The Secretary of Defense on DOD's Path Forward, Readiness and Capacity

摘要

It's been a fairly tumultuous year so far for Defense Department leadership. Well-respected Defense Secretary Jim Mattis left as of the first of the year after nearly two years in office over policy differences with President Trump. Deputy Secretary Patrick Shanahan was appointed Acting Secretary only to step down prior to his confirmation in June over personal issues. Secretary of the Army Mark Esper subsequently took over the role of Acting Secretary. He transferred those duties to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer for an eight-day period in mid-July in order to go through his confirmation hearings. Thankfully Esper's confirmation hearings went well, with just a bit of sparring over his defense industry ties, and ended with a strong bi-partisan vote in his favor.