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Also see: Nomination withdrawals; military;
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Undated: The Department of Defense (DoD,[4] USDOD, or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government concerned directly with national security and the United States Armed Forces. The department is the largest employer in the world,[5] with nearly 1.3 million active duty servicemen and women[a] as of 2016.[6] Adding to its employees are over 826,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists from the four services,[b] and over 732,000 civilians[7] bringing the total to over 2.8 million employees.[2] Headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., the DoD's stated mission is to provide "the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security".[8][9]
The Department of Defense is headed by the Secretary of Defense, a cabinet-level head who reports directly to the President of the United States. Beneath the Department of Defense are three subordinate military departments: the United States Department of the Army, the United States Department of the Navy, and the United States Department of the Air Force. In addition, four national intelligence services are subordinate to the Department of Defense: the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Other Defense Agencies include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Defense Health Agency (DHA), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the Defense Security Service (DSS), and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), all of which are under the command of the Secretary of Defense. Additionally, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) provides acquisition insight that matters, by delivering actionable acquisition intelligence from factory floor to the warfighter. Military operations are managed by ten regional or functional Unified combatant commands. The Department of Defense also operates several joint services schools, including the National Defense University (NDU) and the National War College (NWC).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Defense
-- 2018 --
December 20: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigns, scolding Trump over his military judgment
In his resignation letter to Trump, Mattis implicitly criticized him for not being "clear-eyed" about U.S. enemies and competitors.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/defense-secretary-jim-mattis-leaving-his-post-trump-announces-n950616
December 24: Trump's acting secretary of defense will step into role with no foreign policy, military experience
With Defense Secretary James Mattis on his way out two months earlier than planned, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan will take the reins of the government's largest and most complex agency with no military and foreign policy experience.
Shanahan will lead the Pentagon on an interim basis until President Donald Trump names a nominee to be his new defense secretary. Shanahan will be charged with carrying out the President's orders of withdrawing US troops from Syria, and possibly Afghanistan.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/24/politics/who-is-patrick-shanahan-acting-defense-department-secretary/index.html
-- 2019 --
January 8: A retired general has twice turned Trump down to be defense secretary — a sign Trump has a self-inflicted personnel problem
Despite President Donald Trump's stated satisfaction with acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, the White House has reportedly stepped up its search for a replacement for Shanahan's predecessor, Jim Mattis, who resigned late last year.
According to a Politico report, retired Army Gen. Jack Keane recently turned down an offer to take the job — the second time Keane has done so.
https://www.businessinsider.com/retired-general-has-twice-turned-trump-down-to-be-defense-secretary-2019-1
February 12: Mattis Was the Best Secretary of Defense Trump Could Have Had
In grading him, we must adjust for the difficulty of the assignment.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/12/mattis-was-the-best-secretary-of-defense-trump-could-have-had/
February 15: Trump just declared a national emergency without a confirmed defense secretary in place
If this were a true national emergency to stop an “invasion,” Trump would have a permanent war chief ready to work.
https://www.vox.com/2019/2/15/18226182/national-emergency-trump-border-wall-military
February 17: Patrick Shanahan, the acting US Secretary of Defense, said hours after Donald Trump’s emergency declaration that he could refuse to direct billions of dollars in Pentagon funds Trump is relying on to build a wall on the US’s southern border.
“Very deliberately we have not made any decisions,” about how the defense department will respond to Trump’s declaration, Shanahan told reporters as he returned from a trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. “There’s been no determinations by me” that a wall is necessary, he said, while making it very clear that he believes he has the authority to determine how any military funds will be spent and military personnel deployed.
https://qz.com/1552689/the-pentagon-could-deny-trump-national-emergency-funds-defense-secretary-says/
March 10: Pentagon Eyes Windfall as Trump Seeks $750 Billion Defense Budget
The White House’s annual budget request would give the Defense Department even more than it hoped for.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/10/pentagon-eyes-windfall-as-trump-seeks-750-billion-defense-budget-military/
November 24: Greenland Is Not For Sale. But It Has The Rare Earth Minerals America Wants
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/24/781598549/greenland-is-not-for-sale-but-it-has-the-rare-earth-minerals-america-wants
-- 2020 --
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