The Secretary of Defense, or SecDef, is the head of the Department of Defense. This position is currently held by former CIA Director Leon Panetta after Robert Gates retired on July 1, 2011.
As of January 2011, Robert M. Gates is the Secretary of Defense.
The Secretary of Defense is Robert Gates.
Robert Gates.
The Department of War was essentially replaced by the Department of Defense in 1947. The Secretary of Defense heads the Deparement, and the position is currently held by Robert M. Gates.
Heads of the departments that make up the President's Cabinet are called Secretaries. For example the Department of Labor is headed by the Secretary of Labor, and the Department of Defense is headed by the Secretary of Defense (also abbreviated as SECDEF).
Except for the Attorney General, executive department heads are called Secretaries such as Secretary of State,Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Treasury, etc.
14. The Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Defense is run by the Secretary of Defense.
That depends on the department. If the department is a Cabinet Level department (Defense, Interior, etc.) the head is a cabinet secretary, while other departments (Postal Service, Fish and Wildlife Department) are not Cabinet Level and therefore their heads are not cabinet secretaries.
The Department of Defense is often referred to as The DOD.
The Department of Defense is in charge of the U.S. military.
The building called the Pentagon is used as the headquarters of the US Department of Defense. Therefore it houses the Secretary of Defense, the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the numerous organizations and people needed to manage the defense establishment of the United States.
What is now called the Department of Defense was originally named the Department of War.
The State Department deals with diplomacy while the Department of Defense affiliated with the military.
Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert M. Gates is the current chief of the Department of Defense.