The deputy secretary of defense (

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

of the United States of America. The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the secretary of defense, and is appointed by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, with the advice and consent of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. The deputy secretary, by statute, is designated as the DoD chief management officer and must be a civilian, at least seven years removed from service as a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

on active-duty at the date of appointment..

History

, April 2, 1949, originally established this position as the '' under secretary of defense'', however August 10, 1949, a.k.a. the 1949 Amendments to the

National Security Act of 1947 The National Security Act of 1947 (Act of Congress, Pub.L.]80-253 61 United States Statutes at Large, Stat.]495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the Federal government of the United States, United States governmen ...

, changed the title to deputy secretary of defense. Former assistant to President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, Stephen Early, became the first officer holder when he was sworn in on May 2, 1949. Department of Defense Key Officials 1947–2015: p. 15. , October 27, 1972, established a second deputy secretary of defense position, with both deputies performing duties as prescribed by the secretary of defense. The second deputy position was not filled until December 1975. Robert Ellsworth, serving from December 23, 1975, until January 10, 1977, was the only one to ever hold that office. , October 21, 1977, established two '' under secretaries of defense'' and abolished the second deputy position.

Responsibilities

By delegation, the deputy secretary of defense has full power and authority to act for the secretary of defense and to exercise the powers of the secretary of defense on any and all matters for which the secretary is authorized to act pursuant to statute or executive order. The deputy secretary is first in the line of succession to the secretary of defense. The typical role of the deputy secretary of defense is to oversee the day-to-day business and lead the internal management processes of the $500-billion-plus Department of Defense budget, that is as its ''

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

''; while the secretary of defense as the ''

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

'' focuses on the big issues of the day, ongoing military operations, high-profile congressional hearings, attending meetings of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

, and directly advising the president on defense issues. Prior to February 1, 2018, the deputy secretary of defense also served as the department's chief management officer, to whom the deputy chief management officer reported, but those responsibilities were split into a new chief management officer of the Department of Defense position (disestablished on 1 January 2021). The deputy secretary, among the office's many responsibilities, chairs the '' Senior Level Review Group'' (SLRG), before 2005 known as ''Defense Resources Board'' (DRB), which provides department-wide budgetary allocation recommendations to the secretary and the president. Traditionally, the deputy secretary has been the civilian official guiding the process of the '' Quadrennial Defense Review'' (QDR). The deputy secretary of defense chairs the ''Special Access Program Oversight Committee'' (SAPOC), which has oversight responsibilities and provides recommendations with respect to changes in status of the department's Special Access Programs, for either the deputy secretary defense or the secretary of defense to make. As James Mattis was selecting officials as Donald Trump's first secretary of defense, Michèle Flournoy talked with Trump-affiliated officials about joining as deputy secretary. She did not in the end do so.

List of deputy secretaries of defense

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* * * deputy secretary of defense position profile a
Prunes Online

External links

defense.gov
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Defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...