United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

The United States Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, has been hospitalized for symptoms of a bladder issue, leading to the transfer of duties to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. The development was confirmed by Pentagon Press Secretary Major Gen. Pat Ryder on Monday.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is fighting prostate cancer, transferred his duties to his deputy hours after he was taken to hospital for "an emergent bladder issue," a spokesman said Sunday.

Lloyd J. Austin, a West Point graduate who rose to the Army's elite ranks and marched through racial barriers in a 41-year career, won Senate confirmation on Jan. 22 to become the nation's first Black secretary of defense.

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis has ordered the military to start work on reviewing the US's overall nuclear weapons policy document that will guide the Trump administration's purchases, deployment and management of nuclear weapons.

President Barack Obama has nominated former senior Pentagon official Ashton Carter as US Secretary of Defense.

If confirmed by the Senate, Carter will replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who resigned in November.

President Barack Obama on Dec. 5 will name former Pentagon deputy chief Ashton Carter to be his new defense secretary, a White House official said.

If confirmed Carter would replace Chuck Hagel, who announced his resignation last month. Carter served as deputy defense secretary under Leon Panetta from October 2011 to December 2013.

US President Barack Obama is expected to nominate on Friday Ashton Carter to succeed Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, according to White House sources quoted by CNN.

Administration sources said on Dec. 2 that U.S. President Barack Obama has settled on the 60-year-old Ashton Carter as his fourth defense secretary, with an announcement expected in coming days once he is thoroughly vetted.

President Barack Obama is considering a variety of high-profile figures as his candidate to be the next U.S. defense secretary and replace the resigning Chuck Hagel, administration sources said on Dec. 1.
 

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Nov. 15 a technological innovation plan to ensure America's military superiority in the 21st century.
      
"It will put resources behind innovations," Hagel said at a national defense conference at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation in Simi Valley, California.