What does defense secretary mean?

Definitions for defense secretary
de·fense sec·re·ta·ry

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word defense secretary.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Secretary of Defense, Defense Secretarynoun

    the person who holds the secretaryship of the Defense Department

    "the first Defense Secretary was James V. Forrestal who was appointed by Truman"

  2. Secretary of Defense, Defense Secretarynoun

    the position of the head of the Department of Defense

    "the position of Defense Secretary was created in 1947"

Wikipedia

  1. defense secretary

    The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. 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 commander-in-chief. 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 of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.The secretary of defense is a statutory office, and the general provision in 10 U.S.C. § 113 provides that "subject to the direction of the President", its occupant has "authority, direction, and control over the Department of Defense". The same statute further designates the secretary as "the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to the Department of Defense". To ensure civilian control of the military, no one may be appointed as the secretary of defense within seven years of serving as a commissioned officer of a regular military component (i.e., non-reserve) without a waiver from Congress.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 service branches administered by the Department of Defense – the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force – as well as the Coast Guard when its command and control is transferred to the Department of Defense. Only the secretary of defense (or the president or Congress) can authorize the transfer of operational control of forces between the three military departments (Department of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force) and the eleven Unified Combatant Commands. 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". 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.The secretary of state, the secretary of the treasury, the secretary of defense, and the 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. The current secretary of defense is retired general Lloyd Austin, who is the first African American to serve in the position.

ChatGPT

  1. defense secretary

    The Defense Secretary, also known as Secretary of Defense, is a high-ranking official appointed by the President or head of state, responsible for coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national security and safety of the armed forces. This position typically exists in countries with a governmental military department or ministry of defense. Duties may include, but are not limited to, making policy recommendations, allocating resources, managing the military budget, and making decisions regarding war and peace times. The exact powers and responsibilities may vary depending on the country.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce defense secretary?

How to say defense secretary in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of defense secretary in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of defense secretary in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of defense secretary in a Sentence

  1. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin:

    I will submit new sanctions for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis strong consideration, there’s much more we can do economically.

  2. Chris Cuomo:

    Any confidence the world had in our country is now, ummm, gone, saigon, circa 1975, steroids, and former defense secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta, yeah, rightly calling it Biden’s Bay of Pigs and thanks to the actions of our derelict, low-functioning president … the absolute worst-case scenario has been playing out before our eyes.

  3. Kevin Cramer:

    Every time someone comes to meet with me, whether it's (Acting Defense Secretary) Shanahan, General Semonite, even with Donald Trump, they bring up Fisher Industries because they assume that's my thing, one of the things I've never done is said it should be Fisher.

  4. Defense Secretary James Mattis ':

    Defense Secretary James Mattis ' could point to the FONOPS in the Paracels around five days earlier and say,' We're protecting freedom of navigation in South China Sea like we do around the world'.

  5. Rear Admiral John Kirby:

    Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel believes that the risk has been substantially mitigated through the assurances that we received through the Emir of Qatar, i would remind you that these are assurances that the emir personally gave to the President of the United States. I'm not going to go into every detail on these assurances, but -- but the secretary is comfortable that the risk is mitigated through these assurances.

Translation

Find a translation for the defense secretary definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"defense secretary." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Sep. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/defense+secretary>.

Discuss these defense secretary definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for defense secretary? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    defense secretary

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    being essentially equal to something
    A bibulous
    B lacerate
    C splay
    D tantamount

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for defense secretary: