United States Secretary of Defense

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dept. of Defense

Established:	July 26, 1947
Activated:	September 18, 1947
Renamed:	August 10, 1949
Secretary:	Robert Gates
Deputy Secretary:	Gordon R. England
Chairman, JCS:	Gen. Peter Pace
Budget:	$419.3 billion (2006 official)
Employees:	700,000 civilian 2.3 million military (2004)
Address:	The Pentagon

The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and military matters. The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the President 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[1]. The Secretary is appointed by the President with the approval of the Senate, and is a member of the Cabinet. By statute the secretary must be a civilian who has not served in the active component of the armed forces for at least 10 years (10 USC Sec. 113 - Note that 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.

Contents 1 History 2 Organization 3 List of Secretaries of Defense 4 Line of succession 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

This position was created in 1947 when the Navy, Army, and newly created Air Force were merged into the new National Military Establishment. In the same massive reorganization, the Secretary of War was replaced by the Secretary of the Army and, along with the Secretary of the Navy and the new 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.

[edit] Organization

Within the United States Armed Forces, the Secretary of Defense is often referred to as SecDef.

The SecDef and the President of the United States 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 Secretary of State, the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense is generally regarded as one of the "Big Four" important cabinet officials.

[edit] List of Secretaries of Defense

#	Picture	Name	Term of Office		President(s) served under
			Start	End
1		James Forrestal	September 17, 1947	March 28, 1949	Harry S. Truman
2		Louis A. Johnson	March 28, 1949	September 19, 1950	Harry S. Truman
3		George C. Marshall	September 21, 1950	September 12, 1951	Harry S. Truman
4		Robert A. Lovett	September 17, 1951	January 20, 1953	Harry S. Truman
5		Charles E. Wilson	January 28, 1953	October 8, 1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower
6		Neil H. McElroy	October 9, 1957	December 1, 1959	Dwight D. Eisenhower
7		Thomas S. Gates	December 2, 1959	January 20, 1961	Dwight D. Eisenhower
8		Robert S. McNamara	January 21, 1961	February 29, 1968	John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson
9		Clark M. Clifford	March 1, 1968	January 20, 1969	Lyndon Johnson
10		Melvin R. Laird	January 22, 1969	January 29, 1973	Richard Nixon
11		Elliot L. Richardson	January 30, 1973	May 24, 1973	Richard Nixon
12		James R. Schlesinger	July 2, 1973	November 19, 1975	Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
13		Donald H. Rumsfeld	November 20, 1975	January 20, 1977	Gerald Ford
14		Harold Brown	January 21, 1977	January 20, 1981	Jimmy Carter
15		Caspar W. Weinberger	January 21, 1981	November 23, 1987	Ronald Reagan
16		Frank C. Carlucci	November 23, 1987	January 20, 1989	Ronald Reagan
17		Richard B. Cheney	March 21, 1989	January 20, 1993	George H. W. Bush
18		Les Aspin	January 21, 1993	February 3, 1994	Bill Clinton
19		William J. Perry	February 3, 1994	January 23, 1997	Bill Clinton
20		William S. Cohen	January 24, 1997	January 20, 2001	Bill Clinton
21		Donald H. Rumsfeld	January 20, 2001	December 18, 2006	George W. Bush
22		Robert M. Gates	December 18, 2006		George W. Bush

[edit] 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:

1. Deputy Secretary of Defense
2. Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
3. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
4. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
5. Secretary of the Army
6. Secretary of the Air Force
7. Secretary of the Navy
8. Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
9. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
10. General Counsel of the Department of Defense, the Assistant Secretaries of Defense, and the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation
11. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Material Readiness and the Director of Defense Research and Engineering
12. Under Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force
13. Assistant Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and General Counsels of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.

[edit] References

• Histories of the Secretaries of Defense. U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved on September 3, 2002.
• Executive Order: Providing An Order of Succession Within the Department of Defense. Office of the Press Secretary. Retrieved on December 22, 2005.

• The Department of Defense Organizational Structure. U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Top Civilian and Military Leaders. Retrieved on October 7, 2005. - Includes the Secretary of Defense

• More information on each position and biographies of the current Deputy Secretary (DepSecDef) and Under Secretaries (USDs)

Senior Officials in the United States Department of Defense
Secretary of Defense Deputy Secretary of Defense Under Secretaries: Intelligence • Policy • Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics • Personel and Readiness • Comptroller Military Secretaries: Secretary of the Army • Secretary of the Navy • Secretary of the Air Force

Leaders of the United States Federal Executive Departments
Agriculture • Commerce • Defense • Education • Energy • Health and Human Services • Homeland Security • Housing and Urban Development • Interior • Justice • Labor • State • Transportation • Treasury • Veterans Affairs (Past department leaders: Commerce and Labor • Health, Education, and Welfare • Navy • Post Office • War)