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Secretary of Defense: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Seal of the United States National Military Establishment (1947–1949).png|thumb|Seal of the [[National Military Establishment]] (1947–1949)|left]] | [[File:Seal of the United States National Military Establishment (1947–1949).png|thumb|Seal of the [[National Military Establishment]] (1947–1949)|left]] | ||
An Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were established in 1775, in concurrence with the [[American Revolution]]. The [[United States Department of War|War Department]], headed by the [[United States Secretary of War|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 [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] in 1798. | An Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were established in 1775, in concurrence with the [[American Revolution]]. The [[United States Department of War|War Department]], headed by the [[United States Secretary of War|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 [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] in 1798. | ||
[[File:Associate Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart Swearing Donald Rumsfeld in as Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia - NARA - 23898551.jpg|thumb|257x257px| | [[File:Associate Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart Swearing Donald Rumsfeld in as Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia - NARA - 23898551.jpg|thumb|257x257px|Donald Rumsfeld is sworn in as Secretary of Defense by [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Supreme Court Justice]] [[Potter Stewart]] as [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Gerald Ford|Gerald R. Ford]] and [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff|Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff]] General [[George Scratchley Brown|George S. Brown]] watch at [[The Pentagon]] on November 20, 1975.]] | ||
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. It renamed the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]] the [[Department of the Army]], and added both it and the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] to a newly established [[National Military Establishment]] (NME). The Act also separated the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]] from the Army to become its own branch of service, the [[United States Air Force]]. | 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. It renamed the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]] the [[Department of the Army]], and added both it and the [[United States Department of the Navy|Department of the Navy]] to a newly established [[National Military Establishment]] (NME). The Act also separated the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]] from the Army to become its own branch of service, the [[United States Air Force]]. | ||
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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 | 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 shortest-serving secretary of defense is [[Elliot Richardson]], who served 114 days and then was appointed [[US Attorney General|U.S. attorney general]] amid the [[Richard Kleindienst|resignations]] of the [[Watergate Scandal]]. (This is not counting [[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense|deputy secretaries of defense]] [[William P. Clements]] and [[William Howard Taft IV]], who each served a few weeks as temporary/acting secretary of defense). | The shortest-serving secretary of defense is [[Elliot Richardson]], who served 114 days and then was appointed [[US Attorney General|U.S. attorney general]] amid the [[Richard Kleindienst|resignations]] of the [[Watergate Scandal]]. (This is not counting [[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense|deputy secretaries of defense]] [[William P. Clements]] and [[William Howard Taft IV]], who each served a few weeks as temporary/acting secretary of defense). | ||
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| image = Rumsfeld Ford admin Secretary of Defense.jpg|bSize = 100 | | image = Rumsfeld Ford admin Secretary of Defense.jpg|bSize = 100 | ||
| officeholder = | | officeholder = Donald Rumsfeld | ||
| officeholder_sort = Rumsfeld, Donald | | officeholder_sort = Rumsfeld, Donald | ||
| born_year = 1932 | | born_year = 1932 | ||
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| image = Rumsfeld1 (cropped).jpg |bSize = 100 | | image = Rumsfeld1 (cropped).jpg |bSize = 100 | ||
| officeholder = | | officeholder = Donald Rumsfeld | ||
| officeholder_sort = Rumsfeld, Donald | | officeholder_sort = Rumsfeld, Donald | ||
| born_year = 1932 | | born_year = 1932 | ||