategic appointment is instrumental to advanced material innovation for defense and security product development for the United States. At first, each of the service secretaries maintained cabinet status. [9], The secretary of defense is a statutory office, and the general provision in 10 U.S.C. Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center, This page was last edited on 22 January 2021, at 00:20. Felter will guide 6K's … Leader of the United States armed forces following the president, (including Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities), List of United States Secretaries of Defense by time in office, Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, Organizational structure of the United States Department of Defense, Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, assistant to the president for national security affairs, United States Department of Homeland Security, Level I position of the Executive Schedule, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System, National Security Strategy (United States), Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge, Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, Unconventional warfare (United States Department of Defense doctrine), US Commission on National Security/21st Century, "Positional Colors for the Department of Defense", "3 U.S. Code § 19 – Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act", "Lloyd Austin: retired army general nominated as Biden defense secretary", "Who is leading federal agencies until Senate confirms Biden's nominees", "Waiver of Statutory Qualifications Relating to Prior Military Service of the Secretary of Defense", "Why Generals Need Congressional Waivers To Become Defense Secretary", "Lloyd Austin Receives Waiver Allowing Him to Become Defense Chief", Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 Functions of the Department of Defense and Its Major Components, "James V. Forrestal – Harry S. Truman Administration", "Louis A. Johnson – Harry S. Truman Administration", "George C. Marshall – Harry S. Truman Administration", "Robert A. Lovett – Harry S. Truman Administration", "Charles E. Wilson – Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration", "Neil H. McElroy -Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration", "Thomas S. Gates, Jr. – Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration", "Robert S. McNamara – John F. Kennedy / Lyndon Johnson Administration", "Clark M. Gifford – Lyndon Johnson Administration", "Melvin R. Laird – Richard Nixon Administration", "Elliot L. Richardson – Richard Nixon Administration", "James R. Schlesinger – Richard Nixon / Gerald Ford Administration", "Donald H. Rumsfeld – Gerald Ford Administration", "Harold Brown – James Carter Administration", "Caspar W. Weinberger – Ronald Reagan Administration", "Frank C. Carlucci – Ronald Reagan Administration", "Richard B. Cheney – George H.W. [10] To ensure civilian control of the military, no one may be appointed as the secretary of defense within seven years of serving as a commissioned officer of a regular (i.e., non-reserve) component of an armed force. Mr. Christopher C. Miller served as the Acting Secretary of Defense, from Nov. 9, 2020, until Jan. 20, 2021.Earlier in 2020, he Performed the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense … The second-longest unbroken tenure was Caspar Weinberger's, at 6 years, 306 days. A native of Richland, Washington, Secretary Mattis enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve … It is one of the longest serving continuously operating offices in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and has been recognized for the excellence of its publications and programs for over a half century. We have an extended conversation with former defense secretary William Cohen about the presidency, military and how to strengthen American democracy. § 824: article 24 UCMJ). Combining his two non-sequential services as the secretary of defense, the second-longest serving is Donald Rumsfeld, who served just ten days fewer than McNamara. Based on the experiences of World War II, proposals were soon made on how to more effectively manage the large combined military establishment. [12][13][14][15][16] Only the secretary of defense (or the president or Congress) can authorize the transfer of operational control of forces between the three military departments (Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, and Department of the Air Force) and the 10 Combatant Commands (Africa Command, Central Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, Southern Command, Cyber Command, Special Operations Command, Strategic Command, Transportation Command). Department of Defense Directive 5100.01 describes the organizational relationships within the Department, and is the foundational issuance for delineating the major functions of the Department. The role was made in 1947. [20], The secretary of the treasury, the secretary of state, the attorney general, and the secretary of defense are generally regarded as the four most important cabinet officials because of the size and importance of their respective departments. In particular, it elevated the status of joint service for commissioned officers, making it in practice a requirement before appointments to general officer and flag officer grades could be made. [66], On December 10, 2020, President Donald Trump modified the order of succession for the office of Secretary of Defense in an Executive Order (unnumbered as of December 15, 2020). Army Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal & Air Force Distinguished Service Medal), the DSSM corresponds to the Legion of Merit, the DMSM to the Meritorious Service Medal, the JSCM to the service commendation medals, and the JSAM to the achievement medals issued by the services. As the secretary of defense is a cilivian position intended to independent of the active duty leadership, a secretary is required to have been retired from service for at least seven (originally ten) years, unless a waiver is approved by Congress. It is hereby expressed as the intent of the Congress that the authority granted by this Act is not to be construed as approval by the Congress of continuing appointments of military men to the office of Secretary of Defense in the future. As the head of the department, the secretary of defense is the chief witness for the congressional committees with oversight responsibilities over the Department of Defense. [11], Subject only to the orders of the president, the secretary of defense is in the chain of command and exercises command and control, for both operational and administrative purposes, over all Department of Defense military service branches – the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force – as well as the U.S. Coast Guard when its command and control is transferred to the Department of Defense. If confirmed, Austin would be the first African American to lead the Department of Defense. In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary backs protesters and says the president is trying to turn Americans against one … The secretary's principally civilian staff element is called the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and is composed of the deputy secretary of defense (DEPSECDEF) and five under secretaries of defense in the fields of acquisition, technology & logistics, comptroller/chief financial officer, intelligence, personnel & readiness, and policy; several assistant secretaries of defense; other directors and the staffs under them. Former Air Force secretary Heather Wilson was appointed to the board of director of Maxar Technologies Jan. 19, 2021. Credit: U.S. Air Force Wilson currently is … The first secretary of defense, James Forrestal, who in his previous capacity as the secretary of the Navy had opposed creation of the new position, found it difficult to exercise authority over the other branches with the limited powers his office had at the time. *Order of Succession is determined by the seniority of officials in their role. All of these high-ranking positions, civil and military, require Senate confirmation. As the head of DoD, all officials, employees and service members are "under" the secretary of defense. The DDSM is analogous to the distinguished services medals issued by the military departments (i.e. The name of the principally military staff organization, organized under the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the Joint Staff (JS). President Barack Obama was the eighth president Dr. Gates served. North Andover, MA. Combining his two non-sequential services as the secretary of defense, the second-longest serving is Donald Rumsfeld, who served just ten days fewer than McNamara. The secretary of defense is a statutory member of the National Security Council. [17][18][19] The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the secretary of defense and the president; while the chairman may assist the secretary and president in their command functions, the chairman is not in the chain of command. January 19, 2021 – 6K, the world’s leading developer of microwave plasma technology for the production of advanced materials, today announced that Dr. Joe Felter, a former senior Department of Defense official under then Secretary … § 823: article 23, UCMJ), and Summary Courts-Martial (10 U.S.C. The secretary is one of only five or six civilians—the others being the president, the three "service secretaries" (the secretary of the Army, secretary of the Navy, and secretary of the Air Force), and the secretary of homeland security (when the United States Coast Guard is under the United States Department of Homeland Security and has not been transferred to the Department of the Navy under the Department of Defense)—authorized to act as convening authority in the military justice system for General Courts-Martial (10 U.S.C. From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insiders Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War. William Sebastian Cohen is an American politician, lawyer and author from the U.S. state of Maine. Mahan, Erin R., and Jeffrey A. Larsen, eds. He is currently a William J. Perry Fellow at … [30] As one of the principals, the secretary along with the vice president, secretary of state and the assistant to the president for national security affairs participates in biweekly Principals Committee (PC) meetings, preparing and coordinating issues before they are brought before full NSC sessions chaired by the president. (This is not counting deputy secretaries of defense William P. Clements and William Howard Taft IV, who each served a few weeks as temporary/acting secretary of defense). Dr. Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. Bush. Secretary of Defense is a Level I position of the Executive Schedule,[4] and thus earns a salary of $210,700 per year as of January 2018. The Historical Office of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) dates to 1949. The United States Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) is the head of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). In 1967 he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Since it is impractical for either Congress or the president to participate in every piece of Department of Defense affairs, the secretary of defense, and the secretary's subordinate officials generally exercise military authority. He has also been President of the National Eagle Scout Association. The secretary of defense (SecDef) is the leader and chief executive officer of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the Armed Forces of the U.S.[5][6][7] The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the U.S. military is second only to that of the president. 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