United States Secretary of Defense

United States Secretary of Defense
Seal of the Department
Flag of the Secretary
File:Dr. Mark T. Esper – Secretary of Defense (cropped).jpg Incumbent Mark Esper since July 23, 2019
United States Department of Defense Office of the Secretary of Defense
Style	Mr. Secretary
Status	Leader and chief executive
Abbreviation	SecDef
Member of	Cabinet National Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	10 U.S.C. § 113 50 U.S.C. § 401
Precursor	Secretary of War Secretary of the Navy
Formation	September 17, 1947 (1947-09-17)
First holder	James Forrestal
Succession	Sixth
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of Defense
Salary	Executive Schedule, level I
Website	www.defense.gov

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. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the U.S. military is second only to that of the president. 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 secretary of defense is a statutory office, and the general provision in 10 U.S.C. § 113 provides that "subject to the direction of the President", its occupant has "authority, direction and control over the Department of Defense". The same statute further designates the secretary as "the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to the Department of Defense". 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.

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 forces – the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force – as well as the U.S. Coast Guard when its command and control is transferred to the Department of Defense. Only the secretary of defense (or the president or Congress) can authorize the transfer of operational control of forces between the three military departments (the departments of the Army, Navy, and 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). Because the Office of Secretary of Defense is vested with legal powers that exceed those of any commissioned officer, and is second only to the president in the military hierarchy, its incumbent has sometimes unofficially been referred to as a de facto "deputy commander-in-chief". (The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the secretary of defense and the president, and while the chairman may assist the secretary and president in their command functions, the chairman is not in the chain of command.)

The secretary of defense, secretary of state, the attorney general, and the secretary of the treasury are generally regarded as heading the four most important departments.

Since July 23, 2019, the secretary of defense has been Mark Esper, the 27th person to hold the office.

History

Seal of the National Military Establishment (1947–1949), which was reorganized into the Department of Defense.

An Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were established in 1775, in concurrence with the American Revolution. The War Department, headed by the secretary of war, was created by Act of Congress in 1789 and was responsible for both the Army and Navy until the founding of a separate Department of the Navy in 1798.

Based on the experiences of World War II, proposals were soon made on how to more effectively manage the large combined military establishment. The Army generally favored centralization while the Navy had institutional preferences for decentralization and the status quo. The resulting National Security Act of 1947 was largely a compromise between these divergent viewpoints. The Act split the Department of War into the Department of the Army and Department of the Navy and established the National Military Establishment (NME), presided over by the secretary of defense. The Act also separated the Army Air Forces from the Army to become its own branch of service, the United States Air Force. At first, each of the service secretaries maintained cabinet status. 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. To address this and other problems, the National Security Act was amended in 1949 to further consolidate the national defense structure in order to reduce interservice rivalry, directly subordinate the secretaries of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force to the secretary of defense in the chain of command, and rename the National Military Establishment as the Department of Defense, making it one Executive Department. The position of the deputy secretary of defense, the number two position in the department, was also created at this time.

The general trend since 1949 has been to further centralize management in the Department of Defense, elevating the status and authorities of civilian OSD appointees and defense-wide organizations at the expense of the military departments and the services within them. The last major revision of the statutory framework concerning the position was done in the Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. 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.

Powers and functions

Main article: Organizational structure of the United States Department of Defense

The Secretary of War [now Secretary of Defense] is the regular constitutional organ of the President for the administration of the military establishment of the nation; and rules and orders publicly promulgated through him must be received as the acts of the executive, and as such, be binding upon all within the sphere of his legal and constitutional authority. Such regulations cannot be questioned or denied because they may be thought unwise or mistaken.

—United States v. Eliason, 41 U.S. 291 (1842)

Nor is it necessary for the Secretary of War [now Secretary of Defense] in promulgating such rules or orders to state that they emanate from the President, for the presumption is that the Secretary is acting with the President's approbation and under his direction.

—In re Brodie, 128 Fed. 668 (CCA 8th 1904)

Department of Defense organizational chart (December 2013)

The secretary of defense, appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, is by federal law (10 U.S.C. § 113) the head of the Department of Defense, "the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to Department of Defense", and has "authority, direction and control over the Department 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. 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.

As the head of DoD, all officials, employees and service members are "under" the secretary of defense. Some of those high-ranking officials, civil and military (outside of OSD and the Joint Staff) are: the secretary of the Army, secretary of the Navy, and secretary of the Air Force, Army chief of staff, commandant of the Marine Corps, chief of naval operations, and Air Force chief of staff, chief of the National Guard Bureau and the combatant commanders of the Combatant Commands. All of these high-ranking positions, civil and military, require Senate confirmation.

The Department of Defense is composed of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Joint Staff (JS), Office of the Inspector General (DODIG), the Combatant Commands, the Military Departments (Department of the Army (DA), Department of the Navy (DON) & Department of the Air Force (DAF)), the Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities, the National Guard Bureau (NGB), and such other offices, agencies, activities, organizations, and commands established or designated by law, or by the president or by the secretary of defense.

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 latest version, signed by former secretary of defense Robert Gates in December 2010, is the first major re-write since 1987.

Office of the Secretary of Defense

Main article: Office of the Secretary of Defense

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.

The name of the principally military staff organization, organized under the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the Joint Staff (JS).

Awards and decorations

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. In addition, there is the Joint Meritorious Unit Award (JMUA), which is the only ribbon (as in non-medal) and unit award issued to joint DoD activities, also issued in the name of the secretary of defense.

The DDSM is analogous to the distinguished services medals issued by the military departments (i.e. 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. 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.

Recommendations for the Medal of Honor (MOH), formally endorsed in writing by the secretary of the military department concerned and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are processed through the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and such recommendations be must approved by the secretary of defense before it can be handed over to the president, who is the final approval authority for the MOH, although it is awarded in the name of Congress.

The secretary of defense, with the concurrence of the secretary of state, is the approval authority for the acceptance and wear of NATO medals issued by the secretary general of NATO and offered to the U.S. permanent representative to NATO in recognition of U.S. servicemembers who meet the eligibility criteria specified by NATO.

Congressional committees

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. The most important committees, with respect to the entire department, are the two authorizing committees, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), and the two appropriations committees, the Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Committee.

For the DoD intelligence programs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have the principal oversight role.

National Security Council

The secretary of defense is a statutory member of the National Security Council. 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.

Role in the military justice system

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. § 822: article 22, UCMJ), Special Courts-Martial (10 U.S.C. § 823: article 23, UCMJ), and Summary Courts-Martial (10 U.S.C. § 824: article 24 UCMJ).

Amenities

Salary

Secretary of Defense is a Level I position of the Executive Schedule, and thus earns a salary of $210,700 per year as of January 2018.

List of secretaries of defense

The longest-serving secretary of defense is Robert McNamara, who served for a total of 7 years, 39 days. 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 second-longest unbroken tenure was Caspar Weinberger's, at 6 years, 306 days.

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. (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).

Parties

      Democratic       Republican       Political Independent / Unknown

Status

  Denotes an Acting Secretary of Defense

№		Secretary of Defense	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party	State of residence	President serving under	Ref
1		Forrestal, JamesJames Forrestal (1892–1949)	September 17, 1947	March 28, 1949		Democratic	New York	Truman, HarryHarry S Truman (Dem)
2		Johnson, LouisLouis A. Johnson (1891–1966)	March 28, 1949	September 19, 1950		Democratic	West Virginia	Truman, HarryHarry S Truman (Dem)
3		Marshall, GeorgeGeorge Marshall (1880–1959)	September 21, 1950	September 12, 1951		Independent	Pennsylvania	Truman, HarryHarry S Truman (Dem)
4		Lovett, RobertRobert A. Lovett (1895–1986)	September 17, 1951	January 20, 1953		Republican	New York	Truman, HarryHarry S Truman (Dem)
5		Wilson, CharlesCharles Erwin Wilson (1890–1961)	January 28, 1953	October 8, 1957		Republican	Michigan	Eisenhower, DwightDwight D. Eisenhower (Rep)
6		McElroy, NeilNeil H. McElroy (1904–1972)	October 9, 1957	December 1, 1959		Republican	Ohio	Eisenhower, DwightDwight D. Eisenhower (Rep)
7		Gates, ThomasThomas S. Gates Jr. (1906–1983)	December 2, 1959	January 20, 1961		Republican	Pennsylvania	Eisenhower, DwightDwight D. Eisenhower (Rep)
8		McNamara, RobertRobert McNamara (1916–2009)	January 21, 1961	February 29, 1968		Republican	Michigan	Kennedy, JohnJohn F. Kennedy (Dem) Lyndon B. Johnson (Dem)
9		Clifford, ClarkClark Clifford (1906–1998)	March 1, 1968	January 20, 1969		Democratic	Maryland	Johnson, LyndonLyndon B. Johnson (Dem)
10		Laird, MelvinMelvin R. Laird (1922–2016)	January 22, 1969	January 29, 1973		Republican	Wisconsin	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (Rep)
11		Richardson, ElliotElliot Richardson (1920–1999)	January 30, 1973	May 24, 1973		Republican	Massachusetts	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (Rep)
–		Clements, BillBill Clements (Acting) (1917–2011)	May 24, 1973	July 2, 1973		Republican	Texas	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (Rep)
12		Schlesinger, JamesJames R. Schlesinger (1929–2014)	July 2, 1973	November 19, 1975		Republican	Virginia	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon (Rep) Gerald Ford (Rep)
13		Rumsfeld, DonaldDonald Rumsfeld (born 1932)	November 20, 1975	January 20, 1977		Republican	Illinois	Ford, GeraldGerald Ford (Rep)
14		Brown, HaroldHarold Brown (1927–2019)	January 20, 1977	January 20, 1981		Independent	California	Carter, JimmyJimmy Carter (Dem)
15		Weinberger, CasparCaspar Weinberger (1917–2006)	January 21, 1981	November 23, 1987		Republican	California	Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (Rep)
16		Carlucci, FrankFrank Carlucci (1930–2018)	November 23, 1987	January 20, 1989		Republican	Virginia	Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan (Rep)
–		Taft, WilliamWilliam Howard Taft IV (Acting) (born 1945)	January 20, 1989	March 21, 1989		Republican	Ohio	Bush, GeorgeGeorge H. W. Bush (Rep)
17		Cheney, DickDick Cheney (born 1941)	March 21, 1989	January 20, 1993		Republican	Wyoming	Bush, GeorgeGeorge H. W. Bush (Rep)
18		Aspin, LesLeslie Aspin (1938–1995)	January 20, 1993	February 3, 1994		Democratic	Wisconsin	Clinton, BillBill Clinton (Dem)
19		Perry, WilliamWilliam Perry (born 1927)	February 3, 1994	January 23, 1997 / January 24, 1997		Independent	Pennsylvania	Clinton, BillBill Clinton (Dem)	.
20	William Cohen	Cohen, WilliamWilliam Cohen (born 1940)	January 24, 1997	January 20, 2001		Republican	Maine	Clinton, BillBill Clinton (Dem)
21	Donald Rumsfeld	Rumsfeld, DonaldDonald Rumsfeld (born 1932)	January 20, 2001	December 18, 2006	(7 years, 29 days total)	Republican	Illinois	Bush, George W.George W. Bush (Rep)
22	Robert Gates	Gates, RobertRobert Gates (born 1943)	December 18, 2006	June 30, 2011 / July 1, 2011		Republican	Texas	Bush, George W.George W. Bush (Rep) Barack Obama (Dem)	.
23	Leon Panetta	Panetta, LeonLeon Panetta (born 1938)	July 1, 2011	February 26, 2013		Democratic	California	Obama, BarackBarack Obama (Dem)
24	Chuck Hagel	Hagel, ChuckChuck Hagel (born 1946)	February 27, 2013	February 17, 2015		Republican	Nebraska	Obama, BarackBarack Obama (Dem)
25	Ash Carter	Carter, AshAsh Carter (born 1954)	February 17, 2015	January 20, 2017		Democratic	Massachusetts	Obama, BarackBarack Obama (Dem)
26	Jim Mattis	Mattis, JimJim Mattis (born 1950)	January 20, 2017	January 1, 2019		Independent	Washington	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)
–	Patrick M. Shanahan	Shanahan, PatrickPatrick M. Shanahan (Acting) (born 1962)	January 1, 2019	June 23, 2019		Independent	Washington	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)
–	Mark Esper	Esper, MarkMark Esper (Acting) (born 1964)	June 24, 2019	July 15, 2019		Republican	Virginia	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)
–	Richard V. Spencer	Esper, MarkRichard V. Spencer (Acting) (born 1954)	July 15, 2019	July 23, 2019		Independent	Wyoming	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)
27	Mark Esper	Esper, MarkMark Esper (born 1964)	July 23, 2019	Incumbent		Republican	Virginia	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump (Rep)

Succession

Presidential succession

The secretary of defense is sixth in the presidential line of succession, following the secretary of the treasury and preceding the attorney general.

Secretary of Defense succession

In Executive Order 13533 of March 1, 2010, President Barack Obama modified the line of succession regarding who would act as the secretary of defense in the event of a vacancy or incapacitation, thus reversing the changes made by President George W. Bush in Executive Order 13394 as to the relative positions of the secretaries of the military departments. All of the officials in the line of succession are civilians appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate:

Executive Order 13533 (March 1, 2010 – present) # Office Secretary of Defense 1 Deputy Secretary of Defense 2 Secretary of the Army 3 Secretary of the Navy 4 Secretary of the Air Force 5 Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics 6 Under Secretary of Defense for Policy 7 Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) 8 Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness 9 Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence 10 Deputy Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense 11 Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics 12 Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy 13 Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) 14 Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness 15 Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence 16 Director of Defense Research and Engineering 17 General Counsel of the Department of Defense Assistant Secretaries of Defense Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs Director of Operational Test and Evaluation Director of Operational Energy Plans and Programs and the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation 18 Under Secretary of the Army Under Secretary of the Navy and the Under Secretary of the Air Force 19 Assistant Secretaries of the Army Assistant Secretaries of the Navy Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force General Counsel of the Army General Counsel of the Navy and the General Counsel of the Air Force

Executive Order 13394 (December 22, 2005 – March 1, 2010) # Office Secretary of Defense 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 the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness 10 General Counsel of the Department of Defense 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 Secretary of the Army Under Secretary of the Navy and the Under Secretary of the Air Force 13 Assistant Secretaries of the Army Assistant Secretaries of the Navy Assistant Secretaries of the Air Force General Counsel of the Army General Counsel of the Navy and the General Counsel of the Air Force

Living former secretaries of defense

See also: List of living former members of the United States Cabinet

As of December 2024, there are nine living former secretaries of defense, the oldest being William Perry (1994–1997, born 1927). The most recent secretary of defense to die was Harold Brown (1977–1981), on January 4, 2019.

Name	Term of office	Date of birth (and age)
Donald Rumsfeld	1975–1977, 2001–2006	(1932-07-09) July 9, 1932
Dick Cheney	1989–1993	(1941-01-30) January 30, 1941
William Perry	1994–1997	(1927-10-11) October 11, 1927
William Cohen	1997–2001	(1940-08-28) August 28, 1940
Robert Gates	2006–2011	(1943-09-25) September 25, 1943
Leon Panetta	2011–2013	(1938-06-28) June 28, 1938
Chuck Hagel	2013–2015	(1946-10-04) October 4, 1946
Ash Carter	2015–2017	(1954-09-24) September 24, 1954
Jim Mattis	2017–2018	(1950-09-08) September 8, 1950

See also

• Base Realignment and Closure Commission
• Boeing E-4
• Challenge coin
• Combat Exclusion Policy
• Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States
• Continuity of Operations Plan
• CONPLAN 8022-02
• Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
• Defense Support of Civil authorities
• Department of Defense Directive 2310
• Designated survivor
• Emergency Action Message
• Global Command and Control System
• Gold Codes
• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
• Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System
• Key West Agreement
• McCarran Internal Security Act
• Military Commissions Act of 2006
• Military operation plan
• National Command Authority
• National Industrial Security Program
• National Security Strategy (United States)
• Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge
• Packard Commission
• Permissive Action Link
• Presidential Successor Support System
• Quadrennial Defense Review
• Rules of engagement
• Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award
• Single Integrated Operational Plan
• State secrets privilege
• Stop-loss policy
• Two-man rule
• Unconventional warfare (United States Department of Defense doctrine)
• United States Foreign Military Financing
• US Commission on National Security/21st Century

References

Sources

Federal law

• Title 10 of the United States Code
• Title 50 of the United States Code

Further reading

• Mahan, Erin R., and Jeffrey A. Larsen, eds. (2012) "Evolution of the Secretary of Defense in the Era of Massive Retaliation: Charles Wilson, Neil McElroy, and Thomas Gates, 1953–1961," Cold War Foreign Policy Series: Special Study 3 (September 2012), vii–41.

External links

United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Steve Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury	Order of Precedence of the United States as Secretary of Defense	Succeeded by William Barr as Attorney General
United States presidential line of succession
Preceded by Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin	6th in line	Succeeded by Attorney General William Barr