Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense

The senior military assistant to the secretary of defense (SMA SecDef)^[1] is the highest-ranking commissioned officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The SMA directly reports to the secretary of defense, performing administrative work in the Secretary's name and handles relations between the Secretary and other pertinent government bodies, including the rest of the OSD, Congress and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[1] As a joint duty assignment, the SMA is one of 310 officer positions granted exemption from statutory limits on general officer numbers under 10 U.S.C. § 526.

Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense
OSD Identification Badge
Incumbent Lieutenant General Jennifer M. Short, USAF since 1 October 2024
Office of the Secretary of Defense
Type	Senior military assistant
Reports to	United States Secretary of Defense
Seat	The Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent

The SMA holds the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral. They are nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate.

List of senior military assistants

No.	Senior Military Assistant		Term			Service branch	Secretary of Defense	Ref.
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
?		Major General Colin Powell	July 1983	June 1986	~2 years, 335 days	U.S. Army	Caspar Weinberger	-
?		Vice Admiral Donald S. Jones	June 1986	January 1987	~214 days	U.S. Navy	Caspar Weinberger Frank Carlucci	[2]
?		Major General Gordon E. Fornell	January 1987	September 1988	~1 year, 244 days	U.S. Air Force	Frank Carlucci	[3]
?		Rear Admiral (lower half) William Owens	July 1988	August 1990	~2 years, 31 days	U.S. Navy	Frank Carlucci Dick Cheney	[4]
?		Rear Admiral (lower half) Thomas J. Lopez	August 1990	May 1992	~1 year, 274 days	U.S. Navy	Dick Cheney	[5]
?		Major General John P. Jumper	May 1992	February 1994	~1 year, 276 days	U.S. Air Force	Les Aspin	[6][7]
?		Major General Paul J. Kern	March 1994	June 1996	~2 years, 92 days	U.S. Army	William Perry	[8][9]
?		Major General Randolph W. House	June 1996	January 1997	~214 days	U.S. Army	William Perry	[10][11][12]
?		Lieutenant General James L. Jones	January 1997	May 1999	~2 years, 120 days	U.S. Marine Corps	William Cohen	[13][14][15]
?		Vice Admiral Gregory G. Johnson	May 1999	October 2000	~1 year, 153 days	U.S. Navy	William Cohen	-
?		Rear Admiral (lower half) Deborah Loewer	October 2000	2001	~258 days	U.S. Navy	William Cohen	-
?		Vice Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani	2001	August 2002	~1 year, 46 days	U.S. Navy	William Cohen Donald Rumsfeld	-
?		Lieutenant General Bantz J. Craddock	August 2002	July 2004	~1 year, 335 days	U.S. Army	Donald Rumsfeld	-
?		Vice Admiral James G. Stavridis	July 2004	August 2006	~2 years, 31 days	U.S. Navy	Donald Rumsfeld	-
?		Lieutenant General Victor E. Renuart Jr.	August 2006	February 2007	~184 days	U.S. Air Force	Robert Gates	[16]
?		Lieutenant General Peter W. Chiarelli	March 2007	August 2008	~1 year, 153 days	U.S. Army	Robert Gates	-
?		Lieutenant General David M. Rodriguez	August 2008	June 2009	~304 days	U.S. Army	Robert Gates	-
?		Vice Admiral Joseph D. Kernan	June 2009	April 2011	~1 year, 304 days	U.S. Navy	Robert Gates	-
?		Lieutenant General John F. Kelly	April 2011	August 2012	~1 year, 122 days	U.S. Marine Corps	Robert Gates Leon Panetta	-
?		Lieutenant General Thomas D. Waldhauser	August 2012	September 2013	~1 year, 31 days	U.S. Marine Corps	Leon Panetta Chuck Hagel	-
?		Lieutenant General Robert B. Abrams	September 2013	June 24, 2015	~1 year, 282 days	U.S. Army	Chuck Hagel Ash Carter	-
?		Lieutenant General Ronald F. Lewis	June 24, 2015	November 12, 2015	141 days	U.S. Army	Ash Carter	[17][18]
?		Brigadier General Eric Smith	~January 7, 2016	~June 23, 2017	~1 year, 167 days	U.S. Marine Corps	Ash Carter Jim Mattis	[19][20]
?		Vice Admiral Craig S. Faller	~June 23, 2017	~September 1, 2018	~1 year, 70 days	U.S. Navy	Jim Mattis	[21]
?		Lieutenant General George W. Smith Jr.	September 1, 2018	August 12, 2019	345 days	U.S. Marine Corps	Jim Mattis Mark Esper	[22]
?		Lieutenant General Bryan P. Fenton	August 12, 2019	June 3, 2021	1 year, 295 days	U.S. Army	Mark Esper Lloyd Austin	[23]
?		Lieutenant General Randy George	June 3, 2021	~July 7, 2022	1 year, 34 days	U.S. Army	Lloyd Austin	[24]
?		Lieutenant General Ronald P. Clark	~July 7, 2022	1 October 2024	2 years, 86 days	U.S. Army	Lloyd Austin	[25]
?		Lieutenant General Jennifer Short	1 October 2024	Incumbent	21 days	U.S. Air Force	Lloyd Austin	[26]

References

1. "Secretary of Defense Communications". Defense Information Systems Agency. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
2. General/Flag Officer Roster (September 1986)
3. "LIEUTENANT GENERAL GORDON E. FORNELL". Air Force.
4. General/Flag Officer Roster (June 1990)
5. General/Flag Officer Roster (December 1991)
6. General/Flag Officer Roster (September 1993)
7. "GENERAL JOHN P. JUMPER". Air Force.
8. General/Flag Officer Roster (December 1995)
9. General/Flag Officer Roster (March 1996)
10. General/Flag Officer Roster (June 1996)
11. General/Flag Officer Roster (September 1996)
12. General/Flag Officer Roster (December 1996)
13. General/Flag Officer Roster (June 1997)
14. General/Flag Officer Roster (December 1997)
15. General/Flag Officer Roster (June 1998)
16. "General Victor E. Renuart Jr".
17. "Defense Secretary Fires Top Military Assistant Due to 'Misconduct'". October 31, 2017.
18. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD1018240.pdf
19. "Marine Corps 1-star tapped as Carter's senior military assistant".
20. "Marine one-star takes the helm of MARFORSOUTH". January 9, 2016.
21. "Admiral Craig S. Faller".
22. "Lt. Gen George W. Smith Jr".
23. "General Bryan P. Fenton - General Officer Management Office".
24. "General Randy A. George - General Officer Management Office".
25. "Lieutenant General Ronald P. Clark - General Officer Management Office".
26. "Lieutenant General Jennifer M. Short". U.S. Air Force. Retrieved October 11, 2024.