13 February 2009

The Cabinet: Defense

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Robert M. Gates was sworn in on December 18, 2006, as the 22nd secretary of defense and was asked by President-elect Barack Obama to continue his service on December 1, 2008. Before entering his present post, Secretary Gates was the president of Texas A&M University, the nation’s seventh-largest university. He also has served as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and was a member of the National Security Council.

For additional information, see “National Security Team Announced by Obama.”

The Department of Defense, established 1789

Mission: To provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of the United States.

Staff: 1.3 million active-duty military, 669,281 civilian personnel, 1.1 million in National Guard and Reserve forces, 2 million military retirees

Duties: The department oversees branches of the U.S. military (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps) as they engage in military operations on behalf of the United States, provide humanitarian aid and peacekeeping, supply disaster relief and secure the homeland. The National Guard and Reserve forces provide wartime military support as well as fulfill key homeland security missions like relief from domestic natural disasters.

History: The department is the United States’ oldest and largest government agency, with its roots dating back to before the nation won its independence. Called the Department of War until 1949, it was among the original Cabinet departments.

International engagement: The department’s military and civilians are stationed in every time zone. More than 450,000 employees are overseas. The U.S. Army operates in 50 countries; the U.S. Navy is stationed in the Gulf, the Far East and the Mediterranean Sea, among other places; and the U.S. Air Force flies missions each year into all but five countries worldwide.

Fun fact: The Pentagon, the headquarters of the Department of Defense, has three times the floor space of the Empire State Building in New York. It has 45.5 kilometers (28.3 miles) of corridors, but it takes seven minutes or less to walk between any two points in the building.

More information: Office of the Secretary of Defense

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)