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Revision as of 15:04, 1 July 2011

United States Secretary of Defense
Official Seal
Incumbent
Leon Panetta
FormationSeptember 19, 1947
First holderJames Forrestal
SuccessionSixth
Websitewww.defense.gov

The Secretary of Defense (SecDef) is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generically known as a Defence Minister.

Under the direction of the President, the Secretary of Defense has per federal law (10 U.S.C. § 113) authority, direction and control over the Department of Defense, and is further designated by statute as the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to the Department of Defense.[1] The Secretary of Defense is in the chain of command for all Department of Defense forces; i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force & Marine Corps; for both operational and administrative purposes.[2][3][4][5] Only the Secretary of Defense (and the President) can authorize the transfer of forces from one Combatant Command to another.[6] The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military adviser to the Secretary of Defense, and to the President, but the Chairman is not in the chain of command.[7]

The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is a member of the Cabinet and the National Security Council. An individual may not be appointed as Secretary of Defense within seven years after relief from active duty as a commissioned officer of a regular component of an armed force.[8] Secretary of Defense is a Level I position of the Executive Schedule and thus earns a salary of $199,700 per year.

History

Standard of the Secretary of Defense

The 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 established in 1789, and was the precursor to what is now the Department of Defense. This was followed by the founding of a separate Department of the Navy in 1798.

The decision to unify the two Executive Departments of War & Navy, based on the experiences of World War II, led to the creation of the National Military Establishment led by a Secretary of Defense, as provided in the National Security Act of 1947. The War Department was renamed to Department of the Army, the title of Secretary was changed to Secretary of the Army, and a separate Department of the Air Force under the Secretary of the Air Force was created.

In 1949, an amendment to the National Security Act of 1947 further consolidated the national defense structure in order to reduce interservice rivalry by making the Secretaries of Army, Navy and Air Force inferior and subordinate to the Secretary of Defense. In addition, the National Military Establishment was then renamed to Department of Defense.

Organization

In the U.S. Armed Forces, the Secretary of Defense is often referred to as SecDef or SD. The Secretary of Defense and the President together constitute the National Command Authorities (NCA),[9] which has sole authority to launch strategic nuclear weapons. All nuclear weapons are governed by this dual-authority - both must concur before a strategic nuclear strike may be ordered.

The Secretary's staff element is called the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and is composed of a 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.

The Secretary of Defense by statute also exercises authority, direction and control over the three Secretaries of the Military Departments (Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy & Secretary of the Air Force), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Chief of Staff, Commandant of the Marine Corps, Chief of Naval Operations & Air Force Chief of Staff), the Combatant Commanders of the Unified Combatant Commands, the Directors of the Defense Agencies (for example the Director of the National Security Agency) and of the DoD Field Activities. All of these high-ranking positions require Senate confirmation.

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.The current secretary is Leon Panetta who just assumed office today.

List of Secretaries of Defense

The longest-serving Secretary of Defense is the late Robert McNamara, who served for a total of 2,595 days.

Parties

  Democratic   Republican

Status
  Denotes acting Secretary of Defense
No. Portrait Name State of Residence Took Office Left Office Days served President(s)
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 1 James Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal New York September 19, 1947 March 19, 1949 558 rowspan="4" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Harry S. Truman
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 2 Louis A. Johnson Louis Arthur Johnson West Virginia March 28, 1949 September 19, 1950 540
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 3 George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall, Jr. Virginia September 19, 1950 September 19, 1951 365
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 4 Robert A. Lovett Robert Abercrombie Lovett New York September 19, 1951 January 20, 1953 491
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 5 Charles E. Wilson Charles Erwin Wilson Indiana January 20, 1953 October 8, 1957 1,722 rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Dwight D. Eisenhower
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 6 Neil H. McElroy Neil Hosler McElroy Ohio October 9, 1957 December 1, 1959 783
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 7 Thomas S. Gates Thomas Sovereign Gates, Jr. Pennsylvania December 2, 1959 January 20, 1961 415
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 8 Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara Michigan January 21, 1961 February 29, 1968 2,595 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | John F. Kennedy
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Lyndon B. Johnson
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 9 Clark M. Clifford Clark McAdams Clifford Kansas March 1, 1968 January 20, 1969 326
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 10 Melvin R. Laird Melvin Robert Laird Wisconsin January 22, 1969 January 29, 1973 1,469 rowspan="4" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Richard Nixon
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 11 Elliot L. Richardson Elliot Lee Richardson Massachusetts January 30, 1973 May 24, 1973 114
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | – Bill Clements William Perry Clements, Jr. Texas May 24, 1973 July 2, 1973 39
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 12 Schlesinger James Rodney Schlesinger Virginia July 2, 1973 November 19, 1975 870
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Gerald Ford
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 13 Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld Illinois November 20, 1975 January 20, 1977 427
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 14 Harold Brown Harold Brown New York January 21, 1977 January 20, 1981 1,460 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Jimmy Carter
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 15 Caspar W. Weinberger Caspar Willard Weinberger California January 21, 1981 November 23, 1987 2,497 rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Ronald Reagan
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 16 Carlucci Frank Charles Carlucci III Pennsylvania November 23, 1987 January 20, 1989 424
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | – William Howard Taft IV Ohio January 20, 1989 March 20, 1989 59 rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | George H. W. Bush
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 17 Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney Wyoming March 21, 1989 January 20, 1993 1,402
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 18 Les Aspin Leslie Aspin, Jr. Wisconsin January 21, 1993 February 3, 1994 378 rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Bill Clinton
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 19 William J. Perry William James Perry Pennsylvania February 3, 1994 January 24, 1997 1,085
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 20 William S. Cohen William Sebastian Cohen Maine January 24, 1997 January 20, 2001 1,457
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 21 Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld Illinois January 20, 2001 December 18, 2006 2,158 rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | George W. Bush
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 22 Gates Robert Michael Gates Texas December 18, 2006 July 1, 2011[10] 1,643
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | Barack Obama
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" | 23 Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta California July 1, 2011 incumbent 4,923

Succession

Presidential succession

The Secretary of Defense is sixth in the presidential line of succession.

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 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:

  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, 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, the Assistant Secretaries of Defense, the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the Director of Operational Energy Plans and Programs, and the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation;
  18. Under Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force; and
  19. Assistant Secretaries of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, and General Counsels of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.

Living former Secretaries of Defense

See also

References

  • "Histories of the Secretaries of Defense". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved September 3, 2002.
  • "Executive Order: Providing An Order of Succession Within the Department of Defense". Office of the Press Secretary. Retrieved December 22, 2005.
  • "The Department of Defense Organizational Structure". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved November 13, 2006.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Title 10 of the United States Code §113
  2. ^ Title 10 of the United States Code §162(b)
  3. ^ >Title 10 of the United States Code §3011
  4. ^ Title 10 of the United States Code §5011
  5. ^ Title 10 of the United States Code §8011
  6. ^ Title 10 of the United States Code §162(a)
  7. ^ Title 10 of the United States Code §152(c)
  8. ^ The National Security Act of 1947 originally required an interval of ten years after relief from active duty, which was reduced to seven years by Sec. 903(a) of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. In 1950 Congress passed special legislation (Pub. Law 81-788) to allow George C. Marshall to serve as Secretary of Defense while remaining a commissioned officer on the active list of the Army (Army regulations kept all five-star generals on active duty for life), but warned:

    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. 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.

    See Defenselink bio, retrieved 8/2/2010; and Marshall Foundation bio, retrieved 8/2/2010.

  9. ^ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-NationalCommandAuthoritis.html
  10. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43591679/ns/politics-more_politics/
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