United States Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense is the leader and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense, an Executive Department of the Government of the United States of America.

The United States federal executive departments are among the oldest primary units of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States—the Departments of State, War, and the Treasury all having been established within a few weeks of each other in 1789.

A chief executive officer in American English or managing director in British English describes the position of the most senior corporate officer, executive, leader or administrator in charge of managing an organization.

The United States of America, commonly referred to as the United States or America, is a country in the Americas.

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter at the NBA Finals by NBA

The Secretary of Defense's power over the United States military is second only to that of the President.

Trump Reveals His Choice For Secretary of Defense, Someone ... by MLordandGod

This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in many other countries.

The title Defence Minister, Minister for Defence, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State for Defence, Secretary of National Defense or some similar variation, is assigned to the person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states.

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.

Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts.

Secretary of Defense is a statutory office, and the general provision in 10 U.S.C. § 113 provides that the Secretary of Defense has "authority, direction and control over the Department of Defense", and is further designated by the same statute as "the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to the Department of Defense".

Ensuring civilian control of the military, 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.

Civilian control of the military is a doctrine in military and political science that places ultimate responsibility for a country's strategic decision-making in the hands of the civilian political leadership, rather than professional military officers.

Active duty refers to a full-time occupation as part of a military force, as opposed to reserve duty.

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority.

The Secretary of Defense is in the chain of command and exercises command and control, for both operational and administrative purposes subject only to the orders of the President, over all Department of Defense forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force.

A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on authority within the group..

Command generally refers to the ability to "dominate an area of situation".

This is also extended to the United States Coast Guard during any period of time in which its command and control is transferred to the Department of Defense.

Only the Secretary of Defense can authorize the transfer of operational control of forces between the three Military Departments and the nine Combatant Commands.

A Unified Combatant Command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission.

Because the Office of Secretary of Defense is vested with legal powers which exceed those of any commissioned officer, and is second only to the President in the military hierarchy, it has sometimes unofficially been referred to as a de facto "deputy commander-in-chief".

A commander-in-chief is the person or body that exercises supreme operational command and control of a nation's military forces or significant elements of those forces.

De facto is a Latin expression that means "in fact, in reality, in actual existence, force, or possession, as a matter of fact".

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 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is, by U.S. law, the highest-ranking and senior most military officer in the United States Armed Forces and is the principal military advisor to the President, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council on military matters.

The Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Treasury are generally regarded as the four most important cabinet officials because of the importance of their departments.

The current Secretary of Defense is Ashton Carter, who was confirmed as the 25th Secretary of Defense on February 12, 2015, and assumed office on February 17, 2015.