Secretary of Defense: Difference between revisions
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The '''United States secretary of defense''' ('''SecDef''') is the head of the [[United States Department of Defense]] (DoD), the [[United States federal executive departments|executive department]] of the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. Armed Forces]], and is a high-ranking member of the [[Cabinet of the United States|federal cabinet]].<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|10|113}}.</ref><ref name="5100.1">[[#5100.1|DoDD 5100.1]]: Enclosure 2: a</ref><ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|5|101}}.</ref> The | The '''United States secretary of defense''' ('''SecDef''') is the head of the [[United States Department of Defense]] (DoD), the [[United States federal executive departments|executive department]] of the [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. Armed Forces]], and is a high-ranking member of the [[Cabinet of the United States|federal cabinet]].<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|10|113}}.</ref><ref name="5100.1">[[#5100.1|DoDD 5100.1]]: Enclosure 2: a</ref><ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|5|101}}.</ref> The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the [[president of the United States]], who is the [[Powers of the president of the United States#Commander-in-chief|commander-in-chief]]. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a [[Defense Minister|defense minister]] in many other countries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-C0FDE451-36F2483B/natolive/nato_countries.htm|title=NATO – member countries|website=[[NATO]]|access-date=January 4, 2012|archive-date=May 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517140516/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-C0FDE451-36F2483B/natolive/nato_countries.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The president appoints the secretary of defense with the [[advice and consent]] of the [[United States Senate|Senate]], and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]].<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|50|402}}.</ref> | ||
To ensure [[civilian control of the military]], U.S. law provides that the | To ensure [[civilian control of the military]], U.S. law provides that the secretary of defense cannot have served as an active-duty [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned officer]] in the military in the preceding seven years except for [[general|generals]] and [[admiral|admirals]], who cannot have served on active duty within the previous ten years. Congress can legislatively waive this restriction <ref>See {{UnitedStatesCode|10|113}}. 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 [[National Defense Authorization Act for the Fiscal Year 2008|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 [[General of the Army (United States)|five-star generals]] on active duty for life), but warned: | ||
<blockquote>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.</blockquote> | <blockquote>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.</blockquote> | ||
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[http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/marshall.htm Defenselink bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118005624/http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/marshall.htm|date=November 18, 2008}}, Retrieved February 8, 2010; and [http://www.marshallfoundation.org/about/chronology.html Marshall Foundation bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927043204/http://www.marshallfoundation.org/about/chronology.html|date=September 27, 2011}}, Retrieved February 8, 2010.</ref> and has done so three times, for [[George C. Marshall|George C. Marshall]], [[Jim Mattis|James N. Mattis]], and [[Lloyd Austin|Lloyd J. Austin, III]]. | [http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/marshall.htm Defenselink bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118005624/http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/marshall.htm|date=November 18, 2008}}, Retrieved February 8, 2010; and [http://www.marshallfoundation.org/about/chronology.html Marshall Foundation bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927043204/http://www.marshallfoundation.org/about/chronology.html|date=September 27, 2011}}, Retrieved February 8, 2010.</ref> and has done so three times, for [[George C. Marshall|George C. Marshall]], [[Jim Mattis|James N. Mattis]], and [[Lloyd Austin|Lloyd J. Austin, III]]. | ||
Subject only to the orders of the president, the | 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 DoD-administered service branches {{snd}}the [[United States Army|Army]], [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]], [[United States Navy|Navy]], [[United States Air Force|Air Force]], and [[United States Space Force|Space Force]]{{snd}}as well as the [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] when its command and control is transferred to the Department of Defense.<ref name="UnitedStatesCode|10|162">{{UnitedStatesCode|10|162}}</ref><ref name="JP1:II9-11">[[#JP1|Joint Publication 1]]: II-9, II-10 & II-11.</ref><ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|10|3011}}</ref><ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|10|5011}}</ref><ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|10|8011}}</ref> Only the secretary of defense (or the president or Congress) can authorize the transfer of operational control of forces between the three military departments ([[United States Department of the Army|Department of the Army]], [[United States Department of the Navy|the Navy]], and [[United States Department of the Air Force|the Air Force]]) and the eleven [[Unified Combatant Command]]s.<ref name="UnitedStatesCode|10|162"/> Because the 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 "deputy commander-in-chief".<ref name="DoD50:11-52">[[#DoD50|Trask & Goldberg]]: pp.11 & 52</ref><ref name="SupCom:231">[[#SupCom|Cohen]]: p.231.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/news/2006/10/31/2215/rumsfelds-management-failures/|title=Rumsfeld's Management Failures|last1=Korb|first1=Lawrence J.|last2=Ogden|first2=Pete|date=October 31, 2006|website=Center for American Progress|language=en-US|access-date=January 6, 2012|archive-date=October 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022185308/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/news/2006/10/31/2215/rumsfelds-management-failures/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|10|152}}</ref> | ||
The [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]], the [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|secretary of the treasury]], the secretary of defense, and the [[United States Attorney General|attorney general]] are generally regarded as the four most important (and are officially the four most senior and oldest) cabinet officials because of the size and importance of their respective departments.<ref>''Cabinets and Counselors: The President and the Executive Branch'' (1997). [[Congressional Quarterly]]. p. 87.</ref> | The [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]], the [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|secretary of the treasury]], the secretary of defense, and the [[United States Attorney General|attorney general]] are generally regarded as the four most important (and are officially the four most senior and oldest) cabinet officials because of the size and importance of their respective departments.<ref>''Cabinets and Counselors: The President and the Executive Branch'' (1997). [[Congressional Quarterly]]. p. 87.</ref> | ||
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== List of secretaries of defense == | == List of secretaries of defense == | ||
The longest-serving secretary of defense is [[Robert McNamara]], who served for a total of 7{{spaces}}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{{spaces}}years, 306 days. | The longest-serving secretary of defense is [[Robert McNamara]], who served for a total of 7{{spaces}}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{{spaces}}years, 306 days. | ||
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| term_end = September 12, 1951 | | term_end = September 12, 1951 | ||
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1950|9|21|1951|9|12}} | | timeinoffice = {{ayd|1950|9|21|1951|9|12}} | ||
| alt_party = Independent | | alt_party = Independent politician | ||
| election = [[Pennsylvania]] | | election = [[Pennsylvania]] | ||
| alt_officeholder = [[Harry S. Truman]] | | alt_officeholder = [[Harry S. Truman]] | ||
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| term_end = January 1, 2019 | | term_end = January 1, 2019 | ||
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|2017|1|20|2018|12|31}} | | timeinoffice = {{ayd|2017|1|20|2018|12|31}} | ||
| alt_party = Independent | | alt_party = Independent politician | ||
| election = [[Washington (state)|Washington]] | | election = [[Washington (state)|Washington]] | ||
| alt_officeholder = [[Donald Trump]] | | alt_officeholder = [[Donald Trump]] | ||
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| timeinoffice = {{ayd|2019|01|01|2019|06|23}} | | timeinoffice = {{ayd|2019|01|01|2019|06|23}} | ||
| acting = y | | acting = y | ||
| alt_party = Independent | | alt_party = Independent politician | ||
| election = [[Washington (state)|Washington]] | | election = [[Washington (state)|Washington]] | ||
| alt_officeholder = [[Donald Trump]] | | alt_officeholder = [[Donald Trump]] | ||
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| term_end = ''Incumbent'' | | term_end = ''Incumbent'' | ||
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|2021|01|22}} | | timeinoffice = {{ayd|2021|01|22}} | ||
| alt_party = Independent | | alt_party = Independent politician | ||
| election = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] | | election = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] | ||
| alt_officeholder = [[Joe Biden]] | | alt_officeholder = [[Joe Biden]] | ||