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

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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"

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

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.

Matched Categories

1. • Secretary
   • Secretaryship

How to pronounce defense secretary?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

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. Susan Collins:

   It certainly shows a breakdown in communications that is troubling because the president is commander in chief and (Defense) Secretary (James) Mattis apparently, according to press reports — I haven't an official briefing on it yet — told him that this carrier and the destroyers were headed towards North Korea as a show of force when in fact they were headed in the completely opposite direction to Australia, and it's troubling if we don't know where our assets are. It's also so surprising. Every time I have seen that map that shows where our naval assets are, believe me, the Pentagon knows exactly where they are. So I suspect there was some sort of just terrible miscommunication but it should not have occurred.

2. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn:

   Time and time again Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson has sided with those who want to destroy everything that is great about this country, whether it is sympathizing with terrorists, backing rogue regimes, or cozying up to those who want to inflict pain and misery on the British people.

3. Sarah Sanders:

   Based upon his outstanding service to the Country and his demonstrated ability to lead, President Trump intends to nominate Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to be the Secretary of Defense.

4. 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.

5. 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'.

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=defense secretary
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Secretary