United States Secretaries of Defense

United States Secretaries of Defense
Post	Secretary of Defense
Body	the United States
Insigniasize	120
Insigniacaption	Seal of the Department of Defense
Flagsize	120
Flagcaption	Flag of the Secretary of Defense
Incumbent	Lloyd Austin
Incumbentsince	January 22, 2021
Department	United States Department of Defense
Style	Mr. Secretary, The Honorable, (formal)
Member of	Cabinet, National Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia
Nominator	The President
Appointer	The President, with Senate advice and consent
Termlength	No fixed term
Formation	September 17, 1947
First	James Forrestal
Succession	Sixth
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of Defense
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I

Contents

United States Secretaries of Defense are the principal defense policy advisors to the President of the United States and lead the United States Department of Defense, the federal department overseeing all agencies and functions of the United States Armed Forces. The position was created by the National Security Act of 1947, succeeding the earlier Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy, to unify the United States Army, United States Navy, and United States Air Force under a single civilian head. As a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States and the United States National Security Council, the secretary plays a critical role in shaping national security strategy, military budgeting via the United States Department of Defense budget, and the execution of defense policy.

History and establishment

The office was established by the landmark National Security Act of 1947, signed by President Harry S. Truman, which reorganized the United States military following the lessons of World War II. This act created the National Military Establishment, renamed the United States Department of Defense in 1949, and aimed to end the historic rivalries between the United States Army and the United States Navy by placing them under centralized civilian control. The first secretary, James Forrestal, previously served as the last United States Secretary of the Navy. Further reforms were enacted by the Goldwater–Nichols Act of 1986, which strengthened the secretary's authority over the Joint Chiefs of Staff and clarified the unified combatant command structure.

There have been 28 confirmed Secretaries of Defense since 1947, serving under 15 different presidents from Harry S. Truman to Joe Biden. The longest-serving secretary was Robert McNamara, who served for over seven years under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson during the Vietnam War. Others who served extended terms include Caspar Weinberger under Ronald Reagan and Donald Rumsfeld, who served non-consecutively under Gerald Ford and George W. Bush. The current secretary, Lloyd Austin, a retired United States Army general and former commander of United States Central Command, was confirmed in 2021.

The secretary's primary duty is to exercise authority, direction, and control over the United States Department of Defense, as prescribed in Title 10 of the United States Code. Key responsibilities include formulating broad defense policy, preparing the annual defense budget submitted to the United States Congress, and overseeing the research, development, and acquisition of advanced weapons systems like the F-35 Lightning II. The secretary also advises the President of the United States on all matters relating to the United States Department of Defense and represents the department before congressional committees such as the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services.

The secretary is appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, following hearings typically held by the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. By law, the secretary must be a civilian who has not served in active military service for at least seven years, a requirement waived for George C. Marshall in 1950. In the United States presidential line of succession, the secretary is sixth, following the United States Secretary of the Treasury. The Deputy Secretary of Defense is the designated "first assistant" and assumes the secretary's duties during a vacancy, as occurred following the resignation of James Mattis in 2018.

While the secretary has ultimate authority over the United States Department of Defense, the military departments—the United States Department of the Army, the United States Department of the Navy (which includes the United States Marine Corps), and the United States Department of the Air Force (which includes the United States Space Force)—are separately organized. The secretaries of these departments report to the Secretary of Defense. The secretary works closely with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation's highest-ranking military officer, and the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, though the chain of command runs from the president to the secretary to the combatant commanders.

Several secretaries have left indelible marks on U.S. defense policy. Robert McNamara applied systems analysis from his tenure at the Ford Motor Company to the Vietnam War and helped manage the Cuban Missile Crisis. Caspar Weinberger presided over a massive Reagan-era military buildup against the Soviet Union, including the Strategic Defense Initiative. Donald Rumsfeld initiated a controversial transformation of the military for modern warfare, overseeing the early years of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Iraq War. James Mattis, a retired United States Marine Corps general, emphasized the re-emergence of great power competition with China and Russia in the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

Category:United States Secretaries of Defense Category:United States Department of Defense officials