United States Secretary of Defense to die was Frank Carlucci (1987–1989), on 3 June 2018. United States Secretary of Defense The Secretary of Defense (SecDef) is the leader and chief executive officer of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the Armed Forces of the United States. The Secretary of Defense's position of command and authority over the United States' military is second only to that of the President and Congress, respectively. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in many other countries. The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and consent
Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering January 2011, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act with several redesignated titles within the Department of Defense. These changes included renaming the DDR&E as, once again, ASD(R&E). On 1 February 2018, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics was split into two new offices: the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (R&E) and the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S), as a result of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. The table below includes both the various names which