Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)) is chartered under United States Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 5136.1[1] in 1994. This DoDD states that the ASD(HA) is the principal advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Defense on all "DoD health policies, programs and activities." In addition to exercising oversight of all DoD health resources, ASD(HA) serves as director of the Tricare Management Activity.

Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Personnel and Readiness
Flag of an Assistant Secretary of Defense
since 1 March 2023
Department of Defense
AbbreviationASD (HA)
Member ofOffice of the Secretary of Defense
Reports toSecretary of Defense
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Term lengthAt the pleasure of the President
First holderDr. Louis M. Rousselot
Salary$165,300
WebsiteOfficial website

The ASD(HA) reports to the Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), or USD(P&R). A political appointee responsible for the United States Department of Defense's Military Health System, the ASD(HA) is an Executive Service Level IV official. He or she is nominated by the president of the United States, and confirmed by the United States Senate.

History

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This position was originally established in 1949 as the Chairman, Armed Forces Medical Policy Council. Reorganization Plan No. 6 (1953) abolished the council and transferred its functions to a new position, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). In August 1953, some functions of this position were transferred to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower), and the title was changed to Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health and Medical).[2]

The position was abolished completely on January 31, 1961, and for the remainder of the decade, all of its functions were vested in the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower). However, Congress authorized a permanent assistant secretary position for health affairs in November 1969 (P.L. 91-121). The post was then re-established as Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health and Environment) in June 1970 by Defense Directive 5136.1. In January 1976, the position was re-designated Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs), a title that has endured to the present day.[2]

Responsibilities

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The ASD(HA) is responsible for a number of organizations which directly affect the health care of service members and their dependents. These responsibilities are executed through several Senior Executive Service managers, including the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) and the following Deputy Assistant Secretaries:

  • Force Health Protection & Readiness (FHP&R)
  • Clinical and Program Policy
  • Health Budgets and Financial Policy.

Other special activities within Health Affairs' jurisdiction include the TRICARE Management Activity, an extensive network of private physicians and hospitals providing health maintenance to service members. With a $40 billion budget (as of 2005), the Military Health System (MHS) provides care for roughly 9.2 million (as of 2005) people through TRICARE and through more than 70 military hospitals worldwide.[3] MHS comprises over 133,000 military and civilian doctors, nurses, medical educators, researchers, health care providers, allied health professionals, and health administration personnel worldwide.

The ASD (HA) oversees the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS), which educates uniform physicians and other health professionals for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service. The ASD(HA) also directly tasks the International Health[4] Division of FHP&R, while FHP&R provides administrative oversight and resources.

Current and Past Assistant Secretaries

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The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices.

Assistant Secretaries of Defense (Health Affairs)[2][5]
Name Tenure SecDef(s) Served Under President(s) Served Under
Chairman, Armed Forces Medical Policy Council
Dr. Raymond B. Allen July 5, 1949 – September 30, 1949 Louis A. Johnson Harry Truman
Dr. Richard L. Meiling October 1, 1949 - January 2, 1951 Louis A. Johnson
George C. Marshall
Harry Truman
Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace July 1, 1951 - March 31, 1952 George C. Marshall
Robert A. Lovett
Harry Truman
Dr. Melvin A. Casberg April 1, 1952 - March 31, 1953 Robert A. Lovett
Charles E. Wilson
Harry Truman
Dwight Eisenhower
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
Dr. Melvin A. Casberg April 1, 1953 - August 2, 1953 Charles E. Wilson Dwight Eisenhower
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health and Medical)
Dr. Melvin A. Casberg August 3, 1953 - January 27, 1954 Charles E. Wilson Dwight Eisenhower
Dr. Frank B. Berry January 28, 1954 - January 31, 1961 Charles E. Wilson
Neil H. McElroy
Thomas S. Gates
Dwight Eisenhower
John Kennedy
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health and Environment)
Dr. Louis M. Rousselot July 22, 1970 - July 1, 1971 Melvin R. Laird Richard Nixon
Dr. Richard Sloan Wilbur July 27, 1971 - September 1, 1973 Melvin R. Laird
Elliot L. Richardson
James R. Schlesinger
Richard Nixon
Dr. James R. Cowan February 19, 1974 - March 1, 1976 James R. Schlesinger
Donald H. Rumsfeld
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Vernon McKenzie (Acting) March 2, 1976 - March 8, 1976 Donald H. Rumsfeld Gerald Ford
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
Dr. Robert N. Smith August 30, 1976 - January 7, 1978 Donald H. Rumsfeld
Harold Brown
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Vernon McKenzie (Acting) January 8, 1978 - August 14, 1979 Harold Brown Jimmy Carter
Dr. John Moxley III September 14, 1979 - August 9, 1981 Harold Brown
Caspar W. Weinberger
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Dr. John Beary (Acting) August 10, 1981 - September 24, 1983 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan
Vernon McKenzie (Acting) September 25, 1983 - November 17, 1983 Caspar W. Weinberger Ronald Reagan
Dr. William E. Mayer November 18, 1983 - April 21, 1989 Caspar W. Weinberger
Frank C. Carlucci III
William Howard Taft IV (Acting)
Richard B. Cheney
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Dr. Enrique Méndez Jr. March 5, 1990 - January 20, 1993 Richard B. Cheney George H. W. Bush
Dr. Edward D. Martin (Acting) January 20, 1993 - March 23, 1994 Leslie Aspin, Jr.
William J. Perry
William Clinton
Dr. Stephen C. Joseph March 23, 1994 - March 31, 1997 William J. Perry
William S. Cohen
William Clinton
Dr. Edward D. Martin (Acting) April 1, 1997 - February 28, 1998 William S. Cohen William Clinton
Gary Christopherson (Acting) March 1, 1998 - May 25, 1998 William S. Cohen William Clinton
Dr. Sue Bailey May 26, 1998 - August 10, 2000 William S. Cohen William Clinton
Dr. J. Jarrett Clinton August 14, 2000 - October 29, 2001 William S. Cohen
Donald H. Rumsfeld
William Clinton
George W. Bush
Dr. William Winkenwerder, Jr. October 29, 2001 - April 12, 2007 Donald H. Rumsfeld George W. Bush
Dr. S. Ward Casscells April 12, 2007 - April 28, 2009 Robert M. Gates George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Ellen Embrey (Acting*) April 29, 2009 - January 31, 2010 Robert M. Gates Barack Obama
Allen W. Middleton (Acting*) February 1, 2010 - February 28, 2010 Robert M. Gates Barack Obama
Dr. Charles L. Rice (Acting*) March 1, 2010 - September 6, 2010 Robert M. Gates Barack Obama
Dr. George P. Taylor, Jr. (Acting*) September 7, 2010 - December 22, 2010 Robert M. Gates Barack Obama
Dr. Jonathan Woodson[6] December 22, 2010 - May 1, 2016[7] Robert M. Gates

Leon Panetta

Chuck Hagel

Ashton Carter

Barack Obama
Dr. Karen S. Guice (Acting*) May 2, 2016 - January 20, 2017[8] Ashton Carter Barack Obama
Dr. David J. Smith (Acting*)[9] January 20, 2017 - August 23, 2017[10] James Mattis Donald Trump
Thomas P. McCaffery (Acting) August 23, 2017 - August 5, 2019 James Mattis
Mark Esper
Donald Trump
Honorable Thomas P. McCaffery August 5, 2019 - January 20, 2021 Mark Esper Donald Trump
Dr. Terry A. Adirim (Acting)[11] January 20, 2021 – March 1, 2023 Lloyd Austin Joe Biden
Lester Martínez López March 1, 2023 – present Lloyd Austin Joe Biden

Persons marked with a * are interim officials described in military documents as "Performing the Duties of the ASD/HA," rather than as "Acting"

References

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  1. ^ "Directives Division" (PDF). Dtic.mil. 2017-07-12. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2011. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  2. ^ a b c "Department of Defense Key Officials" (PDF). Historical Office, OSD. 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
  3. ^ Galvin, Robert. 4 August 2005. “The Complex World of Military Medicine: A Conversation with William Winkenwerder.” Health Affairs. http://www.healthaffairs.org/
  4. ^ "Welcome to International Health". Archived from the original on 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  5. ^ "History of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs" http://www.health.mil/About_MHS/History.aspx Archived 2010-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Woodson confirmed as Pentagon's top physician - Defense - GovExec.com". www.govexec.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  7. ^ Kime, Patricia (April 5, 2016). "Assistant secretary of defense for health affairs to step down". MilitaryTimes. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  8. ^ Lyle, Amaani (December 22, 2016). "Departing DoD Official Reflects on Military Health System Improvements". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  9. ^ "Dr. David J. Smith". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  10. ^ "David J. Smith, M.D." Health.mil. Archived from the original on 2017-06-11. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  11. ^ "Dr. Terry Adirim". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 2021-02-20.